2021 Supply Disruptions

[abefroman329]

We're actually rapidly approaching market saturation in Oklahoma, thought that might be slowed when and if Metrc is ever actually implemented (prevailing theory is that will force out a lot of the small-time growers who are just doing it on the side and don't have the patience to deal with the regulatory overhead).

Interesting - Illinois has permitted recreational cannabis since 1/1/2020, and we seem to be in a phase now where the smaller dispensaries are being swallowed up by larger chains.  Which will probably get worse as more states legalize it, and the large chains gain more buying power.

Also, during the pandemic, the whole industry was declared essential (since we have medical here) by the Oklahoma government, so there weren't any sorts of shutdowns here.

Same here - if anything, the pandemic made things easier.  For the first few months of 2020, dispensaries were first-come-first-served, and lines were long.  Then they started requiring everyone to pre-order online, which meant you didn't have to get to the front of the line, only to hear they were sold out of whatever it was you came for.

[kalvado]

As for adding CO2... Depends on ventilation system a lot. And is cannabis C3 or C4?

It's C3. While I'm sure that the increased CO₂ levels do help, of course, the question in commercial farming is whether the income from the increased yield is greater than the spend. That's what I'm skeptical about, especially since there are so many other factors that affect yield that are cheaper to control.

My impression was that in a closed greenhouse CO2 can get fully depleted, though, becoming the limiting factor. 400ppm from the outside may be cheaper option compared to supplied gas, though, especially if outside temperature is not way off...

[Scott5114]

We're actually rapidly approaching market saturation in Oklahoma, thought that might be slowed when and if Metrc is ever actually implemented (prevailing theory is that will force out a lot of the small-time growers who are just doing it on the side and don't have the patience to deal with the regulatory overhead).

Interesting - Illinois has permitted recreational cannabis since 1/1/2020, and we seem to be in a phase now where the smaller dispensaries are being swallowed up by larger chains.  Which will probably get worse as more states legalize it, and the large chains gain more buying power.

Oklahoma has some pretty protectionist regulations, so it's kept the smaller dispensaries in business. I think you have to have several years of OK residency to get a license. Still, though, the market has been lucrative enough that we've seen a few chains based in other states move their HQ here and sell off or close their out-of-state stores.

As for adding CO2... Depends on ventilation system a lot. And is cannabis C3 or C4?

It's C3. While I'm sure that the increased CO₂ levels do help, of course, the question in commercial farming is whether the income from the increased yield is greater than the spend. That's what I'm skeptical about, especially since there are so many other factors that affect yield that are cheaper to control.

My impression was that in a closed greenhouse CO2 can get fully depleted, though, becoming the limiting factor. 400ppm from the outside may be cheaper option compared to supplied gas, though, especially if outside temperature is not way off...

I've seen some grows that pump in 1200ppm or even more, though (there was one I was working on where the CO₂ got so high we had to go get a supervisor to shut it off because everyone on the crew was getting noticeably out of breath). That's the sort of insanity I'm talking about.

With a suitable HVAC system doing adequate air turnover, maintaining 400 ppm should be no problem.

[hbelkins]

There's a company that advertises a portable unit that can purify and concentrate atmospheric oxygen for those who are otherwise dependent on portable tanks when they're out and about. Wonder why the same couldn't be done for atmospheric CO₂?

Regarding weed being categorized as essential during government-ordered shutdowns: Kentucky doesn't have medicinal so obviously that wasn't an issue here. But liquor stores were declared essential when the closures were ordered last year, and that angered a whole lot of people. They were not very happy that selling booze was considered essential, but selling clothing or shoes or other items wasn't. And I can't say that I disagree.

For states that have recreational use but not specified medicinal, how were the weed stores handled?

[GaryV]

There's a company that advertises a portable unit that can purify and concentrate atmospheric oxygen for those who are otherwise dependent on portable tanks when they're out and about. Wonder why the same couldn't be done for atmospheric CO₂?

Maybe because of the difference of 21% vs 0.04%?

[kalvado]

There's a company that advertises a portable unit that can purify and concentrate atmospheric oxygen for those who are otherwise dependent on portable tanks when they're out and about. Wonder why the same couldn't be done for atmospheric CO₂?

Maybe because of the difference of 21% vs 0.04%?

