It’s official; flights are booked and the hotel is reserved! ArmorStor & KL security are headed to the Javits Center in New York City from January 7th-8th.
At the start of the 2022 New Year, a few of our cannabis facility experts from KL Security will be headed Northeast to attend the New York CannaCon. CannaCon is one of the largest, oldest, and most successful cannabis trade shows nationwide: an exciting event for exhibitors to come and show off the latest technologies available to the cannabis market. Various industry leaders, providing everything a cannabis entrepreneur might need from seed to sale, will be joined together. CannaCon is a one stop shop: lighting, web design, payroll processing, extraction equipment, financing options and our specialty, physical security items such as our ArmorStor line of vaults and vault doors, cages, camera systems, safes and cash management solutions. Cannacon also features educational seminars covering a wide variety of cannabis related topics.
On March 31st of this year, New York became the 15th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, allowing adults over the age of 21 to legally buy and consume marijuana. The recent legalization within New York and the Cannacon trade show allows new potential licensees to begin planning operations and meet with potential suppliers, advisors, and service providers. The state of New York is expecting the first recreational dispensary to open legally towards the end of 2022. Regulations have to be set, licenses need to be obtained, and the first legal seeds need to be sown.
Once recreational sales begin, it is projected New York will bring in $1.2 billion in sales by 2023 and $4.2 billion by 2027. According to the governor’s administration, New York State is hoping to be able to collect $350 million in tax revenue annually. (Yakowicz, 2021) Not only will the legalization of marijuana bring in revenue for the state, but it will also create thousands of new job opportunities for New Yorkers.
KL Security is eager to attend this event at such a pivotal time for the state, allowing us to showcase the best end-to-end security solutions for compliance, profit protection, and business operation optimization.
Vice President of Sales for KL Security, Travis Easter, had this to say on the upcoming trade show:
“Our team is very excited to attend the NY CannaCon event in January. Over the past few years, we have met a lot of great entrepreneurs, as well as many industry partners, at CannaCon events throughout the country that we’ve helped implement a holistic security plan, programming and physical security solutions that help drive their compliance and bottom line forward. We will be available at Booth # 445 to answer any questions you might have about securing your facility, with experts that can help guide you through the process of realizing your dream.
We will be prepared to discuss your needs one-on-one, providing real time price quotes so you can start budgeting for the future.
Manufacturers and industry partners, many of which we have met numerous times, are also invited to stop by our booth to discuss potential partnerships and opportunities.”
We look forward to helping new licensees become successful within New York’s recreational cannabis market. See you there!
The United States is embroiled in
civil unrest. “There have been
demonstrations in at least 430 cities and towns so far, large and small,
across all 50 states.1”
These demonstrations are in response to the deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. American citizens of all races, ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ages have gathered to voice their disdain on the excessive use of force by law enforcement. The majority of these protests have culminated & concluded peacefully, but looting has occurred in several US cities.
There
are many different theories as to why people loot2, but from a
business owner’s standpoint – the ‘why’ is not concerning as ‘if’. In America,
civil unrest wasn’t a recent concern when developing security standards for procedure,
just as pandemic protocols weren’t included a few months ago either. For those
businesses operating in densely populated areas, this will be something to
consider going forward. This is especially true for cannabis dispensaries,
pharmacies, secure transporters, cultivators, craft growers, testing
facilities, and large-scale growers.
In states where cannabis is legal and where looting has
occurred, marijuana dispensaries and pharmacies were targeted. Luckily, those
businesses that worked with KL Security found their products and profits
unscathed. This is a clear example of when investing in physical security pays
off.
Successful Security
Measures
These businesses were able to successfully protect product and cash due to the installation of vaults & vault doors. Class 5-V vault doors protect contents against unauthorized entry, covert entry, and forced entry. Even though breaching one of these doors is nearly impossible, it is recommended the highest value product (cash) is stored inside a UL TL-15 rated safe placed inside the vault room.
A
representative of a Cannabis company effected by looting reached out to KL
Security on the morning of June 4th. This representative oversees
multiple locations in one of America’s fastest growing cannabis markets; he was
able to witness the capabilities of vault doors & vault rooms firsthand.
Stakeholders were ecstatic to have taken the appropriate measures ahead of time
and can rest easy knowing their highly profitable product is safe and sound. In
exemplifying their satisfaction, this company expressed intent to acquire more
vault doors.
Where Security Plans
Fall Short
Some States are allowing waivers to allow cannabis
dispensaries to store product on the sales floor, in lightly secured
undercounter cabinets. We cannot stress enough, given the stories we have
heard recently, that this is not a sound storage method when defending against
smash-and-grab attacks.
Whether or not you agree with the protests, all business owners can agree on the importance of protecting their investment. KL Security is here to assist in the security needs of Cannabis craft growers, secure transporters, testing facilities, dispensaries, pharmacies, and commercial growers. We can help review current standards of procedures to identify areas for improvement that will expand peace of mind and drive revenue. To discuss additional security implementations or compliance at your facility, please reach out.
The ‘Final Rule’, by its title, sounds rather ominous. When the government institutes regulatory changes, it is often to the lament of affected agencies. This time: not so much. The Final Rule regarding Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals is actually overall beneficial to facilities as well as the environment. One of the key focuses of the amendment is how facilities handle expired or unused pharmaceuticals and the compliant storage of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.
Hazmat Storage Lockers & Buildings Specifically designed for hazardous material storage and dispensing from 55-gallon drums containing flammable or combustible liquids.
