5 Safety and Security Measures You Need In Your Cannabis Business

Your Cannabis facility has a lot of moving parts and pieces, especially having to do with Compliant practices. Since staying compliant will keep your business doors open and money in your pocket, it’s important for dispensary management to know the best practices for equipping your facility with everything Inspectors and Auditors are looking for.

In the Ask The Regulator* podcast episode “Safety and Security In Your Cannabis Business”, hosts Kady Cravens and Tom Mohan discussed everything from premises diagrams to security training for cannabis product deliveries.

In this article, we are breaking down the main points of the “Safety and Security In Your Cannabis Business” episode and discuss 5 safety and security measures you need in your Cannabis business which are:

Have A Thorough Premises Diagram For Security Purposes
Conduct Thorough Background Checks
Plan For and Train Your Employees for All Emergencies
Know How To Report Every Incident
Have An SOP For Every Safety and Security Measure

Be sure to check out the full episode for a more detailed conversation and tips concerning safety and security in your Cannabis business.

Your Compliance Experts

Before we jump into it, meet Kady Cravens and Tom Mohan, the hosts of Ask The Regulator podcast.

Kady’s extensive background in all facility types allowed her to become an expert in Compliance, employee training, and SOPs, helping many startups and existing Cannabis companies with compliance and dispensary management operating procedures.

She is the founder and CEO of BuildMySOP.com, helping businesses streamline and document their processes and job roles effectively and manage their teams more efficiently.

Tom Mohan most recently worked for the State of Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) for seven years, and has a background in public safety for over 30 years. He has conducted thousands of marijuana compliance inspections and audits and was responsible for planning, developing, and implementing all inspection activities by MED Field Investigators.

Tom now helps facilities with their compliance as the VP of Regulatory Affairs with BuildMySOP.com and is well known for his ability to maintain collaborative working relationships with cannabis industry leaders and internal and external stakeholders in resolving regulatory and compliance issues.

Safety & Security Measures You Need In Your Cannabis Business

HAVE A THOROUGH PREMISES DIAGRAM FOR SECURITY PURPOSES

Your Cannabis business can’t exist without a license and that license states the area in which you can carry and/or sell marijuana. A premises diagram is intended for security and compliance purposes and is used as a guide to demonstrate where the licensed premises of the business area lies.

On the premises diagram, it is important to have each of the following areas outlined and labeled: licensed premises, restricted access areas, and limited access areas.

This can be confusing for some Cannabis business owners that operate in shared building spaces, have a multiple-level business unit, or share a parking lot or bathroom with other businesses where areas might seem unclear on their access status.

So let’s clarify what each premises area means.

Licensed Premise

The entire business area and neighboring businesses can be mapped out, but you must specify the licensed premises which is the area that you control as the licensee.

In other words, if your business is located in a strip mall or other shared space units, the diagram can show more than only your licensed business area, but you must label each area according to its type.

The licensed area is what matters the most on the premises diagrams because it outlines where the controlled substance is allowed to be and where it is not.

Things to consider are stairwells and bathrooms. Are these areas part of your licensed premises? If it is part of the licensed premises, you must label that area as being either a ‘restricted area’ or a ‘limited access area’.

It is a major violation to enter a non-licensed premises with a controlled substance and this can become tricky when looking at businesses that share common areas with neighboring businesses such as stairwells and hallways.

If the Cannabis product needs to be moved from the ground level to the upper level of the business but the stairwell is not part of the licensed premises, then a violation is occurring when moving the product.

Certain jurisdictions require that owners have licensed control over a bathroom or hallway for employees and customers in order to avoid issues like moving controlled substances through unlicensed areas.

Restricted Access Area

Areas within the licensed premises can be labeled as ‘restricted access areas’, which means that the area is restricted to patients and customers of the business only.

Depending on the jurisdiction, this is typically where only customers over 21 with a medical card are allowed access as it is the area where marijuana is displayed and can be purchased.

Limited Access Area

Areas with limited access are those where only a certain number of people are allowed to have access, and are usually restricted to employees, badged personnel, and licensed professionals or agents.

These areas might include labeling and packaging areas, and anywhere where customers are restricted from going.

Non-Limited Access Area

These areas are controlled by the licensee but are not within the ‘limited access area’ or the ‘restricted areas’. Oftentimes this includes the entryway to the business where IDs are checked, a hallway, a bathroom, etc.

Security Camera Diagrams

Another diagram that you will need to supply for compliance purposes is a security camera diagram, and there are very specific guidelines for what needs to be included.

Most often, diagrams must include

where the camera is located
what direction it is facing
how much area the camera view covers
the labeled number of the camera

The number of the camera is important for efficiently accessing DVR footage. For example, if there is an incident and it is known which camera would have recorded the incident, then having the number labeled on the diagram allows for efficient access to its DVR.

Emergency Ingress and Egress Points Diagram

Emergency exit diagrams need to be posted by every door of the facility so that Fire Department and law enforcement have an accessible map to know the layout of the facility no matter where they enter.

