Florida Medical Cannabis Supply Safe in Wake of Hurricane Irma

Florida Medical Cannabis Supply Safe in Wake of Hurricane Irma

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On the night of Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit the state of Florida, bringing 140-mile-per-hour winds with it. After forcing residents in certain areas to evacuate, it seems as though Hurricane Irma let one thing off the hook — Florida medical cannabis supply.

According to the Miami Herald, even before Irma was on their radar, Floridians in the marijuana industry were anxious about the possible effects a major storm could have on their businesses.

Before Hurricane Irma even reached Florida, mandatory evacuations caused massive gas shortages throughout the state, causing companies to rethink medical marijuana delivery methods. Eventually, the hurricane slammed through the entire state, going over each of the Florida’s 12 licensed greenhouses, retail stores and distribution centers.

While the storm caused a substantial amount of damage throughout the state, most of the business owners said their facilities managed to avoid any battle wounds from the hurricane.

“Minor flooding, a missing roof, but all plants are safe!” tweeted Tampa-based Surterra Wellness, one of the state’s major cultivators.

Distributors like The Green Solution and Liberty Health Sciences (OTC Pink: SCQBF) both reported their businesses were okay, as did the cultivation and processing facility Modern Health Concepts, whose facilities are just southwest of Miami-Dade County.

Beyond ensuring their own facilities were safe, some cannabis companies are taking it a step further by contributing to relief efforts in the state, such as Surterra Wellness and Liberty Health Sciences.

“Liberty is proud to be a positive force in the community and to help with the relief efforts across the State of Florida, we are committing to contributing 10 per cent of revenues for two months to support the incredible relief efforts being undertaken by the Red Cross,” said George Scorsis, CEO and Director of Liberty, in a press release.

With the exception of Knox Medical’s corporate headquarters losing power in Wynwood — a temporary call center has been created in the mean time — it looks like the Sunshine State’s nearly 36,000 registered patients won’t have to worry about damage to the Florida medical cannabis supply.

Amanda Taylor was the editorial assistant for Marijuana Industry News from September 2016 through February 2018. She earned a BA in English and an MA in Writing from Coastal Carolina University.

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