From lock-up to lock-down: the new age of cannabis security

For well over 20 years D.A.T.A Management & Consulting LLC (Drug Abuse Training & Awareness) has been providing undercover narcotics investigations across this nation for corporations struggling with internal drug problems. As the push for the legalization of cannabis began gaining steam in the early 90's, DATA began a concerted effort to watch its movement and how we should as a company respond.

Once California citizens responded with a resounding yes to medical marijuana in 1996, we knew the trend would grow and gain momentum in other states. DATA has always had a Protective Services Division that specialized in high value articles for protection and wanted to address this head on. We followed and studied the laws of every state that had medical marijuana on the books and began an aggressive program to provide security for the medical marijuana industry.

By the end of the decade, Alaska, Maine, Oregon, and Washington had followed suit. Since 2000, they have been joined by Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This created a new ancillary business; cannabis security.

Today, special dispensary, process and cultivation operations in these geographic areas, which have approved cannabis for medicinal purposes, are the only legal entities where citizens can gain access to cannabis after receiving a prescription from a physician. These outlets face security challenges from individuals who do not hold legal cannabis prescriptions but want to have access to cannabis. And as we have seen, some of the opposition comes directly from those that are directly employed at those operations in the form of diversion. Specific areas of your facility require heightened security measures to protect high-risk product, and cash to meet security measures required by state regulatory agencies.

Many of these new cannabis dispensary, process and cultivation businesses are just organizing their operations and identifying their security needs. Each operation has its own separate security needs based on its design and purpose.

In actuality, cannabis security is very complex, and on par with security needs of banks, laboratories, and other facilities, which must guard high volumes of cash or sensitive products or information. Since medical cannabis security is a brand-new field, dispensaries, process and cultivation operations should seek advice and solutions from a proven cannabis security expert. Our DATA Protective Services Training Academy provides a 40-hour cannabis training class for all our officers working in the cannabis industry. We teach each officer state medical cannabis law, state sign in procedures , state identification procedures, threat deterrence, robbery suppression, risk mitigation, patient confidentiality (HIPPA) as well as diversion and customer service to name a few.

DATA Officers learn the language, the culture, the product, the patients and new patients and greet them as all medical patients should be greeted, with care, patience and dignity. DATA officers become a part of the landscape giving patients and employees a secure environment without it being overwhelming to those entering the premises.

As a trusted cannabis security solution provider, DATA Protective Services Cannabis Security Division brings over 20 years of deep undercover drug investigative and security know-how to the emergent medical cannabis industry. We have the solutions you need to protect against a physical break-in or worse employee diversion at your facility and virtual security compromise over your information networks.

DATA Protective Services Cannabis Security Division has been at the forefront of the medical cannabis industry from the very inception. Unlike other security companies jumping into the business, DATA has researched and developed security processes and procedures which have been industry proven for dispensary, process and cultivation operations. As the industry has grown and flourished, DATA has become nimble in its ability to write State Operation Procedures (SOP’s) for state licenses, and provide full custom security procedures for dispensary, process and cultivation operations.

 DATA offers a comprehensive suite of security products, such as  transportation and logistics, access control and closed-circuit television (CCTV) to safeguard your facility, along with IT integration to protect your information assets.

From the inception of your business plans, to the construction of your cannabis operation, to the inspection process, and finally to the seed to sell process DATA Protective Services Cannabis Division is your business partner. We walk through the entire process side by side with you. Whatever your security needs DATA Protective Services Cannabis Security Division stands ready and available to meet your security needs.

Call for us for a free consultation at 301.420.4171 Office | [email protected]