security

By MoCann’s Transportation | Security | Technology Committee

As some operators are going through commencement, others are going through their first insurance renewal. The state recommended their insurance “expectations” in the licensing process with operators focused on securing coverage in order to get operators successfully commenced and compliant.   Time was and is limited; however, it is always smart to ensure what exposures are insurable and the difference in coverages between carriers. 

With medical and adult use cannabis remaining federally illegal, the number of carriers interested in writing the insurance is limited and often the forms are more restrictive in their coverage and language.   It is important to review the exclusions on the policy to understand what is and more importantly, what is not covered in your policy.  In addition, cheaper is rarely better.  There are some carriers attempting to undercut the market, but be aware, chances are if you have a claim with these certain carriers you may not be covered. Additionally, you will likely see double-digit increases on your subsequent renewals despite your claims history, or lack thereof. Make sure you partner with an Insurance Provider who knows the industry and has been a mainstay in it to avoid these pitfalls. 

Finding a Provider who can offer the necessary Property capacity needed is also a challenging aspect of securing coverage for your businesses. Most Providers will cap their total Property limits which includes coverage for your Building, Business Personal Property, Business Income, and Inventory/Crop, at $10M (or less) and only a select few have limits of $25M or greater. Make sure you have the proper fire safety measures in place to protect your investment and avoid catastrophic losses which could ultimately put you out of business.       

Product Withdrawal is very timely in Missouri.  Although there have not been any product recalls, there have been administrative holds impacting a larger swath of the marketplace.  With a recall scenario,  have you considered who would be responsible for disposing of the recalled products?  Liability, likely, would fall on the cultivators and/or manufacturers and possibly the dispensary retailer depending on the circumstances.  Good news is, you can insure exposure to dispose of the product but at this time, coverage for the product itself and lost cost are not available; however, several carriers are looking to add this coverage as interest is growing across the industry. As newer products are being developed (e.g. Delta-8, Delta-10 etc.) and flooding the marketplace make sure to pay attention to Product exclusions in your policy as most Providers are hesitant to offer coverage on these relatively unproven products.   

• Product Withdrawal: Carriers will offer limits of $100,000 up to $250,000 for an additional premium; this will help cover the expense of disposing of the product properly up to the sub limit secured.  Deductibles tend to range from $2,500 - $10,000.
• Cargo and Cash transport:  Who owns the responsibility to insure?  What is the best policy to secure?  This will come down to who has care, custody and control of the product.  It is imperative to address this in your service agreements with your transportation/security company.   It is important to understand the perils that are covered in the following policies. 

  • Property in Transit: This is just as it sounds, coverage for goods while in transit.  On many property policies, this coverage is included under a property enhancement with limits ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 and deductibles starting at $1,000 and up. Please note that this does not cover cash. You need to look at your money and securities coverage and through the property enhancements, limits tend to be capped at $25,000. 

  • Motor Truck Cargo: This will cover product and/or cash in transit either first party or third party.  It is important to read transportation agreements to confirm who has the care, custody and control and who is responsible for the product and cash.   Underwriting will look at how many vehicles are in the fleet, radius of deliveries, and the value of the products and cash per trip. 

• Crime:  Crime limits can often be limited and deductibles can be higher for both Products, Money and Securities coverage. However, it is well known that a majority of stolen cash incidents reflect “inside jobs''. Therefore, it is vitally important to have Employee Dishonesty coverage as part of your policy, or secure a fidelity bond. Coverage for Money & Securities and Employee Dishonesty is often included as part of a Property Enhancement form and has sub limits associated with the coverage. Whereas theft of Product is often included in the Property subject to certain warranties being in place.   

Owning and running a multi-million dollar business with a dynamic group of investors leaves the ownership and executive group vulnerable.  Decision-making and communication are key.  This is also an insurable risk by securing Directors and Officers coverage.  In addition to a dynamic investor group, each operator will hire and train employees. As the employer of teams from 2-200, there may be exposure to certain employment claims and disputes including wrongful termination, sexual harassment or discrimination and this is where EPLI comes into play. 

