Medicinal cannabis companies appeared to escape relatively unscathed after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred battered Queensland last weekend, although Spring Sciences did lose some product while CanView warned that deliveries of medicine may be delayed.
Despite fierce winds and torrential rain which saw Brisbane record its heaviest downpours since Cyclone Wanda in 1974, few serious problems were reported by the industry.
The biggest issue confronted Spring Sciences and its facility in Caboolture, located midway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, which suffered a loss of power and “multiple power trips”.
Due to the impact of the tropical cyclone, Cannabiz has extended the final entry deadline for the 2025 Cannabiz Awards until close of business on Monday, March 17.
Spring Sciences chief executive Dr Steve Newbery said the facility held up well, despite being among the worst-affected areas.
“We only suffered one period of loss of power and then multiple power trips and alarms, but generally we ran on back-up generators very well when required,” he said. “Fortunately, we did a double harvest last week and managed to get the harvest through dry and into the cure stage. This meant there was less strain on the genes.
“We lost some fresh frozen product and trim, but generally we do not see any disruption in production, save for staff away dealing with personal issues and having to catch up on plant husbandry activities from the past week.”
“All in all, we are in good shape.”
Meanwhile, distribution platform CanView said the effects of the cyclone, and continuing poor weather, is causing delays at its distribution centres and impacting customer support teams.
“As a result, some deliveries may be delayed and customer support may be temporarily unavailable,” the business posted on LinkedIn. “Should you require assistance, contacting the team via the live chat is the best option.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to your business and patients. Teams are working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.”
Australian Natural Therapeutics Group (ANTG), which has a facility near Brisbane Airport and another in Armidale in New South Wales, said staff and the facilities came through the cyclone “unscathed”.
“Our Brisbane facility became inaccessible for most staff due to road flooding, only those that live close by have been able to access to it,” chief executive Matt Cantelo said. “But the automation built into the facility and the comprehensive monitoring systems have stood the test. Our plants are all in good shape.”
Medcan Australia, which has a facility in Brisbane, also faced minimal disruption, according to chief executive Craig Cochran.
“To be honest, so far so good,” he said. “We have a few staff working from home, but for the most part our operations haven’t been affected.”
Tracey Perez, co-founder of Queensland-based cultivator Medicinal Harvest, said the days leading up to the cyclone were “scary” given all the warnings of destructive winds and rain.
But it, too, came through without incident, she said.
“We got heavy rain and it was very windy, but not enough to cause any damage,” Perez said. “If the forecast had come true there would have been heavy flooding around our area, but thankfully that didn’t come to fruition.
“The road from Brisbane was cut off about 4okm or 50km from us, so access to where we are in the Darling Downs area has been compromised, but the weather was not as bad as had been forecast.”
Sunshine Coast-based cultivator The People’s Plant, which has launched a second crowdsource funding raise on Birchal, was also spared as the ferocity of Alfred eased as it made landfall.
“We had wind, we had rain but we didn’t have any flooding,” co-founder Ben Risby-Jones said on Instagram. “There were concerns about how the crop would handle a tropical cyclone – and if Mother Nature had wanted to flatten the world she could – but in this particular situation we’ve been fortune and the plants have done incredibly well.”