Historically, the most common way of disposing pharmaceuticals has been flushing (pouring down the drain), “Until this final rule, drain disposal has been an allowable disposal method for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals under RCRA…” 84 FR 5816. It was previously thought that this had no impact on our water sources, but the opposite has been scientifically proven. There have been multiple studies performed on the effect of flushing on wildlife, “A study by Karen Kidd et al., in the 22 May 2007 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed the collapse of a population of fish in an isolated lake spiked with relatively high levels of the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol.” Lubick, Naomi. “Drugs in the environment: do pharmaceutical take-back programs make a difference?.” Environmental health perspectives vol. 118,5 (2010): A210-4. doi:10.1289/ehp.118-a210
List of Potentially Affected Facilities:
Drug Wholesalers
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except convenience) Stores.
Pharmacies and Drug Stores.
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters.
Veterinary Services.
Physicians’ Offices.
Dentists’ Offices.
Other Health Practitioners (e.g., chiropractors).
Outpatient Care Centers.
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services.
Hospitals.
Nursing Care Facilities (e.g., assisted living facilities, nursing homes).
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (e.g., assisted living facilities with on-site nursing facilities).
Reverse Distributors.
The scientific community has not yet definitively linked the flushing of pharmaceuticals to adverse effects on humans. If these chemicals are being introduced into our drinking water and having profound effects on the wildlife within the drinking water, it is only logical to assume that humans would incur negative consequences as well. Now that an issue has been identified, we must address it: “One way to prevent additional impact to our waters is the cessation or reduction of pharmaceutical drugs disposed of via sewers,” C.G. Daughton, I.S. Ruhoy, Environmental footprint of pharmaceuticals: The significance of factors beyond direct excretion to sewers, Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 28 (2009), pp. 2495-2521, 10.1897/08-382.1.
Another beneficial facet of this amendment is the new guideline on how Nicotine products will be handled. Traditionally, smoking cessation products containing Nicotine qualified as hazardous waste and had to be disposed of as such. Not anymore; from now on, these products are categorized as nonhazardous pharmaceutical waste.
Lastly, this new rule affects how expired medicines are returned. An outdated drug may be returned to a reverse distributor. This is common practice; after August 21, 2019, a drug becomes eligible for return the day it expires or ‘outdates’ (assuming it meets other mitigating factors: “original manufacturer packaging; undispensed; and unexpired or less than a year past expiration” SMITH, CHARLOTTE A. “Countdown to New Drug Waste Rule: EPA’s New Disposal Regulations to Require Operational Changes.” Health Facilities Management, vol. 32, no. 6, July 2019, p. 52. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=137427558&site=eds-live.
The exact dates for when regulations roll out may be affected by state guidelines, so a facility must always be sure to cross-check federal regulations with state level regulations. These changes will take some time for facilities to adjust, but are anticipated to be overall cost-saving. Less training will be needed for staff with the list of hazardous products lessened by the release of Nicotine products for hazardous disposal. Distribution centers may qualify for different (less expensive) licensing options with the removal of Nicotine products from the list. Waste management practices will be more streamlined by the removal of flushing as an option for disposal.
After expiration and before disposal, facilities must still adhere to government regulations of containment.
Schedules I and II
May suffice with safe or steel cabinet:
Safe or cabinet must have following specifications: 30 man-minutes against surreptitious entry, 10 man-minutes against forced entry, 20 man-hours against lock manipulation, and 20 man-hours against radiological techniques. These includes TL-15 Rated EPA Safes and some agencies may be approved for GSA Approved Class 5 rated containers.
Or if quantities require a vault:
Walls, floors, and ceiling are constructed of at least 8 inches of reinforced concrete or other substantial masonry, reinforced vertically and horizontally with ½ inch steel rods tied 6inches on center, or the structural equivalent to such reinforced walls, floors, and ceilings. Modular vault structures of a UL Class 1 rating are equivalent to 12″ inch poured concrete w/ 4 layers of re-bar per ASTM specifications.
Vault includes Choice of Class 1 Door or ArmorStor ™ Class 5 Equivalency Rated Door.
Following specifications: 30 man minutes against surreptitious entry, 10 man-minutes against forced entry, 20 man-hours against lock manipulation, and 20 man-hours against radiological techniques
One of the following: Electrical lacing of the walls, floor, and ceilings; sensitive ultrasonic equipment within the vault; a sensitive sound accumulator system; or such other device designed to detect illegal entry as may be approved by administration
Schedules III, IV and V
Subject to the same storage security regulations as schedules I and II
May utilize a building used specifically for storage of controlled substances providing the building:
Has an electrical alarm system
Perimeter security during working and non-working hours
Etc.
May store drugs in a cage within a building on the premises
Cage must have walls of no less than No. 10 gauge steel fabric mounted on steel posts
Posts are at least one inch in diameter, set in concrete or installed with lag bolts that are pinned or brazed, and placed no more than ten feet apart with 1 and 1 ½ inch reinforcements every sixty inches
Etc.
Helpful Links:
Code of Federal Regulations: Title 21
When you’re ready to begin the process of securing your facility, the consultants at KL Security are available to assist. Well versed in government regulations and recent legal mandates, we are prepared to ensure your business will pass requirements.
Information has been gathered from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed and is subject to change without notice. All license information and security measures taken directly from the Code of Federal Regulations: 21CFR205.50 and 84 FR 5816.
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