These diagrams need to indicate exit routes, locations of doors, meeting points, fire escapes, lighting maps including parking lots, and camera maps.

Diagrams should be sized 11x17 using bright colors and bold lines. It’s recommended that additional signs be placed at knee level so that if there is a situation where people are crawling to escape, they still have a view of the diagram and all of the exits.

CONDUCT THOROUGH BACKGROUND CHECKS

For internal safety purposes, applicants must undergo employee background checks, and in some states, it is the owner’s responsibility to conduct them on their own.

Owners and managers need to look for any felony convictions, including drug felonies, that date back a certain number of years depending on the jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction has its own set of restrictions, and usually, misdemeanors are not a problem.

Owners should be looking for ‘good moral character’- people you can trust- and view anything in the background check like drug crimes, theft, and money laundering as red flags.

Remember, your employees are responsible to work with a federally illegal substance, so aligning with local and state compliance regulations is key to remaining in business. Hiring people you can trust to follow protocol and procedures is crucial.

PLAN FOR AND TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES FOR ALL EMERGENCIES

We say it in almost every article and podcast, but employee training is key to having a successful Cannabis business. And training for emergencies can be one of the most crucial forms of employee training that you can conduct.

Preparing employees for every possible emergency and practicing the procedures will help them to feel more confident and less panicked in the event that they need to evacuate or perform an emergency procedure.

Robberies

You can actually help to equip your business to prevent robberies from occurring by not making your facility, delivery transport, or employees an easy target.

Robberies usually occur when the perpetrator sees an opportunity and knows the routine and schedule of the deliveries. Being aware of their surroundings and not being negligent can keep employees safe.

When conducting a delivery, safety precautions should include being mindful of lighting, having extra staff on hand, alternating the vehicle, and planning the delivery in advance but changing the days and times so there isn’t a routine that can be detected.

Being aware of the surroundings, the people, and the behavior of the people can save lives. If a robbery does occur, employees should be trained to hand over the product or money, and never try to stop the robbery.

Fire or Emergency Evacuations

It is highly recommended that you schedule monthly training meetings for every employee to practice the emergency evacuation procedures.

Like when we were in grade school, the evacuation routines should be outlined on a checklist and drilled, a meeting point determined, and a head count conducted of every staff member that is on-site that day.

An SOP that lists every step of the evacuation is necessary, but the actual physical practice of each step is crucial in order to prevent panic and prepare for anything that might disrupt the evacuation process such as loss of power and light, or disorientation caused by loss of visibility.

Your SOPs should include frequent checks of fire extinguisher expiration dates, exit sign batteries, power outage light sources, and accessibility to all exit routes.

KNOW WHERE AND HOW TO REPORT EVERY INCIDENT

When an emergency incident occurs, it needs to be reported to the local law enforcement and regulatory enforcement divisions. First, call 911 and report the incident, then report to local law enforcement and regulatory enforcement divisions so that any patterns in incidents can be reported in the hopes of preventing future incidents from happening.

Each state and local law enforcement division has its own procedures for reporting incidents so follow their protocol. You may have to file reports with each division separately.

Be sure to notify your business neighbors and share as much information as you can including photos or videos of the suspect. Bringing awareness to the incident will help the likelihood of the perpetrator being caught.

HAVE AN SOP FOR EVERY SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURE

Standard Operating Procedures are designed to give your employees the step-by-step processes required to complete all tasks within the business.

Safety and security measures are no different, and everything that is required to maintain safety and security in your business needs to have an SOP.

Equipping your facility with safety and security measures requires the following key things

Organization
Awareness
Proactive training
Practice
Review frequently

Organization

Be prepared and thorough with your evacuation plans, your premises diagrams, camera locations, all safety and security equipment, etc.

Awareness

Be aware of your surroundings, have a plan in place, and follow the procedures according to plan.

Proactive Training

Train your employees thoroughly and take the training sessions seriously. They should be mandatory for all employees and SOPs should be signed off on when completed.

Training should also be carried out by experts who are passionate about what they are teaching so that their enthusiasm and knowledge boost the trainee`s confidence in their capabilities.

Practice

There is evidence of untrained employees panicking when an emergency situation occurs because it is an overwhelming and surprising situation.

Therefore, practicing every case scenario is reassuring for employees. Rather than simply reading the steps in the SOP, employees will feel better equipped and more confident in knowing what to do in an emergency situation by practicing the steps.

Review Frequently

It is recommended that training is done every month to go over the same safety and security procedures. Since there is a high turnover rate in the Cannabis industry, you will need to train frequently to ensure that every employee knows exactly what to do in case of an emergency.

NEXT STEPS

Paying attention to details and preparing your facility and employees for any and all possible emergency situations will ultimately position your business for a successful outcome, while also protecting your business, your employees, and your customers.

Get your free Audit Checklist to start equipping your facility with compliant SOPs and practices.

Get in touch with us today to find out how BuildMySOP.com can prepare your facility for success with customizable Standard Operating Procedure templates created specifically for the Cannabis industry.

For additional product and pricing information, visit our website.

BLOG