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WHY ARE LIQUOR STORES AND MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES?

As nonessential businesses shutter in nearly every state plus the District of Columbia to slow the spread of the coronavirus, many liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries are making use of key exemptions to remain open and carry on with their operations.

According to the National Governors Association, 42 states have thus far enacted measures to close businesses deemed nonessential, a determination that has veered from technocratic to political in some cases, such as with the wrangling over firearms dealers.

California pot dispensaries are open during coronavirus crisis. Some want them closed!

In designating California’s marijuana industry as essential under the state's COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom has argued that the health benefits of keeping pot shops open outweigh the risks — even as opponents of the policy call it reckless.

Critics say it doesn't make sense to allow people to congregate at cannabis stores, increasing the chance of infection, so they can buy products that are smoked at a time when the virus is attacking respiratory systems.

Marijuana home delivery surges in California amid Coronavirus outbreak

One company rushed to expand its delivery fleet. Another has seen sales triple. The global coronavirus pandemic has left millions of people locked out of bars, restaurants and theaters, but it’s been an unexpected boost for some U.S. pot shops.

Marijuana users in the nation’s largest legal pot shop, California, and elsewhere are on a buying binge, as they stock up for potential quarantines or simply light up in search of relief during anxious times and government lockdowns. New York, San Francisco and Palm Springs, California, are among the cities labeling dispensaries “essential” businesses that can remain open during virus lockdowns, in some cases with limitations.

Sales increases also are being witnessed in Colorado and Washington, according to cannabis data company Headset.

Dispensaries, meanwhile, have been quick to accommodate virus-wary customers, boosting delivery and pickup options.