Checking in customers is not only mandatory but is an easy way to start measuring data points. Customer info is the easiest group of data to track. This information can give your dispensary a solid figure on the average number of customers per day as well as the median age and geographical location they represent.

Median age and geographical location can help steer your next marketing tactic and give you context on what is truly effective. Email subscriber lists, landing pages, and text blasts can be influenced by this data and inspire new ideas to bring in customers. Perhaps you’ve wanted to try something new and haven’t because you aren’t fully confident in the results—use data to make an informed decision!

The possibilities of median age, geographical location and income lining up to give you an advantage on qualifying metrics is extremely high and almost fool-proof! Your marketing material may need to cater to a certain customer persona rather than approach the situation from a broad perspective.

Critical thinking and analysis of your customer data could be the difference between a hit or miss in your location—don’t miss the opportunity to build customer loyalty from the get-go!

Don’t overlook METRC data!

There are circulating discussions on the difficulty of METRC-integration due to the fact that up until this year, cannabis has been dealt with in a paper-only fashion. Add strict timelines for mandated sales reports and live inventory that keeps seed-to-sale information into the mix and what you end up with today, is a massive database that should be used as a vital tool to your business’ success.

Taking an active effort in reporting to METRC not only keeps your location(s) compliant but helps illustrate the buying patterns of customers. What this does for your business is allow you to build stable relationships with cultivators, distributors, and microbusinesses that are in high demand. In turn, you are able to keep products in stock that continue to bring monetary value to your business and enjoyment to your customers.

METRC is oftentimes thought of only in terms of the mandatory reporting that needs to be done for inventory and not for it’s potential on the information it can provide on the availability of products, inventory you currently have, and ways to maximize profitability by tracking fast-moving cannabis goods.

Data on fast-moving product can help give the “green light” on increasing the stock of that product while red flags can be raised on products that sit for a long time and don’t convert into a sale in a timely fashion. Forecasting demand of these products can make collaborating with distributors and brands that much easier, making profit a figure of central importance!

The anticipation of sales helps give you an edge on the necessary liquidation of stock while maintaining an outlook on the recent trends in the market. As data generates a visual approach to inventory management, METRC gives you the tools necessary to be proactive to the marketing of retail services.

Seeing as though METRC makes it mandatory to report each change of custody for cannabis products, it inherently allows you to have instant access to all information regarding your products, effectively consolidating it and placing it at your fingertips. Wondering where there is monetary value in your inventory that can be converted into a sale? Pull the data from METRC and maximize ROI on each product of your stock!

In the age of data and legal cannabis, there is no reason to ignore what the numbers are telling you. Customers have the ability to indirectly show you what they want and don’t want through the data that you are collecting on each purchase.

Purchase history for customers is a vital metric to look at closely as it reveals (without having to do a lot of work) patterns on an individual basis. Tracking every purchase made, when the customer purchases it, the amount of times a customer chooses that product, and the amount of revenue created from repetition paints a clear picture that ought to change the way operations take place.

Peak hours and purchasing habits within these peak hours are a way to analyze what the next promotion should be and when the promotion should be offered which keeps your income steady and makes the most of foot traffic being created. Sales reports and peak purchasing periods could be the difference between an average day and a great day of business.

Giving your budtenders an advantage by being able to look through a client’s history may help inform them on suggestions to make and tap into facilitating an environment that promotes customer loyalty.

Improving a customer’s experience with your dispensary data points makes your job a little easier, centers your customer’s wants, and results in overall increased revenue. Making your customer feel important every time they step into your facility should be a top priority and what better way to do this than by making it obvious that you care about their prior choices?!

Jordan: Like many, I developed an interest in cannabis in college. I supported legalization and found cannabis policy interesting, but I never imagined I’d find a career in it. I accidentally fell into it after moving to Denver in 2012. I was working as a staffer for the House Majority Office at the Colorado General Assembly, and I was assigned to handle implementation of legalization following the passage of Amendment 64. I then worked for the Marijuana Enforcement Division in the Department of Revenue, where I worked on drafting the regulations governing the state’s adult-use and medical markets.

From there it was a pretty short jump into the cannabis industry to help businesses navigate all of those laws and regulations. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity.

Jordan: I think California will have an incredible cannabis market, quality operators, and a tremendous influence, both nationally and internationally. From a regulatory perspective, the state has a long way to go to build an efficient marketplace. We saw tremendous market disruption and price fluctuation during the July 1, 2018 inventory transition, which could have easily been avoided through a more thoughtful policy approach. The state still hasn’t finalized its regulations and recently flip-flopped on a number of costly issues that require long lead times for businesses to adjust, such as packaging.