And difference in size of the molecule. Things would be easier if a smaller molecule would have to be concerned. It could be made to pass through membrane leaving n2-o2 behind with some efficiency.
CO2 would be difficult.
On a similar topic, there is a long term shortage of neon, which is separated from air. Initial concentration is 20 ppm or so. Process is damn expensive, a cylinder of neon costs about $1000. Nobody would pay that for CO2j

[abefroman329]

Regarding weed being categorized as essential during government-ordered shutdowns: Kentucky doesn't have medicinal so obviously that wasn't an issue here. But liquor stores were declared essential when the closures were ordered last year, and that angered a whole lot of people. They were not very happy that selling booze was considered essential, but selling clothing or shoes or other items wasn't. And I can't say that I disagree.

I agree that the optics weren't great, but they were essential because alcoholism is real and an untold number of people going through forced detox would have been a huge public health crisis.

I didn't particularly care for the fact that big-box stores could stay open because they sold food, but their competitors that sold clothing, shoes, and the like had to remain closed.

For states that have recreational use but not specified medicinal, how were the weed stores handled?

I don't think there's any such thing as a state that permits recreational use and not medicinal use. 

[kalvado]

Regarding weed being categorized as essential during government-ordered shutdowns: Kentucky doesn't have medicinal so obviously that wasn't an issue here. But liquor stores were declared essential when the closures were ordered last year, and that angered a whole lot of people. They were not very happy that selling booze was considered essential, but selling clothing or shoes or other items wasn't. And I can't say that I disagree.

I agree that the optics weren't great, but they were essential because alcoholism is real and an untold number of people going through forced detox would have been a huge public health crisis.

I didn't particularly care for the fact that big-box stores could stay open because they sold food, but their competitors that sold clothing, shoes, and the like had to remain closed.

For states that have recreational use but not specified medicinal, how were the weed stores handled?

I don't think there's any such thing as a state that permits recreational use and not medicinal use.

With lots of people staying at home, demand for shoes and clothing likely plummeted anyway.
With lots of stress, though, demand of relaxants - such as alcohol or weed - likely increased big time.
So it makes some sense.

[Dirt Roads]

There's a company that advertises a portable unit that can purify and concentrate atmospheric oxygen for those who are otherwise dependent on portable tanks when they're out and about. Wonder why the same couldn't be done for atmospheric CO₂?

They do make CO₂ scrubbers, and there is one version that compresses all of the carbon into a hardened graphite.  I believe that they tried to sell this to politicians as "making diamonds from air", which is technically possible but not practicable.  Anyhow, these machines are very large and still require a lot of electricity.  By the way, CO₂ scrubbers are an essential part of space flight and exploration.

[hbelkins]

Regarding weed being categorized as essential during government-ordered shutdowns: Kentucky doesn't have medicinal so obviously that wasn't an issue here. But liquor stores were declared essential when the closures were ordered last year, and that angered a whole lot of people. They were not very happy that selling booze was considered essential, but selling clothing or shoes or other items wasn't. And I can't say that I disagree.

I agree that the optics weren't great, but they were essential because alcoholism is real and an untold number of people going through forced detox would have been a huge public health crisis.

I didn't particularly care for the fact that big-box stores could stay open because they sold food, but their competitors that sold clothing, shoes, and the like had to remain closed.

The "forced detox" argument was made, but you pointed out the solution to that inadvertently in your comment about big-box stores being able to stay open precisely because they sold food, hardware items, health and beauty aids, and other essential items. Many (most) of them sell alcoholic beverages as well, as do convenience stores.

There were controversies in a couple of states where general merchandise stores were required to rope off certain departments and not sell items contained therein. Vermont and Michigan may have been two of them. Seems like I remember a brouhaha in Michigan because stores weren't allowed to sell garden seeds. That got a lot of people upset because they wanted to grow produce to have food in case of supply chain shortages.

Someone upthread mentioned Lunchables. Gray Television actually moved a story this morning on its social media networks about the shortage.

[abefroman329]

The "forced detox" argument was made, but you pointed out the solution to that inadvertently in your comment about big-box stores being able to stay open precisely because they sold food, hardware items, health and beauty aids, and other essential items. Many (most) of them sell alcoholic beverages as well, as do convenience stores.

This is far from universal; in fact, I doubt there are two states that have the same standards on where beer, wine, and liquor can be sold.

