Cannabis legalization has a decade and change under its belt, but the laws are constantly changing. Recently in Nevada, the daily purchase and possession limit was raised from one ounce to two and a half ounces with the changes taking effect on January 1, 2024. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is currently considering SB 846, a bipartisan bill looking to allow recreational cannabis sales to expand the current medical state. The waves of state legalization update to varying degrees and will constantly find ways to innovate and allow for greater access to the plant. Cannabis is a living breathing industry that is constantly evolving, so even if there aren’t active measures in place now to change the landscape, more will certainly follow. That being said, as a dispensary owner, what do you do when the cannabis laws in your area change?
Stay Tuned In
One of the best offenses is a strong defense. Get your head in the game, take these sports metaphors, and read the news. One of our favorite ways to stay in tune with what’s happening in the world of cannabis is by producing webinars on cannabis news. Our most recent webinar, The 2023 Cannabis State of the Union, is hosted by our in-house cannabis legalization expert Sheri Springer. These State of the Union webinars go state by state and analyze what bills are in motion, what bills have passed, and what that means for people seeking licensing in each state. These cover cannabis on a national level, but for a more micro level as cannabis advancements affect you specifically, it’s a good idea to get involved with organizations. In Nevada, for instance, the Chamber of Cannabis is a non-profit organization comprised of industry veterans and professionals committed to the advancement of the cannabis industry.
Nationally, the group NORML is an incredible advocacy group dedicated to support cannabis access on a state and federal level. NORML chapters are all over the country and even extend to certain international territories. To find a local chapter and start getting involved, check out their chapter map here.
Start Working Internally
When your state has upcoming policy changes (that you hear about from one of your new friends mentioned earlier), it’s a good idea to get your team up to date. Huddle with your leadership team from all departments so your team can see all the angles of how the upcoming changes will affect your business.
In the example of Nevada updating their daily purchase limits, your team will need to identify what that means for each department. Your marketing team will need to update your website and any social media with updates to your followers, your sales team will need to be aware of new purchase limits, your purchasing team will need to adjust what they order to account for this, and your compliance team will need to keep a keen eye to make sure these limits are respected. Bring each department to the table and have a large discussion of exactly how these changes will impact their processes and work and identify what SOPs need to be updated, what processes need to changed, and what messaging needs to go out (and when!).
With an action plan in mind, work backwards from the actual start date (in this case, Nevada’s updated sales limits take effect on January 1, 2024) and create a rollout plan for each department. A unified action plan keeps everyone aware of the workload and keeps your team accountable to each other.
Create Communications Internally and Externally
When your committee finds the workflows that will need adjustments, start rolling out the clear communications. Start from within and have your team leaders address the changes with their team members directly, and if you can, hold an all-hands meeting. Make sure every one of your team members is aware of what is to come so they can effectively communicate the changes to their partners and customers. Bring these topics up in pre-shift meetings and keep everyone aware.
As you get closer to the change dates, your marketing or communications team will need to be proactive in letting the public know what’s going on. You can’t assume that a consumer of cannabis is aware of the changes that are to come. Pushing social that clearly identifies what is changing or putting a banner on your website is helpful. With social media, you do need to be mindful of how you phrase your message. Keep our handy social media guide for cannabis operators saved to double check your compliance safeguards when it comes to the algorithm.
Finally as you get closer to the updated regulation date, you may want to post signage in-store within your waiting area and in your showroom floor. Remind your ID check-in team members to let guests know about the updated laws once they’re in effect as they enter. Find whatever compliant ways you can to message out what the new normal in your area will be.
Get Loud and Proud
Want some bonus points that may lead to some store clout? Reach out to the politicians who helped drive the changes and thank them. In our Nevada example, that’s Senator Dallas Harris. These local politicians are the ones that work hard for your industry, and showing some appreciation can get you on their radar. Offer your store floor as a platform for any interviews that may pertain to the changes.
You can also reach out to the local news and offer interviews about cannabis reform and changes. When there are any political changes that go into place, news outlets will need experts to speak on the subject and opportunities to get footage to pair with their coverage. Being the ‘go-to’ dispensary when news has a cannabis story to cover helps amplify your message and brings attention to your location. Take advantage of it.
Stay Complaint
For innovative, cannabis-focused and compliance rooted software systems, changes are a breeze. You may be covering all the big parts of the changes, but you must also remember to update your systems. Work with your software partner to make sure that as soon as compliance measures change, your systems are updated to reflect these new regulations. This should be an effortless process.
In our Nevada example where the legal purchase limit goes from 28 grams to 70 grams per day, this is simply going into Retail: Sales Settings and updating one section. The section is “Restrict sales to patients without over-rides to how many grams of flower product or its equivalent?”, and where it currently says ‘28’, the user goes in and updates that to ‘70’. This gets saved, and now all customers can legally purchase up to 70 grams of medicated product from any POS system or online ordering. To make it extra easy and clear, we have a screenshot of the singular change you’d need to make here:
As a reminder, activism and involvement is what got cannabis reform started in the first place. To further drive change in the industry, get involved and stay apprised of what measures are being brought up in your area.
For more cannabis updates, stay tuned to MJ Platform’s blog.