Things aren’t much better on the local level. Licensing delays have plagued some jurisdictions, while others have imposed substantial compliance burdens on operators. Additionally, we haven’t seen nearly as many cultivators join the regulated marketplace as we had hoped, which can likely be attributed to regulatory overreach and a burdensome licensing process at the state and local levels. At this point, California should not be looked at as a model of legalization or implementation, but hopefully, it will grow into that role as the system gets ironed out.

Related: A Definitive Guide to Compliance — California Cannabis Dispensaries

Taxes: It’s not only critical that businesses pay their taxes, but also that they keep clear records to support any deductions that are made.

Cultivation: It’s really easy for cameras to become obstructed at a cultivation facility as plants mature and equipment is moved around.

Manufacturing: There’s so much documentation required at a manufacturing facility that folks can forget to record critical information as they go about their daily routines.

Distribution: There’s a lot of risk for distributors managing both ends of the supply chain and making sure they’re receiving and delivering products to compliant businesses with appropriate licensing.

Retailers: Staff training can be especially tricky for retailers because there is a tremendous amount of turnover at these facilities and the entire staff is in a compliance-sensitive role.

Related: Breaking Down CA Cannabis Taxes to Your Customers

Jordan: I think retailers really struggle with answering some of the more difficult questions posed by consumers in a manner that doesn’t create risk for their company. Specifically, budtenders are frequently asked medical or legal questions that they are not technically or legally qualified to answer. These employees are just trying to be helpful and provide good customer service, but they can unintentionally create a lot of liability for themselves, employers, and the industry overall.

In terms of education, I think it’s critical to have clear standard operating procedures and staff trained to follow those procedures. There’s also value in having experts come and teach the staff, so they can ask questions and develop a better understanding of how to handle difficult situations with customers.

Related: 5 Questions Customers Will Ask That Your Cannabis Delivery Service Staff Should be Able to Answer

Jordan: Cannabis businesses that do not invest in compliance face significantly more risk because the government can issue fines and suspend or even revoke their licenses. Compliance issues in one jurisdiction can also lead to losing merit applications or even denial in other jurisdictions, even when the underlying violation doesn’t result in revocation. At the same time, we are seeing compliance obligations become increasingly burdensome and complex.

Cannabis businesses are reacting to these market conditions by increasing their investment into operational compliance and hiring new staff members solely dedicated to compliance. It’s a mark of our maturing and evolving industry, and it’s one that I think increases the chances of federal legalization and the end of prohibition.

Related: WebJoint’s Checklist for Newly Licensed Delivery Services

Jordan: The vision behind Simplifya is to help support cannabis businesses of all sizes, whether they have a dedicated in-house compliance person or not. We provide all of our clients with the tools to run a compliant operation, helping to manage cannabis business licenses, standard operating procedures, documents, and self-assessments. Our team of regulatory experts ensures all of our content is accurate and up to date, so owners, managers, and employees can spend less time reading the rules and more time running their operations and making sure the rules are being followed.

For small businesses, we empower owners, managers, and employees to handle compliance obligations internally and reduce reliance on costly third-parties to address basic issues. For larger businesses with dedicated compliance staff, our integrated communication system and accountability features help maximize the efficiency of our clients’ compliance investments. I wouldn’t say our software is a substitute for a compliance officer, but I can confidently say it will help make any business operate more compliantly and efficient, whether they have a compliance officer or not.

Jordan: We have a dedicated team of in-house cannabis regulatory experts that constantly review regulations across the country to make sure our content is accurate. They are attorneys and policy nerds who spend all day, every day tracking regulatory changes and boiling them down into simple instructions for cannabis businesses to follow.

Jordan: We have a tremendous impact on the industry by helping to mitigate risk for our clients. Our software is designed to address many areas of compliance, so our impact isn’t tied to any one compliance problem or issue. Instead, we help cannabis businesses across the board by teaching compliant operations and helping to hold staff accountable for their compliance obligations. In doing so, we provide business owners with peace of mind in one of the world’s most highly regulated industries.

Jordan: I never think of compliance as a regulatory practice. To me, it’s a critical component of business operations that need to be thread through every aspect of a company. Compliance isn’t just about following rules — it is about risk mitigation, protecting your investment, and increasing the value of your company. In other words, compliance is about business. Simplifya serves as the industry’s CarFax report, showing investors and buyers that a company is a safe investment and that they aren’t buying a lemon.