There are also a number of liquor stores, all over the country, in urban and suburban areas, where the liquor store doubles as the convenience store, at least in terms of selling snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

[abefroman329]

With lots of people staying at home, demand for shoes and clothing likely plummeted anyway.

For work apparel, maybe - but I've bought a number of clothing items and shoes because there was no need to wear my office-appropriate clothing, but I needed more work-from-home-appropriate clothing.

[kalvado]

With lots of people staying at home, demand for shoes and clothing likely plummeted anyway.

For work apparel, maybe - but I've bought a number of clothing items and shoes because there was no need to wear my office-appropriate clothing, but I needed more work-from-home-appropriate clothing.

I guess idea was that you already have something to wear at home, and washing it a bit more often would be an acceptable solution.
Remember - everyone was scared to death last fall, with NYC pining bodies in refrigeration trailers and dumping into mass graves.
It wasn't about "nice to have", it was about "must have". US didn't go to the extent other places did, with assigned grocery shopping dates and massive curfews - but that was probably planned for at that time.

[hbelkins]

With lots of people staying at home, demand for shoes and clothing likely plummeted anyway.

For work apparel, maybe - but I've bought a number of clothing items and shoes because there was no need to wear my office-appropriate clothing, but I needed more work-from-home-appropriate clothing.

I guess idea was that you already have something to wear at home, and washing it a bit more often would be an acceptable solution.
Remember - everyone was scared to death last fall, with NYC pining bodies in refrigeration trailers and dumping into mass graves.
It wasn't about "nice to have", it was about "must have". US didn't go to the extent other places did, with assigned grocery shopping dates and massive curfews - but that was probably planned for at that time.

People got dressed to work from home? 

If I had a videoconference or had to do a Zoom or FaceTime television interview, I wore a work-appropriate shirt (usually a polo, sometimes one with the agency logo) but my lower half was clothed in either gym shorts or sweats. My wife used to take a picture of me at my setup with a work shirt on and extremely work-inappropriate causal pants/shorts to send to her sister and mother.

As for shopping limitations, the US federal government is not set up to have the ability to impose many of the restrictions that other nations did. The federal government could not order closures, universal masking, or stay-home edicts -- and that, to me, is one of the pluses of our system of government. It was up to the individual states to order business closures according to their own determinations. I was opposed to all mandated closures and masking, and remain so, but at least it wasn't an overarching federal decision.

Some localities in Kentucky took it farther in their executive orders and mandated that only one person per household could enter a store to shop unless the person had a verifiable need for assistance.

[abefroman329]

As for shopping limitations, the US federal government is not set up to have the ability to impose many of the restrictions that other nations did.

Perhaps in the case of a disease with a much higher fatality rate.

The federal government could not order closures, universal masking, or stay-home edicts

They can at federal facilities such as courthouses.  They also have the power, through the DOT, to require masks on modes of transportation that cross state lines.

It was up to the individual states to order business closures according to their own determinations.

.

Right, and businesses were free to implement policies that went beyond state and local requirements.  Here in Illinois, decisions on closures, mask requirements, capacity restrictions, etc. were to be made at the statewide level, but rural areas pitched a fit, thinking it was a disease that only affected "those people" in cities, so the governor agreed to split the state into regions and make decisions at that level.

Guess which regions had the highest positivity rates for COVID - and which ones are dealing with ICUs at capacity.

I was opposed to all mandated closures and masking, and remain so, but at least it wasn't an overarching federal decision.

I wasn't - and I was (and am) disgusted by so many of my fellow countrymen who acted like petulant children when asked to wear a mask or get vaccinated.  Particularly the ones who have the audacity to call themselves Christians.

[Scott5114]

Some localities in Kentucky took it farther in their executive orders and mandated that only one person per household could enter a store to shop unless the person had a verifiable need for assistance.

That sounds nice. Nothing more annoying than when you're trying to buy groceries and encounter a gaggle consisting of one person actually putting things in the cart and their entourage of five hangers-on not actually contributing anything to the transaction, at least one of which is above the age of 400 and is thus outpaced by a glacier, and at least two kids which aren't looking anywhere they're going and herky-jerk their way down the aisle and dive in front of your cart for no reason because they're chasing an imaginary bug or something.

[kalvado]

People got dressed to work from home? 

