There are three things in business you should never do:

1. Be your own doctor
2. Be your own lawyer
3. Write your own State Cannabis Application

Having been involved in the cannabis industry the last few years, I have seen many businesses and entrepreneurs who have a strong desire to get into this industry. Some want to own cultivation centers and grow marijuana, others want to run a dispensary and sell the marijuana, and then there is another more ambitious group who wants to do both. I think this is great and I encourage all to get involved in this growing and ever-changing industry.

But before you buy your cannabis equipment and hire a staff, you will first need for your state to give you a license. In order to get this license, you will need to apply to the state for review and approval. Your application can range from 300 to 2,000 pages and will cover a wide range of operational programs, including a well-defined security plan.

The primary purpose of a cannabis security plan is to provide a safe and secure environment for your employees, patients and visitors. Your security plan will cover facility security, security surveillance, product security, and policies & procedures.

Just like a doctor who specializes in a disease or a lawyer who only deals in certain types of the law, you want to make sure the person or company
who writes your application has written previous cannabis state applications. This is not the time to give a lawyer or accountant friend, ex-DEA agent, or a retired police chief the chance to learn how to write a cannabis application. Remember, you may only get one chance at a cannabis license and the state regulatory agencies are not very forgiving when it comes to incomplete or poorly written cannabis applications.

So make sure your cannabis application is the best it can be and look for a professional who specializes in this type of application writing.

I wish you the best of luck in this new and exciting industry.

Watch this YouTube video of Tony Gallo from Sapphire Protection speaking about security at CannaStock on September 26, 2014.

Tony Gallo is the Senior Director of Sapphire Protection (www.sapphireprotection.com) with over 30 years in the Loss Prevention, Audit, Safety, and Risk/Emergency Management fields. Tony has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from New Jersey City University and is a member of Americans for Safe Access and National Cannabis Industry Association. Tony is considered one of the leading authorities in cannabis and financial loan service, retail loss prevention, and security. Contact Tony at tony@sapphireprotection.com and follow him on Twitter at @SapphireProtect.