• Employment Practices Liability:  Employee turnover is high in any industry and cannabis is no exception.  EPLI protects the insured entity if an employee sues for discrimination, sexual misconduct, wrongful termination etc.  Even if you are wrongfully accused, there are still legal costs.  Coverage is also available for third party claims, it is important to confirm if a third party is included. Limited carriers will write this coverage as a monoline policy and can be written on the D&O policy. 
• Directors and Officers (D&O):  How diverse is your investor group?  As a young business with many significant decisions being made, are you confident your decisions will not be questioned.  There are several carriers that will write D&O with each one offering different forms.  The higher the premium the better the coverage.  It is important to compare the different carriers forms to make sure you risk is with the best carrier for your exposures i.e.  Private vs Public companies and their differing needs.There is currently only one complete D&O product offering out there tailored specifically for this industry's privately held companies. The majority of the marketplace is offering off-the-shelf coverage that more often than not, doesn't meet the needs of your business and is something to be mindful of when purchasing this coverage.  
• Cyber Liability:  Cyber coverage is tough for any risk and the cannabis risk market is limited, volatile and premiums are increasing. Cannabis risks can transfer risks to their third-party vendors; however, there is still considerable exposure.  Cyber polices are robust and no two are the same.  Policies are broken down into first-party and third-party insuring agreements.  One of the most common is ransomware, there is an instance where an out of state grower was using a computer to control and monitor fertigation and the system was hacked.  The hackers demanded ransom and would not allow the insured to access their facility systems until it was paid.  The security system was set up on the same Wifi/technology system and their crop was destroyed in two days.  Likely you would be adequately insured on your crop value, however the trigger would be cyber and could not be covered under the package/crop policy.
• Professional Liability:  This coverage is tricky and covers medical advice given by a credentialed professional.  This coverage does not cover dispensary agents / budtenders, which is where the biggest exposure lies. Technically, there is no exposure for cultivation and manufacturers because no advice is given to patients.  A sub limit of $100,000 in budtender liability can be added to some carriers’ policies. 
• Errors and Omissions:  Cultivators and manufacturers would have an exposure if they are in a contract with another cultivator or manufacturer hired for their expertise and service in producing manufactured products.   This coverage is also very important for testing labs.Cannabis is rated differently based on where it is in the process.  Cultivators and Manufactures need to make sure they are not missing a step in the process. 
• Crop Insurance:  Crop insurance is the toughest risk to value.  Carriers tend to place maximum value for the stage of the plant.    Oftentimes the values and timing does not match your internal systems and several carriers may value it differently.  It is important to complete the table using the carrier values and estimating based on your most robust harvest to ensure you are insured properly.   Coverage is expensive in comparison to the other property coverages, in addition you need to understand which perils are covered. 
• Stock in Process: This coverage is applicable to manufacturers.  Your cannabis materials are  purchased and you are transforming into your product, make sure you insure the cannabis materials prior to being  transformed into its final product. 
• Marijuana Inventory In order to be properly insured, you need to look at any given day, what your inventory will be, if there is a loss you cannot predict if it will be on a day when your deliveries arrive or when inventory is low.  Most carriers value this as actual cash value vs replacement cost.  You need to review your policy and confirm.  In addition, most carriers will only cover a % of products that are in the display cases.  This coverage also comes with warranties that products are secured and monitored properly.

Here are some hints for property/liability/auto and workers comp coverages

• Property – Building

  • Building Value – Cannabis carriers do not write on an agreed value, so it is imperative to value your building within the co-insurance limit, most carriers will write on an 80% and 90% of value.  If you are under-insured you can incur a co-insurance and penalty.

  • Anything attached to the building should be included in the building value i.e. HVAC

