Things are always better with a bit of hindsight. That said, it seems they paid attention when others weren’t.
Marketwatch report in an interview with
“You could see the level of concern across key people,” Engel said in a telephone interview Tuesday, after the cannabis company detailed the early effects of the coronavirus on it business. “People’s anxiety level was increasing across the meetings of the day.”
Organigram OGI, -11.87% OGI, -0.43% began monitoring the coronavirus in January as it ravaged China. Then, Engel said, he was concerned and taking steps to ensure the company’s supply of packaging and vaporizer pens was sufficient — the weed industry sources most of both from China.
Organigram eventually became one of the first cannabis companies to start discussing and disclosing the coronavirus’ expected impact on its operations. publicly making changes to its operations in response to COVID-19 in February. Engel said that the implications of the virus’s spread around the world became apparent as Organigram executives engaged in discussions with Canadian provincial officials, who acted quickly to implement social distancing and other measures, and federal authorities.
Months later, Engel remains one of the few executives at major cannabis companies to detail concerns about the industry’s ability to weather the pandemic and discuss specific problems, even as such disclosures are rather standard across other industries.
