News of Lorna McMurrey’s January 2022 death at Trulieve’s Holyoke, Mass., cultivation facility has hit the internet with force over the past week. Though many in the Massachusetts industry had mourned McMurrey and discussed the ramifications of her tragic death for the past nine months, it was only with the release of a podcast episode from The Young Jurks that the national cannabis media took notice—us included. McMurrey died of “dust” (kief) inhalation while filling prerolls, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Springfield, Mass., office. Trulieve has been tagged with three workplace health and safety violations, to the tune of $35,219 in fines, though the company has contested those items. While there is much to uncover in the wake of this event, anyone working in the legal cannabis space should take notice. In response to McMurrey’s death, Massachusetts cannabis cultivation companies have reportedly been told to post safety data sheets on the health hazards of “combustible dust” (again, kief). Based on conversations we’ve had, the response from operators has been, “… what?” It’s unclear for the moment whether the true hazard lies in the kief itself or in a given company’s environmental monitoring program, the rules of which are typically governed by state regulations and enforced through periodic site inspections. At what point did McMurrey’s death become a consequence of the environment within her workplace? When she walked in the door? Or was there an avoidable failure along the way that led to this tragedy? Any team working under the auspices of a cannabis cultivation license should take the time—now and again and again in the future—to audit its workspace. We’ve placed requests for public records and formal comments on this matter with the Holyoke Police Department, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission and Trulieve itself. Stay tuned. -Eric Sandy, Digital Editor |