• Business Personal Property  These are the contents that are not attached to the building, i.e. cultivation lights, display cases, computers, servers, etc. 
• Business Income vs Business Interruption  This coverage is designed to keep your business stable, in the event you have a property loss and are not able to operate. Business Income is more robust coverage, whereas Business Interruption is more refined.  Make sure you know how your policy covers this exposure.  Most carriers will write business income, whereas some are switching forms to business interruption, without notifying the agents of the change.   Business Interruption covers normal fixed operating expenses incurred, including payroll for key employees; however it will not cover lost income
• General Liability:  Slips, trips and falls on premise.  This can be written occurrence or claims made and is rated with off sq ft or revenue and is subject to audit.
• Assault and Battery:  Carriers are reluctant to include coverage; they expect that you transfer liability to your hired security company.  If you provide a certificate of insurance proving that they do have coverage, most will offer a sublimit of $100,000.  The contract and certificate should include your business as a named additional insured with Waiver of Subrogation, Primary non-contributory language on your security company’s insurance policies.  If you are working with a reputable security company, this request is standard.
• Excess Liability:  Additional limits per occurrence/claim.  Important to note if this overlies the General liability only or over the products liability as well.  Auto liability will also need to be confirmed.  Most Excess policies offered go over GL only, make sure you clearly understand what the excess will include.   Most policies should follow the form of the underlying, this policy is no exception, review the forms and exclusions.
• Product Liability:  Product Liability protects the business if there is a bodily injury or property damage incurred from use or consumption of the product.  This is written on claims made coverage and is subject to a step factor for several years to pick up the previous year(s) exposure.  This is rated off revenue and is subject to audit.  It is recommended to review revenue at least every 6 months to determine if you are on target or if you should expect to pay an additional premium at the conclusion of the audit. It is best to provide conservative sales estimates as opposed to over-estimating. Oftentimes if an audit shows less sales than what was rated, there is no premium refund. If the audit shows higher sales than estimated, additional premium is due.  This coverage specifically is very important to review all of the exclusions and to understand how vape cartridges and products are covered and rated.
• Auto Liability:  There are minimal auto carriers in Missouri, more are expected and the few that are approved are having difficulty rating to be competitive.   Auto policies are restrictive, it is important to keep your auto fleet current and your drivers list up to date.  If not, there is a chance your claim could be denied.    Regarding physical damage coverage don’t forget to include the value of the attached equipment.   Risk management practices are imperative to mitigate the chance of auto liability lawsuits, it is important to have a driver’s training program.
• Hired-non owned auto:  Non-owned auto extends liability coverage to the business owner when an employee is using his or her own auto for business.  It is important to understand that if an employee is driving their own auto their insurance is primary, where the businesses would be secondary and not cover physical damage.  Hired auto includes liability coverage for a rental vehicle and physical damage can be added upon request.   This coverage can be written on your GL or Auto policy.  Carriers have tight restrictions on whether they are comfortable writing the risks.   Most carriers will not cover B2C exposures, if this is your plan; make sure you tell your insurance broker and complete the application properly.
•  Workers Comp:  All companies with five or more employees are legally required to carry workers comp insurance.  Manufacturing risks carry the highest rate and information on the extraction process will need to be underwritten.  Carriers are also very diligent in confirming which owners and executives are included and excluded from coverage.  This policy is auditable and unlike the liability audits, if you over estimate you will receive a return premium.  Understanding the MO work comp law, claims process, and duties in the event of a claim are important in controlling work comp insurance cost.

Insurance is complex in the cannabis industry, so it is important to collaborate with an insurance broker well versed in the coverages and complexities of this industry. There is also a  fine line on being over insured and underinsured, it's always a good idea to not get caught underinsured. 

Please note that the carrier's forms and limits can change at any time. Information shared in this blog is accurate as of 02-28-2021.

MoCann’s Transportation | Security | Technology committee recommends checking out these MoCann members who specialize in cannabis risk analysis and coverages:

Missouri Medical Cannabis Facility Security Best Practices

By MoCann’s Transportation | Security | Technology Committee (TST)

The TST committee has been discussing recent security trends throughout our state and the US cannabis industry. Out of these discussions we felt it important to share our insights and mitigation best practices with our membership and the Missouri industry.  In addition to the below thoughts, there is also a printable Dispensary Security Checklist we think is perfect for dispensaries to review and post in their employee area. 

This discussion around facility security was initiated by a recent Ganjapreneur article that discusses a recent crime spree in Oakland, California where 25 facilities were robbed within a two-day period.

The article also shows a comparison of Dispensary crime vs liquor store crime in Portland, Oregon:  “… there were 95 dispensary robberies, burglaries, or lootings in Portland over a 10-month period in 2020… During the same time frame, Portland saw just 22 liquor store burglaries and zero liquor store robberies.”

Missouri has been fortunate so far, a couple of minor theft incidents and burglaries, but none that involved weapons, assaults, or robbery.  It should be noted that other states had little to no crime at the beginning of their programs as well, but with high value inventory and cash, incidents are inevitable and security vigilance is a must.

Security and guard staff really should both be viewed as a cost of doing business. In the banking world security is “second nature” for every location including managing facility security and cash handling etc. However, in recent years wire/electronic funds transfer fraud has increased significantly which has required more training and reinforcement of procedures to prevent the wire fraud. Prevention of both fraud and robbery should be a proactive focus for every facility. A great customer experience, increasing sales etc easily take priority of our daily focus but security should not be overlooked or minimized because of the expense.