Jordan: Above all, I’m excited that my son will grow up in a post-prohibition world and will only learn about cannabis prohibition through history books. I’m also incredibly excited to continue to build our understanding of the medicinal properties of the cannabis plant and tear down the stigmas associated with the cannabis community. Finally, I’m excited about the expansion of social use laws that allow adults to consume cannabis in a social environment similar to how adults are allowed to consume alcohol. In other words, I’m excited to eventually be able to legally consume cannabis during a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater here in Colorado.

Jordan: I’m concerned the current pathway for legalization will leave behind many of the people who have long risked their freedom and safety to provide cannabis to consumers. Whether it’s limited licenses on the East Coast or the nonsensical, byzantine application process in California, too many people are being left behind that could be welcomed into our industry and build great companies. I’m also concerned about pockets of cannabis bias within governments and local communities dampening the progress we’ve made in ways that don’t get headlines, such as problems with child protective services.

Jordan:

1. Hire a Great Manager. Employees always adopt their managers perspective on compliance, so find someone who cares about compliance and protecting your license.

2. Sweat the Small Stuff. Regulators operate on an iceberg theory of compliance. If they see minor violations at your facility, they will wonder what else is hiding underneath the surface and start a disruptive investigation.

3. Don’t Just Teach It, Test It. It’s not enough to just train your staff, you need to hold them accountable by confirming that your staff is following through with what they’ve been taught.

Related: Customer Service Best Practices for Your Dispensary

Prior to legalization, dispensaries have historically been seen as dirty, unprofessional, “pot shops” that have nothing positive to offer to the public. Locations with rod-iron bars, dark windows that sport the typical green “stoner” cross, and improper check-in techniques do nothing but reinforce this narrative. This script, although fading slightly in younger generations, is still alive and well in various parts of the country.

As an owner, aiming to flip the script and take the lead in promoting a new narrative should be a top priority. Creating an inviting environment that aims to impress your customers at first sight is a sure fire way of being able to participate in an overall positive experience.

Simple aesthetic upgrades to your dispensary such as clean furniture to relax on in the lobby, inviting color schemes, and well-lit displays that are organized with intent can be the difference between making a positive impact and losing a customer before they can look around. This goes for the brands that you carry as well.

Adhering to new regulations such as enforcing employee badges adds a subtle, but effective way of welcoming consumers.

But that’s not everything—your staff needs to be top-notch too!

Not only should your employees strive to be the best, but they should certainly look and act like it! Responsibilities in training your staff properly on available products and new technology will help you separate from the illicit market that cannabis is oftentimes paired with. This includes online ordering (if available) and the advantages of using software to increase efficiency. Providing your staff with knowledge in biological subjects they need to answer questions about things such as terpenes, grow techniques, and various strains is critical.

It’s rare that your budtender or a first-time customer knows everything about cannabis other than what they have heard or been told, but everyday creates an opportunity to expand a knowledge base. Encounters with customers should be seen as an opportunity for your budtenders to either teach or learn something new at the end of each day.

Promoting ethics that takes something positive away from every transaction and creates an overall positive impression is oftentimes a priority that is overlooked if focusing solely on the monetary value that your business has.

And this is where curating an experience for your customers can make a world of difference—don’t miss this subtle, yet effective way of engaging consumers.

There’s no worse way to put your license at risk in this industry than to ignore compliance. Not only does this put your business at risk, but it in-turn promotes a negative narrative which has been losing traction in recent times. An active effort to legitimize this industry, put a professional face to it, and knock the overarching stigmas that have been associated with cannabis use for generations is a central part to being a businesses owner.

Proper training on point-of-sale which incorporates inventory management facilitates a simple, yet effective way of maintaining compliance. As a team, the ability to leave lasting impressions as a compliant and professional business can take your business far!

Social media outreach plays into this line of thought as well. Think about some ways that your business can utilize social media to promote responsible consumption instead of overconsumption.

Related: A Definitive Guide to Compliance — California Cannabis Dispensaries

If your answer the above question is “I don’t,” then what exactly are you doing? This isn’t to say that a large portion of proceeds ought to be distributed to any singular organization, but urges you to look at yourself as a part of your surrounding community. It is to say that as a business owner, selflessness with respect to the community can provide priceless benefits.

