As with any other type of business, being a part of the Cannabis Retail Industry has its perks and dangers. Gain an understanding of salient reasons why you should consider getting a comprehensive security program if you’re a Cannabis Retailer.
Cannabis use is now commonplace in many states across the U.S.A — a more positive shift from the difficult times when anyone caught using cannabis would have the unfortunate experience of learning what the inside of a jail cell looks like.
As a matter of fact, President Biden just recently took the decriminalization process for cannabis use up to the federal level when he granted executive pardons to all persons convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law.
Currently, the medical use of cannabis is permitted in thirty-seven states; recreational use is allowed in nineteen states; the decriminalization process is done and dusted in twelve states; more than half of cannabis users nationwide have increased their consumption since the pandemic, leading to states earning over a $3.7 billion boost from taxing recreational cannabis use in 2021, and the medical and recreational use market capitalization is projected to hit $33 billion by the end of 2022.
These only mean one thing — there’s an active market with a high demand surge for cannabis use; high demand breeds high supply and a ton of business profit.
So if you’re a cannabis retailer, you’re definitely pooling your resources within the market to make a substantial profit over time; who wouldn’t? However, there’s always a problem many cannabis retailers fail to address effectively — Security.
Despite the lucrative nature of the cannabis industry, many retailers do not possess adequate security programs to protect their physical well-being and business.
When that happens to be the case, these retailers are left vulnerable to all sorts of attacks ranging from theft to physical and cyber attacks, which spell doom for their businesses that run on efficiency and the fuel of customer satisfaction.
So if you’re a cannabis retailer considering whether you need adequate protection or not, here are twelve reasons spelling out the advantages and benefits of having a security program in place for your protection and the safety of your business:
Physical Protection of your Merchandise and Staff
As mentioned earlier, there’s a surge in demand for cannabis, which means higher production and retail capacities for most dealers. However, this upsurge comes with an associated cost — it makes your business prone to increased and more advanced attacks.
Opting for a security protection program is a precautionary and preventive measure that will help protect your retail business and its profitability. If you fail to obtain security protection for your cannabis retail business, your business becomes increasingly vulnerable to physical attacks from business rivals or criminals, and that can cause a decline in customer confidence regarding your sustainability and, in the long run, a decline in the patronage you get.
As a retailer, you should factor armed security into your business operations to protect your assets and staff and boost customer confidence in your seamless operations.
Prevention of theft from Growth Facilities
Some retailers own their cannabis strain production facilities; if you happen to be one of such retailers, you may need to rethink the absence of security on your farms, especially when you grow cannabis in commercial quantities.
An unguarded growth facility gifts opportunities for criminals to ransack the place for supplies they can sell to unsuspecting buyers. In protecting your production facility and your product, a robust security program would see that you have armed protection at your facility and high-quality security equipment to boot, like fireproof doors, CCTV cameras, etc.
Vulnerability Assessment
This doubles as due diligence. You can’t own a dispensary and leave everything to fate; that’s not good enough. As a cannabis retailer, you’ll need a good security outfit that can help you identify possible flaws in your security strategies and design countermeasures to risks and threats that could affect the safety of your assets.
A security program will also help you stay in sync with local guidelines and regulations for different reasons, bearing in mind that pot is not legal everywhere in the U.S. One such reason is your ability to seamlessly trade interstate or even on an international scale. You won’t be able to make informed decisions in such trade situations if you’re not aware of the legality or illegality of pot in a particular region and what other laws guide pot use in these regions.
Having a security program responsible for researching and finding solutions to problems with logistics that can affect your business reputation and sustenance is the best way to handle this sort of recurring hitch.
Surveillance
A security program gives a cannabis retailer the capacity to know what goes on at their business premises, when they’re present or not. In other words, having a security program enables you to survey your business operations effectively, in a more advanced form, and in line with standard regulatory practice.
Essentially, every state where cannabis is legalized mandates retailers to install CCTV surveillance in their workstations.
Data Protection
Operating a retail dispensary means you have access to client data, particularly data on people who come in to obtain marijuana for medical use, and in recent times, cyber attackers have become more particular about getting information about patients — information that they call sell on dark web forums and make money off.
A good security program can help prevent such unfortunate occurrences from ever taking place.
Staff enlightenment on potential attacks
Phishing attacks have become one of the most popular types of attacks on businesses for a while now, and the emerging pot retail business is no exception.
For instance, your staff could get a mail telling them to download and upgrade the operating system of their workplace gadget. Once they oblige, malware gets automatically installed into their computers, making confidential information vulnerable to theft.
To prevent such cases that would require you to suffer financial losses to get the information back, you would need a comprehensive security program that keeps you and those who work for you aware of the dangers you may encounter while working digitally.
Preventing Ransomware Attacks
The cannabis retail industry is now targeted by cybercriminals who execute sophisticated heists on sensitive company information and shut down businesses altogether. When such sensitive information is captured, the cannabis retailer is left at the mercy of these ransomware attackers, and eventually, you’d have to make ransom payments to get the information back.
Having a security program in place can ensure the safety of these sensitive information, like your business secrets and operations.
Cash Conveyance
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, where it’s still classified as a controlled substance. For this reason, banks are often caught in a dilemma regarding offering services to cannabis-related businesses.
This means that sometimes, retailers may have to deal with hard cash and the challenge of transporting their money to safe locations.
As mentioned earlier, a security program will ensure the protection of your business assets, including your money. When you have a security program, you can rest assured that your money will be handled with care and won’t be stolen by criminals.
Eliminating Possibilities of Cyber Extortion
A data compromise can spiral into challenges that spell doom for a retailer’s business. For context, if your data is hacked, it provides cybercriminals with access to your client database, which can lead to cyber extortion.
But when you hire security services, you can prevent such from ever happening since you’d be able to work with cybersecurity specialists capable of foiling any possibilities of such cyberattacks.
Personal protection
Finally, your safety is of the utmost importance. Everyone knows how profitable the cannabis retail industry is, which could put a target on your back as a retailer, especially if you’re successful. An easy way to get eyes off you would be to employ personal protection. With a security program, you can plan how you’ll be protected while moving from one destination to the next and have the freedom to go about your daily operations without any bother.
If you want an adequate security program for your establishment, contact us at Security Pro today. We’re in the business of researching the best professionals in the field of security and protection that you can be connected with to create a program that will address your peculiar security needs.
Book a free consultation with us, or contact us now to get started.