A Californian cannabis company is manufacturing bottles of hand sanitizer and donating them to facilities that serve the most vulnerable members of its community.
On Tuesday Hollister Biosciences Inc. (CSE: HOLL) said in a statement that it’s in the process of making and distributing “a few thousand” bottles of hand sanitizer in its hometown of Hollister, CA.
Due to a statewide shelter at home mandate, non-essential manufacturing has been halted and some distribution channels have been delayed. Because cannabis has been deemed an essential business, Hollister says it’s using that standing to source and produce hand sanitizer for its local community.
Read more: Major retailers keep doors open as US lawmakers deem cannabis ‘essential’
The company said it will give its first batch of sanitizer to the Hollister food bank, and more batches will be donated in the coming weeks to facilities “that are often overlooked,” such as the food bank, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres, and homeless shelters.
Hollister CEO Carl Saling said his local community is near and dear to his company and, as the first licensed cannabis producer in the city, the company must do whatever it can to help.
“It infuriated me seeing companies price gouging much needed items, such as hand sanitizer,” he said. “I am all for making money, but not at the expense of playing on people’s fears during a time of crisis. We just had to act.”
“I am calling all business owners to step up in this time of crisis and do whatever you can to help your local community.”
Read more: Justin Trudeau’s business bailouts gives cannabis the cold shoulder
Top image: An empty hand sanitizer section in a Cambodian drug store in January, 2020. Photo by Mx. Granger via Wikimedia Commons
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