By Warren Pulley, VP Project 7 Security Group
Twitter: @P7securitygroup
The National Cargo Security Council (NCSC) recently estimated that around the world, theft of cargo (meaning goods transported by sea, air or land) annually exceed $50 billion dollars a year, and with the expected boom in taxable cannabis related products expected to be in the tens of billions each year nationwide, you can expect that the criminals, opportunists, and insider threat elements will began to exploit the weaknesses in your cannabis businesses security structure and exploit your supply chain and product delivery services.
While most business owners may look at the loss of cargo as a simple law enforcement and insurance issue, the marijuana industry must take a wholly different approach since their products for the most part are uninsured commodities, law enforcement is still somewhat reluctant to assist cannabis business owners in prime investigations involving marijuana related crimes, (as most law enforcement entities still prosper from asset forfeiture laws) related to marijuana production and sale and lastly the long term financial impact of being unable to deliver product in a highly competitive market could result in your business closing its doors for good.
Marijuana business owners in California need to become more aware of the statewide impact that a one-time cargo theft can have on their bottom lines. A few things marijuana business owners need to take into consideration in order to remain secure and profitable are:
- The need to develop tracking systems which can reduce cargo loss dramatically.
- Being proactive and having a plan in place to determine supply disruptions and mitigate them.
- Development of a robust security operation to aid in the prevention of cargo theft and product loss.
In recent years, security companies have become a necessary business expense and the “go it alone” approach will no longer suffice in this age of grey area security regulations, professional armed gangs looking to capitalize on your security weaknesses and insider threat actors whom the ability to erode your company’s profit position through theft. Project 7 Security Group recommends that cannabis entrepreneurs select professional security services to protect dispensaries, grow operations, cash storage, currency transport and fixed site operations. If you would like information on how Project 7 Security Group protects cannabis business and profits, call us at (800) 560-3103, visit www.project7security.com or email us directly at wp@project7securitygroup.com.