The state of California is not only a recreationally legal state but is a state where local jurisdictions hold the power to outlaw cannabis. Citing concerns for the safety of children, disrespect for the community, and potential increase in crime, local communities oftentimes feel like they will be left out of the big picture.

We would argue that one essential method of breaking this barrier is to show your worth to the surrounding environment by giving back to the community. Monetary donations for outreach programs, playgrounds, basic donation of school supplies, and participating in all local government activities plays out in two ways:

I. It brings the community a source of engagement with a cannabis organization in an ancillary manner, thus not violating regulations for age restrictions and zoning requirements.

II. Giving back to the community helps steer the conversation in a way that centralizes the professionalization of the cannabis industry while highlighting an important part of ethics with respect to social equity.

Starting January 1, 2018 testing became mandatory for all cannabis products that are commercially sold. Using three phases to roll out new regulations, the BCC has given a solid chunk of time to brands for adjusting to the policies put in place and are looking to compete for marketshare. This means that there is no excuse for the lack of testing on any product that you’re looking to stock.

Cannabis testing provides the necessary information on present cannabinoid content, pesticides, heavy metals, and solvents.

As the government holds companies responsible for making sure their products are safe for customers, you should too! Running the risk of offering unsafe products on your shelves for the sole purpose of raising revenue is not worth the punishment.

Certificates of Analysis (COA) are another necessary piece of the puzzle. Double checking the way that a brand stores its COAs might be an indicative precursor to the type of relationship you will be able to maintain. Meaning that brands who fail to consistently provide these COAs shouldn’t be an option—no matter what their product is. Reputable sources of products should be at the top of your list as you flesh out your inventory.

Ask these questions about the test results for brands:

– Where was each product tested?

– Do you have the necessary COAs for each product?

– What was the date of the testing?

– Was remediation part of the manufacturing process?

Related: 4 Regulation Changes for Dispensaries in California

Companies want you to feel something and there’s no better way to do so than to have a backstory that encapsulates the driving force of brands.

Customers buy brands, not products. Few things make this more apparent than the recent shift in consumer attitudes towards cannabis. The days of giving credit to a dispensary for having the best flower, instead of the cultivator, are gone. The same can be said for just about any other category of product that can be found on your shelves.

Furthermore, the core values of a company can inspire individuals to feel empowered. A story drives the purpose for all decisions being made including the driving force for the inspiration behind getting into the industry to begin with! Getting an understanding of the core philosophical beliefs of a company gives you a competitive advantage in marketing the product to your customers. After all, our society pays attention to companies that practice good ethical standards.

Authentic stories create brand loyalty and brand loyalty creates revenue. They create an emotional response, connect to the customer, and force consumers to engage with values that a company holds. Laughs, smiles, and intrigued reactions retain customers—pay attention to the brands that do this with successful repetition.

Inquiry into the philosophy of a company puts your staff one step ahead of the consumer that asks questions such as where the product is grown, what the brand stands for, and the influential factor behind the packaging.

Check out these three questions to ask about a brand’s backstory:

– What are the company’s core values?

– What is the main target audience?

– Is there a fun fact that each customer should know about your product?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how much money you are making if the state comes into your location and realizes that you aren’t practicing a culture of compliance. Staying compliant with packaging is definitely a way to maintain your good standing with the BCC.

Here are some important questions to ask about the brand’s packaging:

– Is the product child-resistant?

– Is packing tamper-evident?

– Do the illustrations fall under compliant requirements?

– What’s the brand’s policy on sustainability?

– Is the Universal Cannabis Symbol for CA on each product?

– Where’s the general surgeon’s warning?

– Are the test results clearly marked?

Related: A Definitive Guide to Compliance – California Dispensaries

Building out your wireless network infrastructure is a big part of establishing fluid day-to-day operations. Network bandwidth for wifi options should exceed minimum requirements to ensure that sales can be consistently handled. Residential wifi should be given a second thought as delivery service point-of-sale systems need to have a strong and established connection. This works twofold: a) cannabis software is oftentimes cloud-based, making it possible for sales to be made where there is internet and b) cannabis sales need to be reported to METRC as they happen.

To reduce the possibilities of there being costly errors in operations, enterprise-level bandwidth and wifi connectivity is a must-have. When considering the number of wireless items such as printers, computers, tablets, and cell phones that all connect to wifi and are used to keep important compliance documents, it is clear that this is a vital part of day-to-day operations. Slow internet could be the difference between satisfactory customer service which leads to consumer loyalty and disappointing hickups in operations.

