California Cannabis farmers have struggled to grow their businesses the past two years because of expiring cannabis cultivation licenses. Unless farmers held an annual license, they were required to apply for a 90-day extension. It became impossible for the departments responsible to keep up with these applications which led to new legislation. As of January 2019, the passing of the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) overturned the previous rules and now extensions will no longer be approved.
On the other hand, California dispensaries are thriving for the most part. Even though only 18 out of the state’s 58 counties permit cannabis to be grown or sold, the ones that are in business are doing well. In those 18 counties, it’s estimated that there are 261 dispensaries open for business. Read our last blog, Securing The California Cannabis Industry, for more about the economic impact the cannabis industry is having. Whether you’re a cultivator or a retail business owner, there are important regulations and requirements regarding the California cannabis industry from seed to opaque packaging.
Cannabis Regulations for California Cannabis Cultivators
The Department of Food and Agriculture oversees the licensing of all cultivation sites and provides several regulations all sites must follow from weighing to the water source identification. These rules are in place to maintain high purity levels and also ensure the safety of farmers and their produce.
The DFA provides the following regulations that all cannabis farmers are required to comply to:
- Provide proof that the weighing/measuring devices used meet the standards written here
- All cannabis cultivators must follow the Department of Pesticide Regulations guidelines
- Cultivators need to identity the source of water according to these regulations
Those are just a few of the many regulations that California requires cannabis cultivators to follow. You can see everything on the California Legislative Information page for all things cannabis related. These are necessary to follow to legally grow cannabis in California, but what about keeping the highly valuable and sought after product safe? There are regulations for that as well.
The California Code of Regulations Title 16, Division 42 provides the security camera system requirements for cannabis farmers and dispensaries. Both cultivators and retail owners are required to provide the state with their procedures for allowing access to their site and how they will ensure that all access points are secured and give a description of their video surveillance system with where cameras are placed and how the equipment will be maintained.
Cannabis Regulations for California Cannabis Retailers
The Bureau of Cannabis Control is charged with establishing minimum security requirements for the commercial distribution of cannabis. The transportation of cannabis and cannabis products has the following legal requirements:
- Transporting cannabis and cannabis products can only be done by people who have a distributors license
- Transportation safety standards include but aren’t limited to rules about the types of vehicles cannabis and cannabis products can be transported in
- Establish the qualifications required for people eligible to operate these vehicles
The bureau also implements the following security measures to prevent unauthorized entrance into locations containing cannabis and theft of the plant or products including:
- Prohibit people from remaining on the property if they are not actively participating in operations related to the retailer
- Establish limited access exclusively for authorized personnel
- Display limited amounts of products ready for immediate sale and store the majority of all finished cannabis and cannabis products in a secure location
Whether you’re a cannabis cultivator or business owner, the industry requires specific security solutions that Sonitrol is uniquely equipped to cover. TotalGuard is the perfect solution for small businesses like cultivation sites and retail shops. It’s our all-in-one system that comes with video verification, impact-activated audio, glass break detection, and more. Contact us to learn more about TotalGuard and how it can protect your cannabis business and ensure you remain compliant with all regulations.