Trulieve Settles With OSHA After Employee’s Death From Inhaling Cannabis Dust
Trulieve Cannabis (CSE: TRUL) has settled with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the death of an employee at the firms Holyoke, Massachusetts facility earlier this year. The employee reportedly passed away as a result of inhaling ground cannabis dust.
The settlement will see the company undertake a study to determine whether ground cannabis dust needs to be labelled as a hazardous chemical within the cannabis industry in an occupational setting. The study will among other things see the engagement of a health professional to assist in developing a program for guidance on the health impacts of the dust.
As part of the settlement the company is to also make employees aware of job transfer options, implement a permanent training program, investigate options to limit access and exposure to areas where grinding of cannabis occurs, and establish policies that increase the presence of workers trained in first aid.
The settlement will see the previously imposed fine of $35,219 reduced down to $14,502, while two of the “serious” items within the citation will also be removed. The third citation, which was related to the standard for hazardous chemicals, is to be replaced with a citation related to conducting a hazard analysis.
Work on the study is to be completed by May 29, 2023.
The settlement follows a report in October that Trulieve was contesting the fines imposed on it by OSHA following the death of Lorna L. McMurrey, a 27-year old employee, in January of 2022. Reports indicate that she was “grinding cannabis flowers, and packaging ground cannabis in pre-rolls” late on January 7, at which point the ground cannabis dust prevented her from breathing, resulting in her death.
Separately, the cannabis firm last night announced that it had secured $71.5 million in financing via a commercial loan secured by one of its facilities in Florida. The debt bears interest at a rate of 7.53%, and contains a five-year maturity. The funds were provided by three banks, which Valley National Bank served as lead agent on.
Trulieve Cannabis last traded at $9.01 on the CSE.
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As the founder of The Deep Dive, Jay is focused on all aspects of the firm. This includes operations, as well as acting as the primary writer for The Deep Dive’s stock analysis. In addition to The Deep Dive, Jay performs freelance writing for a number of firms and has been published on Stockhouse.com and CannaInvestor Magazine among others.
