How to Write the Perfect Dispensary Security Plan

Applying for a dispensary requires a prospective dispensary ownership group to develop plans for securing their cash, product, employees, and customers. The security plan is one of the most scrutinized aspects of your entire application; your security plan could win or cost you the license. The government wants to know every last detail about what you’re doing to ensure public safety and compliance with state regulation.  For hands-on guidance, Cannaspire’s Cannabis consultants work with operators at every stage.

Depending upon the state, successful security plans we have seen are separated into three categories: an introduction, a section describing facility security, and one for operational security. To ensure your security plan is one that will score you points, follow the checklist below. 

Introduction

In this section, you will clarify that you are going to layout an all-inclusive security plan that meets the requirements of the department responsible for scoring your application. 

Next, you should introduce the security agent or agency that will be implemented into your plan. This is one of the more important aspects of your security plan. Choosing the right security partner (agent or agency) who has the technical ability along with detailed physical experience within commercial cannabis security is vital. 

Finally, explain how you have physically organized the plan. If you follow this 3 section layout, share that you have broken down the plan into three steps, the introduction, the facility security, and the operational security details. If you are not following this outline, describe how your plan will be set up.

Facility Security

This is where the development of the security plan can become difficult. In this section, you will describe the exact location and design of your dispensary, as well as all security measures, equipment use, and implementation. Below are the following topics you must clarify within your facility security plan. 

Physical Security

• Provide your physical address. Describe your property, the neighborhood and its culture detail. 
• Include a site plan and a floor plan that show a layout of your facility’s security features and where they are located on the property.
• Give detailed descriptions of all lights on the property, their location, and what function each light serves in the overall security plan.
• Provide a detailed account of the company employing security guards to your facility – detail screening procedures as well as the duties of each guard.
• Explain all components of your perimeter security, including specs of fences, doors, walls, etc.
• Give a detailed account of how authorized staff and guests will access your facility. Include specifics on everything from parking, entrances, and exits to keycards & passcode, deliveries, how visitors will be navigating the building and the process taken to verify the identification of guests and employees.
• Detail procedures for other site visitors other than patients and caregivers such as law enforcement officers, first-responders, political officials, and members of the media.
• Explain how movement throughout facility access points will be monitored or controlled.

Electronic Security System

• Provide detailed information about your video surveillance equipment and its function.
• Justify how break-ins and motion sensors will be used and monitored.
• Explain your emergency alarm system and its features, testing, and maintenance, protocols, and procedures.

Policies and Procedures for Facility Security

• Give detailed accounts of how emergencies, breaches, and other incidents will be managed. Be creative and think of those “what if” situations, those are the ones you want to cover.
• Present policy for training your staff to respond to emergencies.
• Explain the process for notifying authorities and maintaining your own record of these incidents.
• Describe the procedures for opening and closing the dispensary.
• Define any and all measures taken to prevent theft and diversion. Include storage safes, cages, locks as well as the location of all products, and purchasing procedures.
• Explain how you plan to prevent on-site consumption.
• Tell how suspicious activity and loitering will be reported and managed.

Operational Security

In this section, your goal is to prove that your daily operations and management support the physical security measures. Here you will convey how you will vet prospective employees, train staff, and maintain records.

Workforce Security

• Outline staffing procedures. Detail your entire staffing process by explaining how you plan to advertise the positions, run background checks, interviews, etc. 
• For hired staff, define what training and drills are required to ensure employees are proficient with procedures for product safety, patient registration, crime prevention, and emergency responses. 
• Explain how you will ensure patient records remain private and confidential.
• Explain how you will measure your staff’s competency of security and how often these evaluations will take place.
• Cover how you plan to take and store personnel records of both employees and customers.

Inventory Security

• Detail your transaction procedures and provide your Inventory Control and Tracking Plan. Define the point of purchase software you will implement. 
• Give a detailed description of your product storage system and what equipment you will use for safes, sprinkler systems, and the storage area.
• Provide an extensive outline of the transportation procedures. Include details about tracking, truck security (is it bullet-proof and is the transporter armed?), and how deliveries will be protected. Additionally,  describe how your transport process will protect both the people and product involved. 
• You need to have a specific plan for the disposal and recording keeping of unused, surplus, lost, or stolen products.
• Describe your procedures for your meticulous record-keeping system. What will it look like, and how will you maintain it?

Information Systems Security

• Describe what measures you will implement to keep your data and information systems secure. Include procedures for virus protection and digital breaches. 
• Be thorough about how your patient’s health records are kept secure in your systems.
• Include relevant and necessary forms that detail your data security.

Applying for a license is a painstaking task. Hopefully, we have relieved some of your anxieties with our security plan checklist. If you are also wondering how to open a dispensary, use our full guide on how to open a dispensary that walks you through the full process.

If you’re looking for assistance from professionals who have completed successful, regulator-reviewed security plans and contributed to winning applications, explore our Cannabis Security Plan services or contact us to discuss your project Once licensed, lean on our cannabis compliance consultants to keep operations audit-ready.