Below is a list of Best Practices compiled for MoCannTrade members and operators:

Cash

Limit Register Exposure

• To minimize the amount of exposure for cash theft, drawers should be limited to $150 - $250 cash maximum. Most POS applications in use allow for till management so the software can notify when it is time for a cash drop (remove extra cash from the drawer and document the deposit in a drop safe or vault).
• Accept alternative payment options such as payment apps (Hyper), reloadable gift or member cards, debit cards, etc
• Verify cash at the time of payment for counterfeit. There are many inexpensive UV based options than can detect counterfeit bills at the time of payment.
• Use time delayed drop safes which do not allow on demand opening. These have been used successfully in other retail for decades.
• Post signs about employees not having access to cash, specifying that time delayed safes are used, and minimal amounts of cash are kept on hand.
• Guard staff should not have access to the cash or product, non-security staff should not be able to disarm the alarm. This creates a situation where no one person can get into the facility and to product or cash. Two people are required which makes internal theft off-hours less likely.

Deterrence

Show your security

• You have expensive camera systems in place, having a video feed of a few cameras visible to people that walk in is a great reminder that the video surveillance exists.
• Your access control system should allow beeps or other audible noises when a door is opened. Having these on is a subtle reminder that security staff is aware when any door is opened.
• Having keypads or any other security device visible is yet another reminder the facility is actively monitored for burglary and robbery.

Use guards

• Having guard staff wear uniforms, wording or logos that reinforce they are security guards gives indication the person is a trained security professional helping to ensure the facility is not a target.
• Your access control system should have controls that don’t allow an exterior entrance door and a dispensary floor door to both be open at the same time to deter “rushing the door”.
• Armed security officers should be required to attend firearms training courses that are robust and include tactical training, situation deescalation, and range work including annual re-qualification requirements.
• Security can also serve as a monitor for controlled area access in tandem with dispensary agent verification and patient check in.  

Have specific opening and closing procedures

• Quality security systems have “ambush” functionality built in to allow staff to silently trigger armed robbery panic alarms for the monitoring company.
• Many systems also allow for specific arm and disarm sequences that use pre-defined steps for the first person in the building and the last ones out. If an employee is ambushed, they can’t do the next step and the silent alarm is triggered.
• Guard staff should be the first person in and the last person out. Properly trained guard staff will recognize that something is wrong before being ambushed.
• Ensure all vaults and safes are locked upon starting the day’s operations
• Ensure all vaults and safes are locked when not in use and at the end of each day’s operations.
• Ensure the burglar alarm is activated at the end of each day’s operations.
• Ensure exterior doors are locked, bolted and consider door bar to prevent prying efforts

Other items to consider

• Bullet-resistant glass enclosed counter in the secured entrance vestibule with appropriate protection within and behind walls as opposed to just fortifying the glass and leaving all else vulnerable.
• Utilizing the video system and basic analytics to count the vehicles entering the parking space, number of people approaching from outside, gathering outside (good for loitering prevention as well), training in surveillance detection and awareness.
• Thorough background investigations as opposed to simple background checks that are basically nothing more than criminal history reviews. Insider threat is real and most likely more prominent than most realize.
• Verify that your security company installed motion detectors between the ceiling and the roof. This will catch burglars that either try to hide in the ceiling or attempt to break in by cutting through the roof. Both are very active trends across retail currently.
• Build relationships with local law enforcement. Host a tour of your facility. Make local law enforcement aware of your opening and closing times for extra layer of security for employees.

IT Security for Growth: De-mystifying Policy, Security & Business Viability

Guest Post by Dave Chronister - CISSP, CISM, CISA | MoCannTrade Platinum Member |  Parameter Security

Changing the Focus

Information security is not just about complying to laws and regulations or choosing the right server, data center or encryption method. Let’s not think about it as “cyber security” or an “add-on.” Instead of seeing it as a series of hoops to jump through, think about the security of your business as essential to your success as the quality of your product. Since you would not leave the quality of your project up to chance, don’t then leave the security of your whole business up to chance either. 

You could, instead, focus on designing a Security Program. A Security Program is unique to your business, designed to comply with laws and regulations, set long term goals and give clear direction toward maintaining the day-to-day running of your business.

A Security Program is proactive, not reactive.