If I had a videoconference or had to do a Zoom or FaceTime television interview, I wore a work-appropriate shirt (usually a polo, sometimes one with the agency logo) but my lower half was clothed in either gym shorts or sweats. My wife used to take a picture of me at my setup with a work shirt on and extremely work-inappropriate causal pants/shorts to send to her sister and mother.

At least you're wearing those pants. There were couple of videos showing people inadvertently demonstrating on camera that they didn't bother to put any bottoms...
My personal best was zoom'ing in this t-shirt:
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/i-need-a-vacation?ref=cnt_ctlg_dgn_0

[formulanone]

I was lucky enough to buy new clothing just pre-pandemic, but lost enough weight over the next few months, just in time when you could buy clothes again (though without trying things on). I'd worn the same size for years, so it was a little easier just getting the same brands, but down a size.

My company also created a work-shirt policy (with their logo) because a lot of folks couldn't get new shirts so easily; so a supplier helped by mailing them out to our homes. That also eased the situation.

Unlike some folks, I still like to wear pants (or shorts in the summer months), when I work from home. The dog still needs to be let outside, I might take a quick stroll, and I might have to run an errand. I'm not as used to staying in an office for 8-10 hours, without the ability to get some fresh air several times a day. I'm not going to be That Guy on the Zoom call.

I think the headcount limits for retail lasted just a few weeks around here; though I ran into a few places outside Huntsville which still had capacity limits, usually shopping after 6-7pm made it of no consequence. We took a vacation in June and there were ridiculous lines for a mall outside Seattle; but I'd promised my daughter some clothing and they only allowed 5-6 patrons per store (some were less, based on square footage).

[hbelkins]

People got dressed to work from home? 

If I had a videoconference or had to do a Zoom or FaceTime television interview, I wore a work-appropriate shirt (usually a polo, sometimes one with the agency logo) but my lower half was clothed in either gym shorts or sweats. My wife used to take a picture of me at my setup with a work shirt on and extremely work-inappropriate causal pants/shorts to send to her sister and mother.

At least you're wearing those pants. There were couple of videos showing people inadvertently demonstrating on camera that they didn't bother to put any bottoms...
My personal best was zoom'ing in this t-shirt:
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/i-need-a-vacation?ref=cnt_ctlg_dgn_0

And then there was Toobin... 

I was lucky enough to buy new clothing just pre-pandemic, but lost enough weight over the next few months, just in time when you could buy clothes again (though without trying things on). I'd worn the same size for years, so it was a little easier just getting the same brands, but down a size.

I lost 60 pounds in 2019. My work pants were falling off of me, even cinched up with a belt. I was planning to go on a search for new slacks last spring just as the closures came down. It probably ended up saving me some money, as I had a thyroid go wonky last year and I put that weight back on. Now my old clothes fit again.

[Roadgeekteen]

Is this why the Berkshire Commons never has chocolate milk? Or why the Worcester grab and go never has any bags?

[hbelkins]

Is this why the Berkshire Commons never has chocolate milk? Or why the Worcester grab and go never has any bags?

A popular area restaurant recently stated they are expecting supply problems of their food boxes (they are a dairy bar-type eatery with walk-up windows, and a small outdoor picnic area, but most everyone eats in the car or takes their food home). They said they expected to have trouble getting boxes for their sandwiches until next spring.

They also mentioned a shortage of onion rings.

[LM117]

Some localities in Kentucky took it farther in their executive orders and mandated that only one person per household could enter a store to shop unless the person had a verifiable need for assistance.

That sounds nice. Nothing more annoying than when you're trying to buy groceries and encounter a gaggle consisting of one person actually putting things in the cart and their entourage of five hangers-on not actually contributing anything to the transaction, at least one of which is above the age of 400 and is thus outpaced by a glacier, and at least two kids which aren't looking anywhere they're going and herky-jerk their way down the aisle and dive in front of your cart for no reason because they're chasing an imaginary bug or something.

https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlyspecific/

[ZLoth]

And now, a "major" toy shortage will affect holiday shopping .

[Bruce]

And now, a "major" toy shortage will affect holiday shopping .

This is probably a good thing given how many toys end up in landfills. Save that plastic for essential uses.

[vdeane]

And now, a "major" toy shortage will affect holiday shopping .

This is probably a good thing given how many toys end up in landfills. Save that plastic for essential uses.

Tell that to the kids who will think that the Grinch stole Christmas.