Your state passed a cannabis legalization bill and licensing applications are underway! Hooray! Now, you’re gearing up to start your canna-business. With your business plans in-hand and your application sent in, the fee paid, there is nothing to do now but wait… or you can prepare. These 5 steps can help ensure your business is ready for a successful, stress-free opening day, and beyond.
Find Solid Employees
It’s important to look for candidates, if not expressly experienced in the cannabis industry already, to at least have transferable skills; anything from customer service to professional horticulture. It’s also helpful to look into the less-obvious employee options, as in, not just growers and budtenders.
Considering the amount of technology licensed cannabis operations requires, whether it’s maintaining your dispensary point of sale hardware, or ensuring your lights are properly wired to your timing system, IT and technology professionals are vital to any well-run business.
Hiring a cannabis compliance officer can be another vital employee to consider while defining the ideal operational structure. Finding a solid compliance officer isn’t an easy task – it takes an individual who has in-depth knowledge of cannabis compliance and regulations. Not only that, but finding someone who is a problem-solver and understands how to navigate even the murkiest of regulatory waters will be essential in growing across U.S. and international borders.
Develop Your SOPs
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) serve as the backbone of your day-to-day operations and define how employees can stay compliant while performing tasks, outline safety and regulatory requirements, and construct standardized steps to comply with cannabis business regulations. Implementing those steps and enforcing them creates consistency from employee to employee, even in the event of turnover and new hires.
Find a Software System that works FOR You
Whether you’re a grower, manufacturer or dispensary, you’re going to have to rely on a track and trace software to keep you compliant and keep your operation running smoothly. It’s important to find a software system that works FOR you, not the other way around. Many cannabis software solutions have rigid workflows and limited functionality, which leaves you with no other choice than to operate in a way that syncs up with the software. Others offer flexibility and can be customized to match your process.
Establish Your Brand
From logos and overall design to messaging and developing a social media presence… as Jeff Bezos says, “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” With hundreds of other canna-business out there trying to make a name for themselves, developing a strong brand has become vital in the cannabis industry. Outstanding products have come and gone, so differentiating your business in the market can be the difference maker. As the embodiment of essentially everything your business does and represents, developing a solid and unique brand identity will take plenty of thought, and plenty of time.
Keep Track of Compliance in Your State
Do you know the ins and outs of cannabis compliance in your state? If you’ve already sent in your license application, odds are you’ve mostly wrapped your head around it. But understanding it and maintaining it in your day-to-day operations are two different things.
Each state has unique cannabis laws, which as we’ve seen many times are subject to amendments. It’s up to businesses to stay up-to-date on your state’s regulations and any potential changes to them, as well as keeping your operational workflows up to speed. Keeping smart on the proposed, and sometimes implemented regulations, will enable you to stay ahead of compliance changes and implement swift changes to address them.
It can be frustrating the pace at which the cannabis industry progresses, but as one of the fastest growing and emerging industries in the world, the one thing you can’t afford to do is tread water. There’s always something you can do to prepare so when you do open your doors, you’re already 10 steps ahead of your competition.
Leading the sales team at BioTrackTHC, Steve Flaks has helped to establish the company as a leading cannabis software provider operating in over 2,000 business locations. Mr. Flaks has been featured in a variety of industry panels and publications as a subject matter expert surrounding licensed cannabis operations discussing topics including SOP’s, operational workflows, cannabis software, and seed-to-sale compliance.
In an increasingly hostile marijuana environment championed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, tracking of marijuana from “seed to sale” is more critical than ever. All other threats aside, if you can’t document it, you’re in trouble.
And, that’s not just at a federal level. In an effort to document total compliance and control of this rapidly-growing industry, states have taken it upon themselves to require comprehensive due diligence from all cannabis purveyors.
