{"id":9112,"date":"2020-03-25T22:21:48","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T22:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=4030049"},"modified":"2020-03-25T22:21:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T22:21:48","slug":"denvers-stay-at-home-order-triggered-huge-sales-and-safety-concerns-for-citys-cannabis-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denvers-stay-at-home-order-triggered-huge-sales-and-safety-concerns-for-citys-cannabis-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver\u2019s stay-at-home order triggered huge sales \u2014 and safety concerns \u2014 for city\u2019s cannabis businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denvers-stay-at-home-order-triggered-huge-sales-and-safety-concerns-for-citys-cannabis-businesses\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/denvers-stay-at-home-order-triggered-huge-sales-and-safety-concerns-for-citys-cannabis-businesses.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/03\/25\/denver-coronavirus-marijuana-sales\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"4030049\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced recreational marijuana shops would be forced to close under the city\u2019s stay-at-home order Monday, the response from customers was swift. They swarmed local dispensaries to stock up on products and caused enough of a stir that the mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/03\/23\/liquor-stores-dispensaries-closing-denver-shelter-in-place\/\">rescinded the moratorium<\/a> just three hours later.<\/p>\n<p>As more counties announce stay-at-home orders that will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/03\/25\/stay-at-home-order-coronavirus-boulder-jefferson-arapahoe-douglas-adams-counties-colorado\/\">affect more than 2 million people in the metro area<\/a>, cannabis industry personnel say it\u2019s worth reflecting on the Denver announcement\u2019s impact \u2014 both good and bad.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado Gov. Jared Polis deemed marijuana dispensaries \u201ccritical\u201d retail businesses, meaning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/03\/23\/coronavirus-colorado-marijuana-dispensaries\/\">they\u2019re allowed to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic with some restrictions<\/a>. If a city or county individually imposes stricter rules on how they operate, however, those will supersede state regulations.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Denver dispensaries\u00a0saw their biggest sales day of the year so far, according to data firm Flowhub. Sales were up 140% compared to an average Monday, the company reported, and 13% higher than Saturday, March 16, when Coloradans concerned about the coronavirus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2020\/03\/13\/coronavirus-denver-grocery-stores\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">made a run on groceries, toilet paper and other necessities<\/a>, like marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>At 4 p.m., following Mayor Hancock\u2019s news conference, sales were nearly four times higher than a typical Monday at the same time, reported Flowhub, which aggregated numbers from a sample of dispensaries\u2019 point-of-sales system data.<\/p>\n<p>St. Patrick\u2019s Day is usually one of the largest purchasing holidays at Cannabis Station by Rocky Mountain High, said store manager Ben Prater. But since festivities were canceled this year, March 23 sits as the dispensary\u2019s top grossing day so far.<\/p>\n<p>Before the mayor\u2019s announcement, the store had done $400 in sales, he said. By the end of the day, customers spent $15,000 on cannabis products.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went from zero to 60 in like 30 minutes,\u201d Prater said. \u201cWe had a line for about five hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\">[embedded content]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cannabis Station implemented safety measures, such as requiring staff to wear gloves and marking spaces six feet apart in the parking lot outside where customers should stand. State regulations currently limit recreational sales to curbside pickup only to limit the number of people in close proximity.<\/p>\n<p>But the rush caused additional concerns for folks like Collen Le, logistics manager for IDY Distributors, a wholesale cannabis distribution company. IDY delivers products to about 600 Colorado dispensaries weekly, and as transactions move curbside, company drivers are increasingly visible to crowds waiting in line, Le said. Many stores don\u2019t have docks where they accept deliveries either, so drivers often have to bring inventory through a public entrance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always that one person who jokes around and says, \u2018Bring that to my truck around back,\u2019 \u201d Le said. And because cannabis is predominantly a cash business, employees often transport hundreds of thousands of dollars each day, increasing their potential risk.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>Fortunately, surges like Denver witnessed are likely short-lived, said Tim Rubyal, founder of Dyspense Technologies, the software platform that manages distribution and logistics for IDY. Rubyal expects inventory orders to dip substantially as panic-buying dissipates. Prater at Cannabis Station said sales plummeted to about $1,200 total on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Still, employees out in the field need to be cautious about their health. Prater said employees were apprehensive about interacting with so many customers during Monday\u2019s rush, but felt confident in the dispensary\u2019s personal protection and sanitation guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>IDY Distributors\u2019 drivers, too, are expected to wear gloves and masks and use social distancing to the extent they can to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus, Le said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe deliver to so many stores a day, we don\u2019t want to pass it along,\u201d Le said. \u201cI want everybody to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/638279553627526\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Join our Facebook group for updates on coronavirus in Colorado.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>On Monday, Denver dispensaries\u00a0saw their biggest sales day of the year so far, according to data firm Flowhub. Sales were up 140% compared to an average Monday, the company reported. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,6811,8264,8266,8270,6892,6813,77,5577,9,5019,6845,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[5063,6816,8265,8268,8271,6893,6818,2655,5580,5022,6846],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}