Ask these questions when building out your wireless infrastructure:

– How many devices can connect to the wireless internet 

-What is the minimum bandwidth that is needed to run an operation successfully?

– Is there a possibility for scaling? If so, what internet will be needed at that point?

– When are sales going to be processed, how many, and how are these going to be reported to METRC?

The advantages of having an eCommerce website far outweigh any costs that are associated with the development of a fully customized website. Today, eCommerce accounts for a large portion of sales that are made in almost all established industries. Having a website allows for online orders to be placed in an efficient manner while organizing your patient data in a singular database.

Patient data is an accumulation of years’ hard work and dedication to a craft of transparent business operations. Protecting this data is critical and should be at the forefront of nearly all conversations that pertain to eCommerce and business operations. Consider the options that are available to protect the data that you collect. WebJoint uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) as host servers with 256-bit encryption to provide optimal data safety.

Consider these questions to ask about eCommerce:

– Do I own my data?

– How is my business data protected?

– What is the guaranteed uptime of the servers my business infrastructure is on?

– Is my data used by a third-party to re-market to consumers?

Related: 6 Ways a Website Can Increase Sales for Your Cannabis Delivery Service

Automatic delivery management for your cannabis delivery service can make a world of difference in the way that you process orders. Automatic dispatching cannabis software such as Tookan give you the ability to turn your delivery service into an uber-style business model. With features such as two-way communication between consumer and driver and live GPS tracking available on any wireless device, Tookan effectively establishes a new-standard level of transparency with your customers and the Bureau of Cannabis Control.

Delivery management systems such as Tookan act as an added bonus for the end-user experience while providing a modern way of managing what was previously overcomplicated.

Related: 5 Regulation Changes for California Cannabis Delivery Services

Proper establishment of your business infrastructure includes choosing a point-of-sale to process orders as they come in. Point-of-sale systems should be able to do more than just that and go right into managing inventory, processing payments, providing live METRC reporting, and automating delivery dispatch. WebJoint is the only point-of-sale for cannabis delivery services that offers an all-in-one suite and can send delivery service clients sales.

Think of METRC as the filing cabinet for cannabis products that you’ve never had. The products themselves are the actual files which need to be kept in order. This gives businesses statistics in real-time that can actually influence your financial projections and aid in the way in which you organize your business activities.

Traditionally, filing cabinets are used to organize your most important documents with the intention of being able to access data for the respective subject.

Each file needs a way of being organized so as to easily correlate with records and in-turn create a list of matching serial numbers for products.

This concept is carried over to the cannabis industry and provides a critically important way of legitimizing the industry’s inventory overall. More importantly, METRC can help you, as as business owner, stay compliant and increase organization which in-turn results in the ability to process more orders and avoid fines.

Seeds, clones, and flowering plants are tagged at the beginning of their life cycle. At the time of harvest, all waste and changes that the plants undergo is recorded. As plant material is then sent to manufacturers, each is scanned again to give real-time data on their current and previous locations. From manufacturers to distributors, cannabis goods are scanned and then again from distributors to the testing facilities before being returned for distribution to retail locations.

All testing results are uploaded to METRC, which then allows for the entire lifespan of the product to be traced as it is moved to or sold from a retail location to the end consumer.

Not only does METRC help in keeping licensed businesses honest, but it actively promotes the integrity of the industry as a whole by allowing employees access to any and all information on products you carry. This legitimizes the industry while taking into account the safety of consumers.

You might be thinking about the way that METRC keeps track of each product in order to keep an accurate ledger across the state so let’s take a little bit of time to explain the way that this system keeps records:

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): A barcode that holds numerical value and stores data for individual or batches of plants. Think of this as any barcode that you’ve seen on common items. This maintains the integrity of cultivation operations by keeping data that is immediately accessible on immature cannabis plants, teens, and mature plants that are flowering prior to harvest.

Unique Identifier (UID/UDID): This tag is put onto plants which are then organized by lots of up to 100 plants per lot. If there is a combination of cannabis goods, they each get combined and put into the same package which can then be traced throughout the entirety of the lifespan of that product.

Package Tag: Intended to be placed on each package that is carried en-route to and from locations. Examples of this might be batches of flower sent to a retailer to be sold or edibles which have been manufactured and are ready for testing, prior to distribution. The tags to be used when transporting plants or cannabis goods. This tag can be placed on containers for retail locations which are scanned at the time of sale, aiding in proper METRC technique.

