Security prime in budding pot trade
Price tag to meet state rules steep
Cameras with infrared technology, dome lenses that can provide 360-degree views of a room and hard drives that can store weeks of footage were pitched recently to prospective entrepreneurs in Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry.
The extent of surveillance technology is limited only by what someone is willing to pay, two salesmen said at a meeting of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association last week.
“Are they bulletproof, no. Can they be bulletproof, yes,” said one salesman about the options for security cameras.
People looking to enter the state’s medical marijuana industry, one of the first in the South, say security is a top concern that they raise with state regulators, who have imposed exacting standards to protect the future cultivation centers and dispensaries.
Among the requirements — which a group of lawmakers tentatively approved last month — is that facilities’ exterior doors be equipped with fingerprint-reading locks.
Facilities also must have surveillance cameras running 24/7, and an alarm system linked to police departments. The standards even dictate how tough it must be to crack into the vaults and safes where marijuana will be stored.
The cost just for the electronic security systems — safe not included — could be between $20,000 and $30,000 for the average dispensary, said Storm Nolan of Fort Smith, the co-founder of the Cannabis Industry Association.
Aside from the security system expenses, the state is requiring potential pot
businesses to pay five-figure licensing fees and has set hefty cash-on-hand requirements.
Nolan, his stepfather and brother are looking to open a dispensary and cultivation center. He called the security requirements “reasonable” and commended the state for listening to and heeding public feedback.
For example, he said, the state dropped an earlier proposal to require fingerprint locks on interior doors, after it was pointed out that workers would often be wearing gloves or have soiled hands.
Mary Robin Casteel, the interim director of state Alcoholic Beverage Control, helped draft the rules. She said a primary goal in setting the regulations was to contain the marijuana, which is illegal federally and in all the states
surrounding Arkansas.
That’s also a concern on the business side of the medical marijuana industry, Nolan said. He noted that dispensary owners do not want their product getting into the hands of black market competitors.
And there are other security concerns. Because federal law prohibits banks from working with marijuana-providing businesses, dispensaries rely heavily on cash — raising concerns about robbery.
In a series of seminars set up by the Cannabis Industry Association, a session Wednesday evening in Little Rock featured a team of salesmen discussing the security systems. It was hosted by Nolan, and about 30 people showed up.
“It’s one of everybody’s hot topics,” Nolan said. “The rules that were put forward by the ABC are pretty straightforward. It’s not that ambiguous.”
One of Wednesday night’s salesmen was Joey Howard of Progressive Technologies, a Sherwood cabling company. He said Friday that the specifications laid out by the state remind him of security systems installed in banks and prisons, which he called a positive sign.
“It will be a flagship for other states that are trying to pursue this,” he said.
To develop the state’s rules, Casteel said regulators looked to other states such as Oregon, Illinois and Colorado that have active pot industries.
A list of Oregon’s security rules is available on that state’s website.
In Illinois, a medical marijuana state, and Colorado, where recreational pot is legal, dispensaries must have extensive video surveillance and security alarm systems, their rulebooks available online show.
Both states have other rules that are similar to the ones Arkansas plans. For example, Illinois requires a state-approved
security plan, and Colorado specifies that door locks must be “commercial-grade.”
However, neither state requires biometric locks.
That Arkansas requirement seemed excessive to one prospective dispensary owner at Wednesday’s meeting. The Fort Smith businessman asked that his name not be used because he didn’t have permission from his partners to speak with the newspaper.
He said too many requirements could be a barrier for some people looking to enter the industry.
“At times, people act like we’re handling plutonium,” he said. “At the same time, I’d like to err on the side of caution, and I think that’s what anyone should have expected [in Arkansas].”
He and Nolan also expressed displeasure over a rule that any vehicle transporting medical marijuana must be staffed by two employees.
“At times, people act like we’re handling plutonium. At the same time, I’d like to err on the side of caution, and I think that’s what anyone should have expected [in Arkansas].”
— A Fort Smith businessman and prospective dispensary owner who asked not to be named
They said that would add unnecessary costs.
Casteel said the Medical Marijuana Commission had taken that into consideration and decided to set the requirement to help keep marijuana from leaving the state.
The Arkansas Legislative Council is expected to give final review to the rules for state medical marijuana operations later this month, Casteel said.
The commission plans to begin accepting applications for cultivation facilities and dispensaries June 30. The commissioners will begin reviewing the applications after the 90-day deadline in September.