Cannabis Compliance and Getting Your Business Ready For Inspections

Cannabis Compliance: Ensuring Your Cannabusiness Is Primed For Inspections

Marijuana Compliance and Getting Your Business Ready For Inspections from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Cannabis businesses have to face regulations from auditors and inspectors. Some of these include the state licensing body, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), insurance companies, labor department, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and much more.

Working with these agencies is all part of running a cannabis business. This is why it’s critical that your business is compliant and always ready for inspection at all times. A good start would be referring to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Quality Systems Approach for pharmaceutical regulations, but businesses should also consider employing one person whose sole task is to ensure compliance and quality assurance.

Here’s what else you can do to be inspection-ready:

Establish a compliance system. There are many out of the box compliance systems that are beneficial for cannabis businesses. Compliance systems help you efficiently build a quality management system, and you can choose from various standards that suit your needs best.
Be updated with regulations. Even in the most cannabis-friendly states, saying “I didn’t know” will never work. All the people you employ should also stay up to date in the event that an inspector drops by.
Continuing education. Work on a continuing education program for your company in an effort to make it easier to learn regulations. Additionally, working with a lawyer who’s well versed in your state cannabis program will help you better understand the latest rules.
Be meticulous with record-keeping. Write everything down – especially aspects of the business that you will be held most accountable for. These include labeling, packaging, taxes, and payments among many more.
Do a self-audit of your business. Even if you aren’t being contacted by the authorities, make it a habit of doing a self-audit several times a year. An internal audit will also give you bonus points when the auditor comes knocking around while proving your compliance. Many auditors want to see how well business owners have a grasp of the operations, and having an internal audit prepared shows that you are committed to following regulations.

It’s also critical to update your banker at all times. Let your bank know everything that’s happening with your business, from changes in regulations to employee relations. A healthy relationship with your bank will improve the chances that they will continue to work with you on the long-term.

Whether you’re located in a state that has just legalized cannabis medically or recreationally, or in a state that’s just adopted new regulations, it’s necessary to always be on top of legislation. It is in the best interest of cannabis businesses to prioritize compliance management over everything else. Successful cannabis businesses are those that ensure they have all the important applications ready from the start. Compliance should be applied to everything from the front to the back end. It’s also important to think about proper packaging, government reporting, correct tax calculations, and paying taxes on time.

Cannabusinesses need to invest time and energy devoted to compliance since there is no set of standardized best practices – naturally, because all states have its own regulatory environment. Regulatory agencies and governing agencies that write up the rules vary from one state to another.

Some common areas that many businesses fail to comply with are inventory, tracking, licensing, labeling, and packaging. Several states require cannabis cultivators to update RFID tagging once the plant evolves from cloning to vegetation stage, but the guidelines for these differ based on states and are usually based according to the plant size. Cultivators need to know what the state defines, and ensure that tracking is always accurate from the start.

Many businesses are also slammed by agencies for incorrect labeling and packaging of cannabis-infused products. These areas have very strict guidelines that are set by state regulations. But generally, labeling and packaging rules are always strict since they involve public health and safety, but most importantly need to be done in such a way that they don’t look attractive to children. If you run a dispensary, you are responsible for ensuring that any product added to your inventory are compliant in packaging and labeling, and update them as needed.

Business owners need to ensure they are always compliant to reduce the risk of facing heavy fines, and just as worse, having to get rid of your products. These problems can be mitigated from the beginning to save you from stress, profit loss, and time-consuming issues. Successful cannabis businesses need to always have a good reputation with governing agencies.

Marijuana Compliance and Getting Your Business Ready For Inspections from CannabisNet on Vimeo.