California’s CannaCraft, a large-scale cannabis manufacturer, announced that the company has converted a portion of their manufacturing space and production capacity to formulate and package individual bottles of hand sanitizer that will be donated to individuals and organizations throughout California.
The company trialed the program last week, creating hundreds of tubes that were distributed to employees and customers. After the successful test run and registering with the FDA, the company procured enough materials to make 40 gallons (or 5,000 1oz. tubes) of hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer will be donated to non-profits, customers, employees, and essential businesses and will be distributed later this week by Kind House Distribution, the company’s wholly owned distribution arm.
“We are doing everything we can to protect our employees and our communities by adhering to guidelines and directives from officials and experts. At the same time, we are uniquely positioned to help in other ways because we have manufacturing equipment, scientific expertise, and a statewide distribution network built into our business,” said Jim Hourigan, CannaCraft CEO. “When we started hearing reports of a shortage in hand sanitizer, we knew that we could be of assistance without negatively impacting our employees or our operations.”
The hand sanitizer was formulated by CannaCraft’s head of R&D, Matthew Elmes, Ph.D., and is being packaged and distributed by a limited production team, due to the company’s decision to restrict facility access to essential production and distribution staff only. The teams have been split into smaller groups and are spread throughout CannaCraft’s 70,000 ft2 headquarters to reduce unnecessary interactions. Additionally, CannaCraft has implemented robust health and safety protocols throughout every step of the supply chain process.
These protocols are imperative as the company works to continue serving customers in California who rely on cannabis products. Over the last few weeks, CannaCraft played an instrumental role and was ultimately successful in their efforts with state officials and city managers to designate California cannabis businesses as essential. “We are looking at the immediate needs and doing everything we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. But we are also taking a proactive approach to preventing collateral damage,” said Tiffany Devitt, CannaCraft’s President of Wellness. “As more people’s health becomes compromised, our medical services will continue to be overwhelmed. It is more critical than ever for people to continue the daily health regimens they rely on, and for millions in California this includes medicinal cannabis.”
