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Law360 (March 18, 2020, 8:06 PM EDT) -- Cannabis lobbying groups are warning that the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on movement and commerce could be a boon to illicit dealers peddling unsafe products, which they said underscores the need for governments to ease access to legal marijuana amid the crisis.
The National Cannabis Industry Association said the COVID-19 outbreak and accompanying restrictions on access to dispensaries could exacerbate the "existential threat" posed by black market cannabis to both the nascent marijuana industry and public health as locked-down patients and consumers seek underground alternatives who deliver to their doors.
"There's a concern that illicit market operators are going to take advantage of any closures or lack of access in states with regulated markets," NCIA spokesman Morgan Fox told Law360 on Wednesday. "Not only are they going to be offering unregulated, untested products, but there's no guarantee they're going to use proper sanitary protocols."
Jurisdictions across the country are closing or considering closing retail businesses to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but multiple municipalities and state health departments have recently affirmed that medical marijuana dispensaries are "essential businesses" that may remain open.
States including Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington and New York have also issued bulletins relaxing regulations regarding delivery and in-store transactions in order to limit contact between patients and vendors, drawing praise from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
NORML executive director Erik Altieri said in a statement Wednesday that the nation's several million medical marijuana patients must continue to have uninterrupted access to medication throughout the crisis.
"Policymakers must not push these patients to the illicit marketplace because unregulated products may contain contaminants, adulterants, molds, pesticides, or other components that could potentially endanger their health," Altieri said.
Altieri said lawmakers should also ease restrictions on cannabis delivery to ensure patients can continue to practice the social distancing recommended by public health officials as coronavirus continues its spread, threatening to overwhelm the nation's health care system.
Fox said that states where medical and recreational cannabis have been folded into a single system should ease restrictions on in-person purchasing and delivery because many patients rely on retail cannabis that may not be categorized as an essential medical product.
"It goes beyond just medical-only stores," Fox said. "It's important to be able to maintain some form of access that is continuous and guaranteed but also takes into account public health concerns to limit in-person interactions."
Ensuring steady access to cannabis could also prevent panic-buying, hoarding and supply bottlenecks in regulated marijuana markets, Fox said. And patients and consumers who turn to illegal dealers for home delivery could also undermine public health goals, he said.
"These operators have no oversight," Fox said. "They could be infected themselves and are trying to squeeze the last dollar out of the situation before they go check themselves into a hospital."
--Additional reporting by Sam Reisman. Editing by Kelly Duncan.
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