FOLLOWING COMPLIANCY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A STEEP CLIMB, BUT BE PREPARED AND
WEAR YOUR HIKING SHOES!
When you disregard compliancy and the law, it is not a good day. The least you might get is a fine and no one wants a ‘fine’ day. We want excellent days, great customer service, and profits! Knowing the law and being prepared to move through changes, will allow everyone, from business owners to the front line team, to be on the trail of integrity and compliance.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) fined a Santa Fe, New Mexico dispensary for $13,500. The dispensary had a dozen violations, and one included an explosion, in July 2015, that seriously injured two workers making concentrated hash oil with butane.
According to MJBizDaily and News Channel 13, KRQE, OSHA made two separate investigations, one for safety hazards and one for health hazards. The first found seven serious violations, and the second found five. The company settled the seven safety violations for $7,250, even though OSHA initially was going to fine the dispensary twice that much, and also paid $6,250 for the health violations.
The dispensary is now in compliance, and OSHA reported that they had “hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.” The two workers both suffered third degree burns.
Colorado is leading the way with Adult Use cannabis. Other states and lawmakers are watching how we traverse though the ever changing laws and how the dispensaries are achieving compliance.
Earlier this year, the Cannabis Business Executive listed the top 5 Compliance Infractions within the medical and retail dispensaries in Colorado.
The top five (5) Compliance Infractions are:
- The facility (license) does not immediately input all marijuana and infused product into the State-mandated inventory tracking system and account for all variances.
- The facility does not have an updated, accurate diagram of security and surveillance area in the licensed premise.
- The facility does not follow regulatory guidelines on expired products (one or more).
- The facility does not adequately prevent cross contamination with marijuana or infused product.
- The patients/customers are not properly supervised/tracked at all times in restricted areas.
Specific and detailed protocol MUST be followed when receiving product and all variances must also be reported into METRC (Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance). Failing to following proper procedures, increases your retail store and dispensary’s chances of being fined for non-compliance.
We want you to succeed. We want to be hiking on this pioneering trail, called the Cannabis Industry, with people who are committed to excellence. This week, we’re throwing down a challenge! Take a look at how your team is doing in the world of compliance.
- What areas could you strengthen and tighten up?
- Is your team in the know? Do you need to educate or coach them to excellence?
We would love to hear from you. What does your team do to ensure you play by the rules? Let us know in the comments below.
Check out our upcoming classes! We’d love to meet you and hear your ‘story from the street.’
We’re all in this together and following the path of compliance, guides us to continued success!