It seems cannabis isn’t as recession-proof as originally thought. While the world hasn’t officially gone into a recession, the cannabis industry has consistently stated it would thrive in downtimes because consumers would continue to make purchases. However, no one ever thought a pandemic would close the doors entirely.

That has changed with the news that Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) has made the decision to temporarily close all corporate-owned Tokyo Smoke and Tweed retail locations across Canada, effective at 5:00 p.m. local time today, March 17.

“We have a responsibility to our employees, their families, and our communities to do our part to “flatten the curve” by limiting social interactions. For us, that means shifting our focus from retail to e-commerce,” said David Klein, CEO, Canopy Growth. “This is a big decision but it was also an easy one to make – our retail teams are public-facing and have been serving an above-average volume of transactions in recent days. Given the current situation, it is in the best interest of our teams and our communities to close these busy hubs until we are confident we can operate our stores in the best interest of public health.”

Canopy Growth isn’t closing sales entirely. The company said it would continue providing access to their desired cannabis products and prescribed medication. Canopy has established a fully supported e-commerce platform available to recreational and medical customers across the country to provide business continuity for people seeking our products.

The decision affects the 23 corporately-owned stores in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba as well as the Tweed Visitor Centre in Smiths Falls, ON. Patients will be able to continue purchasing medical cannabis through Spectrum Therapeutics. Adult consumers within Manitoba and Saskatchewan are able to purchase Canopy Growth products through Tweed and Tokyo Smoke e-commerce platforms, all other provinces and territories will be supported through government-run online retail.