Forbes magazine addresses this in a recent article entitled, “Tracking America’s Cannabis Industry Through Big Data.” Citing Colorado, the article states in part, “This harnessing of an information technology to track the cannabis market is key to Colorado’s forceful march towards creating a thriving legal marijuana industry. Crucially, the state’s ability to use tracking and Big Data could provide a reference point for other jurisdictions interested in the regulatory potential offered by tracking. This ‘closed loop’ ‘seed to sale’ inventory tracking system embodies a ‘full traceability’ mode…”
The article continues, “The use of tracking as a regulatory device is expanding, operating in Oregon, Maryland and Alaska. There are other cannabis tracking companies such as MJ Freeway operating in Nevada and BioTrackTHC in Washington, New Mexico, Illinois, New York, and Hawaii. After all, tracking is part of day to day life. We track parcels and Uber drivers with our phones while retailers track us through those pesky cookies on our computers. Whatever the context, whether it is a regulator or us doing the tracking or whether it is marijuana or us being tracked, the technology is an essential part of contemporary commercial and regulatory life.”
Cannabis Barcode labels to the rescue An established staple in retail and inventory environments, barcodes/QR codes facilitate trackability. Now that message is resonating in the cannabis industry. A primer in motherboard.vice.com points out, “Walk into any licensed cannabis grow op in Colorado and one of the first things you’ll notice are the barcodes.” They point out in another article, “There are a number of advantages of having a bar code for cannabis growers, producers and retailers. The most important is proper inventory control – which is mandated, in Washington, by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Having bar codes on inventory items allows rapid identification of specific SKUs. The likelihood of inventory quantity irregularities is greatly reduced.”
They also emphasize, “The reasoning behind implementing these cannabis surveillance systems is pretty straight forward. Since cannabis is still illegal on a federal level, the burden is on the states that have legalized weed to prove that legalization has not aided black market activity.”
Systems spring up to support tracking Regardless of what type of cannabis tracking label is used, sophisticated systems are springing up to oversee the entire process. An article in the Cannabis Industry Journal entitled “The Importance of Traceability” cites insights of Cody Stiffler of BioTrackTHC, one such system, at a Cannabis Labs Conference in 2016: “The primary goals of a traceability system, according to Stiffler, are to prevent diversion and promote public safety. Our software helps get safe products to patients and consumers in a responsible manner. BioTrackTHC’s tracking software covers everything from seed to sale, involving regulatory bodies in oversight. In the beginning of cultivation, each plant is assigned a bar code or sixteen-digit identifier.”
While “location, location, location” is the driver in real estate, “tracking, tracking, tracking” is the name of the game in the cannabis industry.
Mark Lusky is a marketing specialist who has worked with Lightning Labels since 2008.Lightning Labels uses state-of-the-art printing technology to provide affordable, full-color custom labels and stickers of all shapes and sizes, along with barcode labels and consecutive numbering. From small orders for individuals, to the bulk needs of big businesses, Lightning Labels is equipped to handle and fulfill custom label and sticker projects of all types. Lightning Labels was established in 2002 and based in Denver, Colorado.
Member Spotlight: Cannabase
In this month’s NCIA Member Spotlight, we speak with Jennifer Beck, co-founder and Managing Director of Cannabase, a wholesale cannabis marketplace and technology dashboard. Cannabase is headquartered in Denver, serving more than 75% of marijuana licenses in Colorado, with plans to expand nationwide in 2017.
Cannabase
Cannabis Industry Sector:
Wholesale Distribution, Technology
NCIA Member Member Since:
2014
Tell me a bit about your background in cannabis and why you launched Cannabase?
Cannabase co-founders, Chase Beck and Jennifer Beck
When my husband, Chase Beck, and I co-founded Cannabase, we had a background in technology and a passion for cannabis. Not only were we amazed by the incredible science surrounding medical marijuana, but we also believed that cannabis was a much healthier alternative to alcohol for general adult-use purposes. The idea of being part of an emerging industry – helping to shape the framework while increasing its validity and chances of survival – was a really exciting idea to us.
What unique value does Cannabase offer to the cannabis industry?
Cannabase is the oldest and largest online wholesale marketplace in Colorado, providing a safe and compliant platform for businesses to connect over wholesale bud, trim, extracts, seeds, and edibles. We represent over 75% of the licensees in the state in our intuitive, automated platform, streamlining wholesale purchases and aggregating the powerful market data that drives our market statewide. Cannabase will be expanding nationwide in 2017, and is the exclusive wholesale partner of BioTrackTHC and MJ Freeway point-of-sale systems, which makes Cannabase the only firm to have direct, non-self-report access to virtually the entire Colorado market’s real-time inventory.
