At the moment, the cannabis industry is enjoying massive success. It’s expected that the US legal cannabis market will surpass $40 billion in sales by 2026.
Going by such figures, it’s safe to say that cannabis dispensaries across the country are making a killing. Unfortunately, dispensaries are new and lucrative businesses, and that makes them vulnerable in many ways.
Securing your dispensary should not be an option. This post will show you five of the best ways to keep your dispensary business safe.
1. Choose Your Location Wisely
Location matters in any business venture as it can make or break your business. When it comes to opening a dispensary, things are even more complicated.
Cannabis laws are determined by each state, which means your choice of location is affected by state laws. Therefore you’ll need to keep the regulations in mind and look for a compliant property.
At the same time, you want to make sure the property is located in a safe neighborhood where chances of trouble are minimal.
2. Strengthen Cybersecurity
When running a dispensary, it’s easy to ignore cyber threats because it’s just a distribution shop and not a big company location. However, statistics show that small and medium businesses are huge cybercrime targets.
Cybersecurity risks have become a big concern for businesses, and the future doesn’t look good either. It’s expected that global cybersecurity threats will cost businesses over $5 trillion in just five years.
What makes these risks challenging to overcome is technology. As important as tech advancements are, they also open new opportunities for criminals to target unprepared businesses.
Dispensary management should come up with strong measures to fight cyber threats. It begins with creating a cybersecurity program that protects the business’ online systems from breaches.
3. Enforce Workplace Policies
Your business can’t be safe if you’re not prepared to address online risks, human-related risks, and natural risks like a fire or bad weather.
It’s best to adopt the attitude that anything can happen at any time and come up with safety procedures that your employees can follow to prevent or limit damages.
Offer some form of training or policy guide that teaches your staff how to react to certain scenarios. Make sure everyone’s role is clear and that they’re fully responsible for the part they play. You don’t want a situation like a cashier leaving their section to attend to another task.
4. Hire Security Officers
Besides cyber threats, dispensaries across the country are just as vulnerable, if not more, to physical security risks. These outlets usually serve a vast area, with hundreds of people passing through daily. There’s no telling who’s there to make purchases and who’s not.
The issue of payments is also another source of vulnerability for dispensaries. Strict laws have excluded banks and credit card companies from participating in the industry, which means transactions are cash-only.
As a dispensary owner, you should prioritize setting up a security system with cameras, automatic doors, alarms, and a trained security guard. Bring in one or two officers to inspect customers and ensure the safety of your business.
Depending on the crime rate in your state, you may have to decide between armed and unarmed guards.
For instance, a high-crime state like California with only about 820 cannabis dispensaries makes it reasonable to hire armed security guards. Check out this page for more info on how to go about it.
5. Insure Your Business
You may want to protect your business by getting proper insurance covers. It may not seem like the most urgent move, but it’s the only effective way of ensuring the survival of your business when something happens.
Remember, you can’t protect against everything. Sometimes the worst happens, even to the highly prepared Fortune 500 companies.
Things like theft, employee negligence, hacking attacks, and natural disasters can cause irreversible damages. A good insurance cover cushions your business against these problems.
Conclusion
For most businesses, safety is a big subject. There are different angles to it, and you’ll need to analyze many things.
Your cannabis dispensary may be a risky business when you consider different factors. Still, there are many ways to safeguard it. The tips we’ve mentioned are effective, but most of all, observe your environment and find out what works best for your dispensary business.