Essentially, it helps your business survive and thrive.

Your Security Program doesn’t just help you adhere to regulations, it should also make your business run more smoothly and efficiently.

What is a Security Program?

In essence, a Security Program is a plan on how to run your business in order to make it more viable.

Your Security Program is a holistic approach that determines how your business runs and includes goals to protect life and ensure the viability of your business. It is a series of policies, standards and procedures which help your business run smoothly and reduce risk. A security program is not an app., where you store your data or who has access. It does not begin and end with Tech.

Now it is important to note that you will never be 100% secure and you cannot ever eliminate risk. There will always be risk. Instead, you need to determine what is an acceptable risk for your organization. Factors such as regulations, laws and internal business goals and requirements will help you determine your organization’s acceptable risk.

How is a Security Program created?

A Security Program consists of Policies, Standards and Procedures.  Simply put, it is a set of policies that document and dictate how your business runs. It covers business rules, technology, tools, and processes. A Security Program has three basic tiers.

Top Level Policies

This is management’s requirements on how to run your business. These are short, don’t change over time, they are measurable and responsibility and recriminations for violations are clearly defined (up to/include termination). Example of an encryption policy: “In order to provide adequate security our organization will employ strong encryption methods.”

Standards

Standards define the technology and tools which implement the top level policies. They are designed to meet the requirements and evolve as technology changes. Example of a standard: “Our company uses AES cipher to protect our sensitive client data.”

Procedures

These are step-by-step instructions on how to implement a standard. For example, you may have a procedure to encrypt data using the AES encryption cipher. Good procedures are simple, and intuitive so that your employees can be consistent in their application.

Tips to write more useful Policies:

• Use concise, clear language. Avoid legalese, biblical “thou shalt..”
• Have your subject expert write them (IT policies should be written by your IT expert, etc.)
• They should be reviewed and updated as needed. (Minimum: annual review.)
• Centrally stored. (Ideally in a GRC portal.)

Incidents Happen

What is an incident? Anything that compromises the integrity, confidentiality and availability of your business Security Program. You may have heard of a data breach. That is a particular type of incident which compromises the confidentiality of your data.

Incidents will happen, whether malicious or accidental. All anyone can do is proactively plan for incidents so that, in the event that they occur, you know what to do and there is less impact on your business.

Here are a few areas of consideration when creating your incident response policy.

• investigating the Incident- Who is going to investigate and collect court-grade evidence? Do you have audit logs to provide visibility during the investigation? Do you know where your data is so that you can determine what has been compromised?
• Legal - Do you have an attorney who understands the current data laws and regulations and who can also provide guidance on disclosure of an incident? (Data Privacy Attorney)
• Communication - How are you going to convey appropriate and approved communications during and after an incident? Who is your spokesperson? How are you going to control and convey messaging during a crisis? If a breach has been found, how will you provide customer notification in the legally-required timeframe? (Notification laws are not uniform across the U.S.)
• Financial - Do you have contracted rates for third-party vendors who will support you during and after an incident? Do you have cyber-liability insurance?

Security Programs can seem daunting. My experience in the industry has proven that a business should not wait until a Security Program is perfect, rather start and continue to revise and re-evaluate. A healthy Security Program will define and support your business requirements and strategy, ultimately helping you run a more successful business.

Dave Chronister - CISSP, CISM, CISA is founder and CEO of Parameter Security. Parameter helps those in the medical marijuana industry create, maintain, and provide compliance validation with their Security Programs and digital forensic/incident response services.

Guest Blog Post By: David Fettner | Grow America Builders 

Introduction
A cannabis dispensary has many unique qualities that differentiate it from a typical retail store. A dispensary building incorporates the features of a retailer, a bank, and a pharmacy. But the most important aspect is security.  Between the cash transactions and cannabis product on site, a dispensary has always been a target for criminals. In this current environment, where rioting and looting is becoming more prevalent, that target has increased ten-fold. 

New Security Challenges
All dispensaries have full surveillance coverage, both inside and out, as well as top of the line security systems. Unfortunately cameras aren’t always enough; a mob of looters in masks don’t care if their image gets caught on tape. Tensions are high and penalties are low. Our main priority has shifted towards protecting our client’s business, their employees, and their product. 