Cannabis companies have a unique responsibility to shape this growing industry to be socially responsible and advocate for it to be treated fairly. How does Cannabase help work toward that goal for the greater good of the cannabis industry?
Cannabase was founded on the principle that legal cannabis was a statewide experiment, and the health of the industry was critical to that experiment being considered a success. As a result, we’ve treated compliance, transparency, and integrity as non-negotiable cornerstones of our company’s evolution and product development. We’re disciplined in our vetting of licensed businesses and ensuring that anyone using our product has a valid license with their state and uses the site appropriately. Similarly, we’re passionate about supporting industry groups like NCIA that are doing amazing work for the future of our industry. We believe that investing in industry groups is as important as ever, especially in light of the changing political climate.
What kind of challenges do you face in the industry and what solutions would you like to see?
We still see the ramifications of the overarching federal limitations and restrictions – primarily 280E (which squeezes capital industry-wide) and lack of banking. These roadblocks impede progress for all cannabis businesses, and make it more difficult for ancillary businesses to solve the critical day-to-day challenges faced by our customers.
Why did you join NCIA? What’s the best part about being a member?
We love the work NCIA does to strengthen, connect, empower, and fight for the legal cannabis industry. In the three years we’ve been in the cannabis industry, we’ve never experienced anything short of total professionalism from the staff at NCIA. It’s a group that never under-delivers, and has been a pillar for community and our community’s future. We are proud to be a part of NCIA and look forward to seeing what 2017 brings!
Note: NCIA member profiles highlight members and stories within our cannabis industry community. They do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of specific products or services by NCIA.
NCIA Board Candidate Statement – Steven Siegel
By Steven Siegel, BioTrackTHC (FL)
Mr. Siegel aims to help legitimize the cannabis industry through providing cutting-edge technology that brings transparency, accountability, and security to cannabis operations. The Department of Justice, in the fall of 2013, in summary stated that they would not interfere with state-approved cannabis activity should the state “build a strong and effective regulatory and enforcement system,” a key piece of which is a robust and accurate cannabis inventory and sales tracking system. The quality of Mr. Siegel’s cannabis traceability system for the State of Washington has catapulted both the technology and the conversation into the national spotlight—with both supporters and detractors of cannabis legalization expressing support for such a solution. In fact, demonstrations of the traceability system to U.S. congressmen and other high-level government personnel have garnered additional political support and catalyzed progress for the industry as a whole. (The 2/14/2014 Department of Treasury guidance regarding banking services to cannabis businesses was issued shortly after one such demonstration.)
Mr. Siegel’s technology is at the forefront of cannabis transparency, and he is seeking a seat on the NCIA board to bring his unique position and experience to serve the industry. BioTrackTHC’s position as the only company providing cannabis tracking services to both the private and public sectors and Mr. Siegel’s extensive experience in politics will continue to open many opportunities to further the industry’s forward motion. We wish to bring these new inroads to NCIA and to further the inroads NCIA already has.
The federal government is looking for ways to allow for financial institutions to do business with cannabis businesses while minimizing the risk of money laundering. BioTrackTHC has a solution. State governments need assurance that if they legalize cannabis in some form, they will have expert advice as to how to structure their market properly and in compliance with the DOJ’s guidance. BioTrackTHC is already providing that. Cannabis operators are looking for ways to show that they are responsible, tax-paying business leaders. BioTrackTHC can make that a reality.
Leading the sales team at BioTrackTHC, Steve Flaks has helped to establish the company as a leading cannabis software provider operating in over 2,000 business locations. Mr. Flaks has been featured in a variety of industry panels and publications as a subject matter expert surrounding licensed cannabis operations discussing topics including SOP’s, operational workflows, cannabis software, and seed-to-sale compliance.
An established staple in retail and inventory environments, barcodes/QR codes facilitate trackability. Now that message is resonating in the cannabis industry. A primer in motherboard.vice.com points out, “Walk into any licensed cannabis grow op in Colorado and one of the first things you’ll notice are the barcodes.” They point out in another article, “There are a number of advantages of having a bar code for cannabis growers, producers and retailers. The most important is proper inventory control – which is mandated, in Washington, by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Having bar codes on inventory items allows rapid identification of specific SKUs. The likelihood of inventory quantity irregularities is greatly reduced.”
