Answering the Tough Questions…
Q: How do you assure security on the premises? Will there be armed guards?
A: Please see our Operations & Safety page for more details on our security measures. Cannabis dispensaries have been shown to IMPROVE neighborhood security because of the cameras, professional guards, lighting, and activation that they bring. Conor’s store in the Haight-Ashbury has probably made that the safest block on its corridor.
Any cannabis company that is licensed in California must have their security plan approved by the local and state regulators. We have professional security on-site from before the store opens until after it closes.
The state does not require guards to be armed, though they often are.
Q: How do you protect our children from cannabis use?
A: We all share this concern. Our kids and young relatives are growing up in this community just like we did. The question is how best to achieve it.
Unlike liquor stores or even casinos, children are not allowed in dispensaries at all. Our security checks everyone’s ID at the door before anyone can enter.
Cannabis is a highly regulated product, and cannabis businesses must work with local government and law enforcement to ensure safety for all—or they will lose their license.
Regulated cannabis dispensaries are actually the best way to REDUCE teen access to cannabis. Prohibition has failed for 50 years and has unfortunately helped build an illegal market that is almost $10 billion in California alone, and that allows drug dealers to ply “Snapchat” as we speak. Illegal dealers follow no rules, check no IDs. Regulated markets follow extensive rules, and the data--from Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and elsewhere--show that regulated markets reduce teen cannabis access and use.
Q: What about flavored cannabis products?
A: As Chief of Staff to the President of the Board of Supervisors, Conor was actually involved with the flavored tobacco ban that started in San Francisco years ago, and he was active in the campaign to uphold it. Honestly, the comparison between that issue and cannabis doesn’t really make sense.
Any edible cannabis product will have flavor. An infused brownie is flavored like a brownie. What would edible cannabis products taste like if they weren’t “flavored”? Also, cannabis flowers are often bred with natural plant terpenes that make them taste like grapefruit or strawberries, for example.
Also, California regulations ban any cannabis product, packaging, or advertising that is attractive to kids, looks like non-cannabis products, or is shaped like animals, etc. And tobacco products cannot be sold in a cannabis dispensary.
Q: How do you educate about risks associated with cannabis use?
A: Dispensaries are all about education. Education is the single most important reason to have retail stores instead of just delivery. At Conor’s San Francisco store, each customer or patient is paired individually with a trained staff member who guides them. The staff asks about the person’s experience, expectations, etc. and makes recommendations.
We always emphasize starting slow with small doses, even as low as 2.5mg. And we emphasize the form factors most appropriate to the person, e.g. low dose mints instead of a vape. Having access to an expert who can speak about the endocannabinoid system, product types, risks, and best practices is the key to the retail experience.