Plant Identification Numbers: Serial numbers used to keep a linear record of products. Having a serial number on each product allows for an accurate numerical record to be kept. This enables the track record of a product to be kept from start to finish. Guessing inventory quantity or using square footage to estimate the amount of canopy space is eliminated with a sequential manner of keeping records. All cannabis products fall under this linear organization. Lot tags state the facility name at the top with a license number directly beneath it. On the side of the tag is a categorization of either Adult-Use or Medical as well as the date that the tag was created. At the bottom, is a Plant ID number, or, serial number.

As a cultivator, the task of METRC-integration may seem extremely tedious, especially when considering the size that a canopy has the potential of growing to. Your concerns may be eased when being told that RFID scanning won’t disturb plants as they grow and can be scanned form upwards of 15 feet away. This means that in theory—seeds, clones, and mature plants won’t need to be disturbed for the sole reason of reporting to METRC.

From seed to clone & harvest to trimming, all information is now going to be kept. Inclusive of this is the transfer of plants from one location to the other, the amount of waste that a cultivator produces, the destruction of plants due to various reasons, and finally, testing results when the plant material is manufactured. Accountability is central with METRC and nothing illustrates this more than the ability to trace products all along the supply chain, back to the origin.

As it stands, METRC integration is a looming part of this industry that truly requires a lot of attention for retail and delivery service owners. Temporary licensees do not need to integrate with METRC and instead, will wait until they receive a permanent license.

True integration begins when a permanent license is granted to any given dispensary or delivery service. From the time that you receive a permanent license, METRC training begins—and it’s no easy task.

METRC requires that all sales be reported at the end fo each day with an inventory reconciliation taking place once every 30 days. As previously explained, METRC tracks each and every product along the entirety of it’s lifespan in the supply chain. Retailers that fail to report to METRC are simply operating in a non-compliant manner.

It’s a race against the clock!

Requiring that METRC training is completed within 5 days of the issuance of a permanent license means that managerial staff and/or owners must complete the entirety of training sessions provided to them by the state.

5 days for completing the METRC certification may not seem like a lot of time to absorb information that is at the core of avoiding fines and keeping your license in good standing by being compliant; and it isn’t.

Considering that a 30-day window for full METRC integration of current inventory starts at the same time as the certifications for staff members, the race against the clock is on!

The 30-day framework mandates that all inventory be uploaded to METRC using the above UID numbers. More specifically, current inventory that is in progress of being uploaded to the database is accepted and anything outside of this, must have trace information from the time that it is a seed.

In short, you have 5 days to complete METRC certification and 30 days to upload all information of current inventory once you receive a permanent license. After those 30 days, all METRC-required information must start at the seed or clone stage of CCTT—meaning that your physical, POS, and CCTT information must match.

Each and every sale that is made is technically called a “change of custody,” requiring that a new report to the state’s system must be made. This includes purchases from distributors, records for certificates of analysis (COA), distributor license numbers, shipping manifests, and request receipts.

Hiring an employee that solely focuses on METRC reporting and integration is an excellent way of being sure that you maintain a culture of compliance. This new door will not only allow individuals to enter the industry, but aid in maintaining the integrity of your business.

Uploading CSV files or manually importing data at the end of every day is not only time consuming, but provides a large margin for error.

Having an in-house compliance expert ensures that fines are avoided and that audits are maintained on a regular basis. The new standard of hiring a compliance expert goes deeper than that—it means that the entirety of your staff ought to be trained and understand the proper standard operating procedures (SOP) of your business. After all, you’re responsible for explaining mistakes made to the state should there be any discrepancy.

Related: Looking at Cannabis Compliance with Jordan Wellington from Simplifya

Mindfulness of the available products is one aspect of METRC-integration that shines in a positive way. The ability to track the origins of plants and products overall helps legitimize the industry. The creation of a standard for the industry as a whole is vital to breaking barriers and giving individuals access to a substance that has tremendous benefits.

This standard also paves the way for ensuring that cannabis goods are safe to consume—something that we ought to take into consideration for all customers—new & experienced.

METRC is an adjustment for everyone in the California marketplace right now. Guessing the number of plants that you have as a cultivator is no longer acceptable and for retail owners, simply keeping a paper ledger for your business is outdated.

And although METRC integration may feel like an unnecessary way of keeping track of products, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Some of the positives include, but are not limited to: increased reliability and safety for consumers as the result of tracing products from seed-to-sale, the organization of sale ledgers as the result of an electronic database, and on-the-spot projections for products you sell to consumers. The latter allows for you to maximize profitability by offering what is in demand.