Multi-state cannabis powerhouse Trulieve is leaving Massachusetts after months of scrutiny over labor practices, including the death of cultivation worker Lorna McMurrey.
Trulieve is leaving the oldest adult-use market in the northeast. Adult-use sales in Massachusetts started in 2018. Since that time, hundreds of dispensaries have opened leading to a drop in prices making the state less appealing to larger brands that have the option of opening in newer markets, such as New Jersey and Connecticut, where prices remain comparatively high.
“These difficult but necessary measures are part of ongoing efforts to bolster business resilience and our commitment to cash preservation as we continue to focus on our business strategy of going deep in our core markets and jettisoning non-contributive assets,” said CEO Kim Rivers, in a news release.
The company plans to close all three dispensaries in the state by June 30, laying off over 100 workers.
Aside from leaving Massachusetts, the company has also been reducing its retail footprint in California for select closures, completely left the Nevada wholesale market and is currently “idling production capacity to match consumer demand across multiple markets,” according to the release.
The announcement also happens to come in the wake of major media and regulatory scrutiny following the death of McMurrey, a 27-year-old worker at a Trulieve cultivation and processing facility in Holyoke, Mass. A spokesperson for Trulieve denied that McMurrey’s death and scrutiny from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had anything to do with the decision to leave the state.
“Over the past year, Trulieve has worked to streamline and optimize operations across the organization focused on markets with long-term growth potential. Some of this work includes closing select retail locations in California, exiting Nevada and reducing production to match consumer demand across multiple markets,” wrote spokesperson Nicole Yelland in an email. “Today we announced that Trulieve will close the Grover Beach, California location and wind down operations in Massachusetts as part of our ongoing efforts to focus on our strategy while bolstering our business for long-term success.”
McMurrey, 27, died after collapsing in a room dedicated to producing pre-rolls on Jan. 7, 2022. The room was reportedly filled with ground cannabis dust, yet workers were offered only basic medical face masks as protection. McMurrey inhaled the dust, triggering a fatal asthma attack, according to a report from OSHA. She died several days later at the hospital. This occurred after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had already begun investigating Trulieve’s Holyoke facility for alleged safety concerns. OSHA eventually fined Trulieve $14,502 for failing to conduct a hazard analysis.
Aside from McMurrey’s death, Trulieve has been accruing complaints through the NLRB since last October for repeated attempts to allegedly discourage an organizing campaign at its Framingham, Mass. dispensary. In a series of federal complaints the United Commercial and Food Workers, Local 1445, alleged that Trulieve fired numerous employees, ended employee discounts and sampling, and threatened to reduce health benefits.
Trulieve banking on emerging markets
Like the majority of multi-state operators, Trulieve reported a drop in revenue during the first quarter of 2023. As a result, the company announced that it was closing shop in Massachusetts and California in favor of newer markets, such as Georgia, which only recently opened its first medical dispensaries.
The company is also banking on adult use coming to Florida. Currently, the Sunshine State doesn’t allow the sale of adult-use cannabis, but Trulieve has been a leading corporate sponsor of an effort to get legalization on the ballot this fall, including contributing $38.5 million to the campaign as of April 30.
Trulieve is headquartered in Florida and maintains a dominant retail foothold in the nation’s third most populous state. The company operates more dispensaries in the state than any other company, giving it an advantage if an adult-use market were established, assuming that medical operators are among the first at the table. Florida’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use lists 125 separate Trulieve dispensaries out of a total of 571 throughout the state.
Trulieve announced June 1 that the Florida Secretary of State has certified over 965,000 signatures, which is enough to secure a place on the ballot, as long as the question is approved by the Florida Supreme Court. The initiative’s largest financial backer sounded triumphant as it imagined the opportunity at its doorstep.
“Our investment demonstrates our firm belief that Floridians are ready to experience the freedom to use cannabis for personal consumption, a freedom which is currently enjoyed by more than half of America’s adults,” said CEO Rivers in a statement. “With over 965,000 validated signatures from nearly every part of our state, it is clear these voters share that belief. We are thrilled the campaign has made this milestone and look forward to seeing this initiative on the ballot next November.”
