Weathering Life
By Lynn Wachtler MSN, RN, FNP-BC,CMCC
California has a term for significant events that leave licensed cannabis operators with no options other than to shut their doors and call it quits. Recently, I spoke with a woman who owns a California-based wellness brand and manufacturing facility. We discussed the multiple (and frequent) challenges in operating a business in a highly regulated marketplace that contributes to what is known in the industry as an extinction event. Her experience and guidance in navigating and surmounting these hurdles in owning and operating a cannabis business were insightful.
Imagine a hemp farmer or shop with a large inventory of bottled and labeled oils, capsules, or gummies in doses and bottles that were packaged before changes in labeling statutes were enacted. Those old labels or dosages? They’re out of compliance now. The playbook is tossed mid-game, and inventory is offloaded or repackaged, often with significant financial loss.
Just when everything is reformulated and repackaged according to the new guidelines, another seemingly insurmountable obstacle occurs. Your newly leased and remodeled brick-and-mortar storefront must close due to local ordinances and moratoriums. You move, another ordinance. You pack up and pivot to online sales only as it seems safer- until your Square account or banking is shut down.
Pivoting to Plan B or C in running a business can rattle even the most stoic and creative entrepreneurs. While new shops and brands enthusiastically enter the marketplace, some veteran businesses fall off the map due to extinction events like these.
As part of our human experience, we may encounter unexpected and significant trajectory shifts that catapult us into unknown territory without a map, compass, or visible path forward. Covid was a game changer and extinction event for many frontline workers who left their profession. Many others are dealing with life-altering aftereffects and profound losses. This collective recalibration to a new normal takes time and expanded toolkits.
What I’ve learned from my healing journey and many observations as a medical cannabis consultant and long-time clinician is that people from all walks of life and ages use cannabis for a variety of reasons, from easing the side effects of chemotherapy to managing migraines. They share deeply personal experiences of how cannabis helps ease physical pain and symptoms of PTSD or perhaps allows for a few hours of sleep and nervous system regulation while grieving the loss of a loved one.
Somehow, we can and do weather life’s extinction events. We are resilient.
With community support and the right tools, including legal access to plant medicine, we can find courage, breathe, and move forward—and that’s a win.
