The fire season is coming – that means na for Canna companies

Summer is here, a massive heat wave has just hit the west coast and fire season is just around the corner. This is the harsh reality for West Coast residents and it doesn’t look like that’s about to change anytime soon. Forest fires have a serious impact on entire communities and anyone can be affected. But there are some unique problems for cannabis companies that I’ll address in this post.

First of all, cannabis companies are different from many other companies because they are isolated in certain locations and there are many government restrictions on moving goods in the event of a natural disaster such as a fire. Fortunately, regulators in many states have had the foresight to provide exemption from regulatory requirements in some cases of natural disasters. You can read our posts on Oregon and California to learn more about their respective regulations, which I will not repeat here.

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Second, cannabis companies are very vulnerable to damage from fire. Outdoor cultivators are usually hardest hit – even if fires don’t damage their crops, smoke and other particles (even from fires that appear to be distant) can destroy the outdoor crops. I’ve seen a lot of examples of this over the past year. Even if fires may not be literally on a cultivator’s doorstep, they need to think about things like air conditioning and whether to contact the state for help as mentioned above.

For any cannabis company, a fire in their premises is the biggest problem to face. This is a particular challenge for businesses that may store tons of cash and valuable products and may not have adequate insurance (as is often the case) to cover damage from fire. Additionally, the loss of serviceability due to fire damage can be a major, if not fatal, setback for many cannabis companies.

RELATED: The California Fires and Cannabis

Third are utilities. For example, if fire or excessive heat damage power lines (this happened in LA County during last year’s massive heat wave), indoor growers may not get the power they need to grow crops – and they need a lot. And as we stand on the brink of yet another drought, farmers across the state are facing a decline in water availability as resources are diverted to fight fires. We are already seeing problems with water supplies appear across the state.

Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / Stringer / Getty Images

For many cannabis companies in cities or other non-rural areas, fires will not have a direct impact. However, it is entirely possible that due to the effects of fire on cannabis growers, we will see another massive rise in prices that can be felt along the entire supply chain. The point is that cannabis companies must remain vigilant and consider all regulatory measures to mitigate losses from fire.

Griffen Thorne is an attorney with Harris Bricken, a law firm with attorneys in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, ​​and Beijing. This story was originally published on the Canna Law Blog and was republished with permission.