Grow America Builders have built dispensaries all over the country, and recently one of our dispensaries was in the middle of televised riots. A mob of looters attempted to get in twice in the same night. We can proudly say, the damage was minimal and the criminals didn’t get anything except frustration and some bloody hands. But it was a wake-up call that these types of incidents can occur more and more frequently, so we created an updated strategy for security the dispensaries that we build. 

Security Above & Beyond
The following are some security reinforcements recommended when building or renovating a cannabis facility: 

Workroom Reinforcements: Bulletproof
The workroom is one of the most important parts of a dispensary. It’s typically adjacent to the vault, and during work hours the dispensary workroom is where the product is put together for orders and passed through to the point of sale area. There are many times throughout the day where the workroom could be housing significant amounts of cannabis.

At Grow America Builders, we came up with a solution years ago that ensures protection between the point of sale area and workroom. We recommend building cannabis workrooms with heavy gauge steel and barrier mesh between the drywall. This is an acceptable method for some vaults, and provides excellent security for a cannabis workroom. 

Additionally, many workrooms have pass-through windows where employees hand over the cannabis orders to the salespeople. Think of a bank teller window. We couldn’t find the right sized bank teller window, so we came up with another solution. We sourced a 2’ by 3’ commercial storefront window, glazed with over 1” thick bulletproof glass. 

Between the reinforced walls and bulletproof windows, we more or less created a safe room for the employees who work in the cannabis workroom. In the event looters ever get into the store, they aren’t getting into the workroom.

Storefront Window Film: Bombproof
Most storefront windows are typical center glazed with ¼” tempered glass. However, in order to achieve full peace of mind, we started applying a reinforced security film over the dispensaries’s exterior windows and glass doors.

1.  First of all, this guarantees that no looters can physically break the through the window.

2.  Secondly, if they come armed with explosives, they’ll be in for a rude awakening because the film is applied with an impact protection adhesive anchoring system, which is rated to be bomb proof.

This film can be applied over almost any typical storefront window and is sourced from some of the most reputable vendors in the industry. 

Vault Door: Bullet Proof! Bomb Proof! Mob Proof!
The vault is always the first item that we scrutinize when provided with a set of plans to build a new dispensary. The vault can be built many ways;

• Masonry construction
• Heavy gauge metal studs with wire mesh
• Prefabricated panels from a security company

All three ways provide satisfactory security, but we always have to be careful because different states have different vault construction parameters. Still, all three methods provide optimal protection. The vault door is the one wild card because not all vault doors are built alike. 

At Grow America Builders, we highly recommend using a Class 5 V vault door that has guaranteed protection of 20 man-hours of surreptitious entry and radiological break-in techniques. This includes withstanding a prolonged ‘mob attack’.

This door can withstand brutal attacks from a mob for a prolonged period of time, something that we never considered when we started building dispensaries, but in 2020, this has become a necessity.

Additionally, if we have a client who is highly concerned about security, we can upgrade the vault door one step further to provide up to 60 minutes of penetration delay against battering attacks, intense and concentrated hand tool attacks, as well as being able to withstand multiple shots of both 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm ballistic attacks. 

Miscellaneous Reinforcements
There are many other tweaks and adjustments that we now do to reinforce a dispensary during construction. When looters attacked one of our recently completed dispensaries, it gave us a real world glimpse as to how our security was able to stand up to the criminal element. We were able to identify potential weak points and make easy adjustments.

For example, we were able to identify that the looters tried to remove door hinge pins in an attempt to remove doors to enter the workroom. They never got in, but it showed us a potential weak point.

Now, we only install pin-less hinges, whether specified on the architectural drawings or not. There were many more ideas we garnered throughout those weeks, many of which we now implement as standard construction means and methods in the construction of a dispensary.   

Conclusion
When a dispensary gets looted and vandalized, it does more than physical damage, especially when the dispensary is medicinal. There are patients who depend on their daily cannabis. We’ve seen first hand the panic in the eyes of an epilepsy patient who came to the dispensary looking for his usual order but couldn’t get it because of looting the prior night. This is one of the real life, unfortunate impacts of looting a cannabis dispensary. We will continue to secure the dispensaries we build, not only for the safety of the client and employees, but also to thwart the attempts of the criminals targeting cannabis facilities.

David Fettner is a managing partner of Grow America Builders, a national design-build construction company focused solely on the cannabis industry. Along with his partner, Mike Kaulentis, Grow America brings over twenty years of versatile construction experience, offering customers an end to end experience from concept through architecture, design and turnkey construction.