Virology, Virality Journalists, having amassed careers worths of medical puns with nary an opportunity to use them, finally got the opportunity to report on this or that industry’s lack of immunity to coronavirus. But when we say that, for instance, the cannabis industry isn’t immune to coronavirus, we aren’t actually referring to COVID-19, the disease that is caused by infection with a new coronavirus. We aren’t talking about that coronavirus itself, SARS-CoV-2, or the fact that it’s a close cousin of the outbreak-causing SARS and MERS viruses. With a state of emergency freshly declared in the United States, the industries being hit hardest (and earliest) by coronavirus-mandated restrictions and panic are those that involve events, from the service industry and other tipped employees to arts professionals and entertainers, athletes and the staff of professional sports-related franchises and employees of movie theaters, live music venues and regional music festivals. When we discuss this or that industry’s COVID-19 “immunity,” we are actually talking about businesses’ ability to weather a pandemic of undetermined length via innovative adaptation and long-term organizational resilience. And although early epidemic waves found The Land of Enchantment as unfamiliar with COVID-19 as many Americans remain of New Mexico’s very existence, the state health department’s coronavirus info website, cv.nmhealth.org, reports 10 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico as of press time. And many local events, including Weekly Alibi’s upcoming New Mexico Cannabis Expo, have been either rescheduled, postponed or canceled. Read on to learn more.The Art of Rescheduling As mentioned above, Weekly Alibi’s 2nd Annual Northern New Mexico Cannabis Expo, originally slated to happen on April 4, is being postponed in response to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recent announcement of restrictions on large gatherings here in the state. Our annual expo has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 16, from 11am to 5pm at the original location, the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. Learn more at alibi.com/nnmce and RSVP on Facebook to stay apprised of future expo-related announcements. And, as alluded to above, there are many regional and national cannabis events facing the same decision of whether to cancel, postpone or reschedule events in the face of COVID-19 restrictions and panic. Leafly reports that Coachella is being pushed back and live music fest SXSW is canceled altogether, and the following cannabis events are also being postponed: Hall of Flowers; High Times Cannabis Cup Central Valley; the CCIA Annual Policy Conference; NoCo Hemp Expo; 420 Broward Festival; New England Cannabis Convention Boston; Spannabis; and Cannabis Wedding Expos in both California and Colorado. The Hollywood Reporter has noted an uptick in cannabis sales and delivery in Los Angeles as its residents prep for social distancing or even self-imposed quarantine. Denver’s Westword reports that Colorado-based marijuana and hemp conferences scheduled for spring are being postponed or canceled while cannabis-friendly establishments in Colorado are being kept busy, dealing with canceled appointments and heightened “non-stop” sanitizing efforts undertaken to protect staff and customers.
News On The Green: Virology, Virality
3 min read
