Re-Think Cannabis Compliance & Violations

Compliance is a top challenge in the cannabis industry for a reason. Seemingly unattainable due to ever-changing laws and regulations, compliance with a bevy of rules requires expertise and resources some businesses may not possess.

Regardless of the legislative complexities and the struggle to stay up to date, your business is required to adhere to state and federal laws or face heavy consequences.

How can your business work toward compliance when it seems like a moving target? Keep your business out of harm’s way by keeping an eye on the top cannabis compliance issues.

As more and more marijuana dispensaries receive their medical and adult-use business licenses, avoiding cannabis compliance violations becomes the top priority. To avoid these costly infractions, we’ve compiled a list of the most common cannabis compliance violations.

Top 10 Cannabis Dispensary Retail Store Violations

1. The licensee has not reconciled all on-hand inventory of cannabis and cannabis products in the state track and track system.
2. All areas where the cannabis is stored, weighed, packed, loaded, unloaded, prepared, or moved are not being recorded on surveillance.
3. All physical changes, alterations, or modification of the premises has not been approved via premises modification request.
4. The licensee does not maintain a copy of all current and prior operating procedures.
5. The licensee does not have an accurate sell-by or expiration date for all inventory.
6. All scales used for weighing cannabis and cannabis product are not certified.
7. The licensee has not retained all training records, including the content and names of employees receiving the training.
8. All edible products do not include instructions for use.
9. All packages containing cannabis goods are not tamper-evident and child-resistant.
10. All employees do not have an employee badge with the required identification details, photos, and government-issued ID.

Top 10 Cannabis Cultivation Center Violations

1. The licensee has not reconciled all on-hand inventory of cannabis and cannabis products in the state track and track system.
2. The track and trace account has not corrected data entry errors within three calendar days of the discovery of the error.
3. The licensee does not maintain a copy of all current operating procedures.
4. All areas where cannabis is stored, packaged, weighed, loaded, unloaded, prepared, or moved within the licensed premise are not recorded under surveillance.
5. All physical changes, alterations, or modifications of the premises have not been approved via premises modification request.
6. The licensee has not recorded the movement of plants within 3 calendar days of occurrence.
7. All chemicals and pesticides used on the premises do not have accurate inventory or Safety Data Sheets included.
8. All cannabis waste is not in a secured waste receptacle or secured area until the time of disposal.
9. The licensee has not retained all training records, including the content and names of employees receiving the training.
10. The licensee does not maintain a detailed visitor log with name, company, the reason for visit, date, and times entering and exiting the limited access areas.

Top 10 Cannabis Manufacturer Violations

1. 

   The licensee has not reconciled all on-hand inventory of cannabis and cannabis products in the state track and track system.

2. The closed-loop equipment does not have maintenance logs with dates, descriptions, parts replaced, and technician details for work completed.
3. All training documentation is not maintained and is available for review.
4. All production batch records are not complete, concurrent, and with all activity documented.
5. All cannabis goods ready for final sale do not include all required labeling information and warning statements.
6. A detailed procedure, schedule, and storage plan for cleaning, sanitizing, and maintaining all equipment and utensils do not exist.
7. All cannabis waste is not in a secured waste receptacle or secured area until the time of disposal.
8. All safety data sheets and purity records for any chemical solvents used are not maintained and are readily available to employees and regulators.
9. All manufacturing personnel is not trained in hazards presented by all solvents or chemicals used at the licensed premise as described in safety data sheets for each solvent or chemical.
10. All packages containing cannabis goods are not tamper-evident and child-resistant.

Cannabis businesses that fail to comply with all applicable legislation and regulations face consequences from warnings and citations to license suspensions and revocations and in some extreme cases, criminal charges.

Because the stakes are so high, it’s important to avoid working alone and assuming your business can take on compliance issues without any expert guidance. Vet potential partners carefully and ally with those who can help keep your business out of trouble and on the path to success.

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