Due to the legal cannabis industry’s strict regulatory policy, all licensed facilities must create a cannabis security plan. This comprehensive document is sent to regulators detailing how cannabis businesses safeguard and protect their facilities.
It’s also a way of maintaining quality assurance and compliance. This affects licenses that cover cultivation or growing, distribution, production, and dispensary stores. Thus, if you need to hand in a security plan for your business, there are a few key important factors to feature in your report.
Here’s how to create a cannabis security plan for licensed facilities.
Commercial Locks And Alarm Systems
One of the main points to include in your security plan document is the physical security you have in place to protect your inventory. This is to prove to regulatory agencies that you have adequate technology, procedures, and measures set in place to safeguard your facility. Go into great detail about the types and brands of locks and alarm systems you have in place and the name of the security company that provides the door locks.
In some cases, this is required because some regulators only allow specific advanced lock technology for cannabis businesses. As for alarm systems, specify the type of alarms you have installed such as silent, motion detection, or those connected to law enforcement automatic dispatching. At the forefront of your cannabis security plan, be sure to mention where the alarm system is located and who has access to any codes and passwords to disarm or unlock it.
Special Access Restrictions
Access control is another aspect that regulators look for to prove that your facility is secure. Whether you’re growing cannabis in a greenhouse, a product factory, or a dispensary, every facility needs to be divided into sectioned-off areas where customers and personnel should have limited accessibility. This serves to establish special access restrictions within your facility.
Thus, you may indicate in your plan that customers and salespeople are only allowed in the shop, while the delivery staff is only permitted at the back doors, and growers only at the greenhouse. Meanwhile, for staff with the most access, such as security officers and managers, you should specify areas where they’re permitted and places they’re allowed only under specific circumstances. Describe the procedure for how each person is authorized, and how they access these areas, such as using key cards, fingerprint scanning, or any smart technology.
Full-Time Video Surveillance
Video surveillance is about proving you can safeguard your cannabis assets and showing how you monitor your facility, including personnel and customers. This concerns camera technology used, such as the frames per second it uses, resolution, angle width, infrared or smart technology, and any backup power to keep it operational at all times.
Also, describe how it works. For instance, if it’s digital 24/7 surveillance or real-time livestream, indicate where cameras are placed around the perimeter of your location, how many hours of footage is stored, and who checks footage for suspicious behavior and when. Include any diagrams or mapping images of your video surveillance, if you have any, to strengthen your case. Before you include this in your security plan document, be sure that your existing video surveillance meets the current requirements of state regulators.
Staff And Security Training
If your staff or security guards have undergone training, you should include this in your security plan and explain the protocol for security threats, such as burglary, intruder alerts, and trespassing. Another security measure is including background checks or employee vetting in your hiring procedure.
This is required by some state regulators to ensure that people with a criminal record don’t get employed in the cannabis industry. Furthermore, you should disclose the procedure for security training, and how you keep employees compliant with the rules. Include any disciplinary action that is laid out for staff who violate the rules, such as giving out unauthorized discounted orders or allowing customers into restricted areas.
Transportation Security
Transporting and delivering cannabis goods, as well as any earnings from your retail dispensary, is a high-risk activity. This is mainly because your main assets are leaving the safety of your secure facility. Since they’re vulnerable to criminal activity during transit, you must comply with transporting cannabis laws.
Therefore, for your cannabis security plan, you’ll have to showcase the elaborate details of what you have in place to defend your resources if need be. Make sure to mention the security requirements they’re looking for, such as bulletproof vans, armed guards, delivery logs, locked safe boxes to store the goods, tracking software within the vehicle, transit times, backdoor offloading, and transportation routes. Furthermore, describe the protocol in case of dangerous situations.
Conclusion
Creating a cannabis security plan for a licensed facility involves writing out a document that fully explains how you protect your assets. It should cover the technology you use, staff training, and access control.
Additionally, there should be a section dedicated to measures taken when security issues arise. A solid security plan will meet the requirements set out by regulators, allowing you to maintain your license in good standing.
