Finding a ‘Pot’ of Gold in Marijuana Dispensary Security

Denver-based integrator Security Grade Protective Services earns between $10K and $300K per installation securing cannabis dispensaries and cultivation facilities.

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Fire is also a concern … you wouldn’t want the facility to go “up in smoke,” and we are not talking about Cheech & Chong here. In general, the fire department has the ability to control and open the doors although every facility is different based on fire detection and codes.

Security Grade Protective is installing halon systems in some of the areas prone to accumulate butane gas from the plants, which makes the risk of explosion higher. According to Becket, some there is a growing trend among fire authorities to mandate sophisticated “lab-oriented detection systems” in facilities.

The video and fire systems are tied into the intrusion system with as much real-time notification as possible.

“We’re getting the owners involved and we’re getting the armed guards involved with real-time text notifications. If the alarm goes off, they’re getting a text. Or if the temperature of the room gets above 90 degrees putting the plants in danger, the system sends a text. It’s a lot of technology,” says Beckett.

$35/Month Per Camera Off-Site Data Fees

The real “high” from this niche is the remote monitoring and video storage.

“We are using the best in the industry, Rapid Response Monitoring,” says Beckett.

Security Grade Protective charges $35 per camera per month for dispensaries. Large cultivation centers are charged less per camera.

“Data and Internet are not free and everyone is charging for that data package right now. We explain to our customers to imagine using their cell phone to run 150 YouTube videos all day, every day. Imagine what your data bill is going to be. Then they kind of have an understanding of why the data is not free,” notes Beckett.

“It’s an amazing project,” he says. It was previously a cellular fiber optics hub center. So you can imagine what kind of a wiring nightmare that was inside this building when it was purchased. The owners completely gutted it and had it up and running in just two-and-a-half months. I did the walk through with the state police inspector for marijuana there, and he said out of all the 21 facilities that he’s seen, it is by far the best security system, and all the measures that we’ve taken, and knowing the cycle of the plants, etc. The inspector is going to model that system to let other security companies know how it should be done.”

The project’s cameras are all IC Realtime. Beckett has wanted to use the line for a long time.

“I met them at CEDIA Expo 2012. I absolutely loved the way they interacted with the customers at the booth, and they seemed like they had good products. I worked for another company at the time and brought forth IC Realtime, but the owner told me it was too expensive.

“Now that I own my own company, we’re expanding, learning and trying to get the best products on the market. We went to ISC West in Las Vegas in the springtime and met with IC Realtime. They had what we were looking for from the standpoint of regulation, IR range, lens capabilities with 20-foot ranges, fisheye 360-degree cameras, and motorized PTZs that are easily controllable through a smartphone,” he says.

He continues, “With their technology and the relationship we have built with them, I don’t see why I would use anybody else. I’ve actually eliminated my other manufacturers from my bidding software because I’m not going to use anybody else. I have a 10-year warranty, the best in the business. The products are made in America. They’re everything a security company wants, especially one that stands behind America … we want that.”

Porter says the company has no regrets chasing the cannabis industry, which represents about half of Security Grade Protective’s total revenues today.

“It’s been really amazing. This is something we were not thinking was going to be so good,” says Porter. “We realize at the end of the day it was all about supply and demand. We have competition out there. But they are not full service like we are. A lot of the cannabis clientele have been burned; there’s a lot of riff raff in cannabis. There’s a lot of riffraff in this industry when it comes to ancillary businesses. And we have been able to get through that just operating legitimately and treating our clients like royalty. We are unapologetic advocates of the cannabis industry.”

Security Regulations Vary Widely

The need for security in the industry is driven by strict regulations. Each state has its own rules that are written, but they’re generally the same. Dispensaries are required to have a certain number of cameras for egress and ingress, get visual images and conduct facial recognition on people coming in and out of the building. The regs stipulate CCTV camera surveillance and even how many frames per second they must be, along with how many days the storage has to be accessible. According to Porter, the only comparable industry is the casino business. The camera standards range from state to state.

“Here in Colorado, they have really weak standards, in my opinion,” says Beckett.

The statewide mandate is for analog V1 resolution and at least 15 frames per second.

“You’re not looking at a good, high-quality standard there,” he adds. But in the city of Aurora, Colo., the mandate is higher. That city requires a 1.3-megapixel camera, and instead of the 40 days of recording time it mandates 60 days. On top of that, the city of Aurora mandates offsite capture and recording of video in case something happens to on-site DVR, such as flood, fire or theft.

In Illinois, the law is even more strict, requiring 90 days of recording time with 1.3-megapixel cameras minimum.  At that point, hard drive space starts to become an issue, along with bandwidth. The end result from all these varying degrees of regulations means that Security Grade Protective has become adept at offering good/better/best solutions for clients.

Surprisingly, there aren’t additional restrictive licensing requirements for working in the industry. Just as any security provider would have to do no matter what industry he serves, Security Grade is licensed for installation and monitoring in the states in which it works, and also holds licenses, insurance and bonds for its armed and unarmed guard service. In Colorado, the cannabis industry is overseen by the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, which does not require special mandates for security companies.

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