• Cultivated
  • Posts
  • Cannabis workplace safety takes center stage in Massachusetts and beyond

Cannabis workplace safety takes center stage in Massachusetts and beyond

How a worker's death may impact the growing industry

November 21, 2023

Good morning. An update about yesterday’s Snoop Dogg giving up “smoke” story. Turns out it was a marketing effort to pitch his new collab with Solo Stove. If you don’t know Solo Stove, you probably do now. There was a notable sigh of relief from the cannabis world that this wasn’t Snoop giving up on cannabis. Nowhere was that sigh more noticeable than from Snoops’ professional blunt rolling employee, a.k.a. Chief Blunt Officer…

WORKPLACE SAFETY
New details emerge about the worker death at Trulieve’s Massachusetts facility

What happened: Last January, 27-year-old Lorna McMurrey died on the job at Trulieve’s Massachusetts cannabis facility. The details surrounding her death were kept under wraps as state and federal authorities investigated.

The Update: Now, we have a clearer idea of what happened in the tragic incident. McMurrey suffered a fatal asthma attack while on the job, according to a new report from the CDC and OSHA. Trulieve, for its part, contested the reports findings, reports NBC Boston.

Why it matters: The CDC warns that as indoor cannabis facilities proliferate around the US, asthma attacks are becoming a growing concern.

Our take: The Cultivated team believes that big cannabis companies should prioritize worker safety, and institute evidence-backed protections for workers so this doesn’t happen again.

What they’re saying: The CDC, for their part, noted that the worker's death “illustrates missed opportunities for prevention, including workplace exposures, medical surveillance, and treatment according to the current asthma guidelines.”

HOOSIERS
Indiana going green?

What happened: No, we’re not talking about Larry Bird putting on a Celtics jersey again. After neighboring Ohio voted to legalize cannabis (other neighbors Michigan and Illinois are already on the legal map) this month, the conversation is ramping up in neighboring Indiana (and Pennsylvania too).

Election impact: The Hoosier State will elect a new governor next year, and the Indianapolis Star polled leading candidates on their stances. Perhaps predictably, most Republicans said they were opposed while most Democrats said they were for it.

What’s next? We here at Cultivated will be watching Indiana with great interest. Cannabis legalization is sweeping the Midwest — it’s probably a matter of time before Indiana joins the green party — even if it’s one of the last to arrive..

 

MEDICAL
That’s a (pain) relief

What happened: A new study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that opioids and cannabis are “equally efficacious” in reducing pain intensity.

How’d they find that out?: The study looked at a sample of 201 individuals, 161 of whom used opioids to manage chronic pain and the other 40 who used medical cannabis.

The patients then filled out surveys, indicating whether the drug they were using had negative or positive effects, as well as effects on their emotional and “holistic well-being.”

While both opioids and cannabis were effective at managing pain, the group that used cannabis reported higher quality-of-life factors like emotion, functionality, and overall sense of well-being.

What’s next?: Medical cannabis is still a growing area of research. But given the potentially deadly side effects of opioid abuse, the Cultivated team calls for more research into helping people find safer alternatives to managing chronic pain.

 

MAKE IT SNAPPY
🥊 Quick hits

  • Cannabis company MariMed closed a $58.7 million secured credit facility.

  • Cannabis vape brand dosist was acquired by supply chain company Final Bell. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

  • Small and medium-sized businesses are the “engines” of the cannabis M&A economy, according to a new report from law firm BianchiBrandt.