Marijuana Business Magazine August 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | August 2019 110 Distribution, for example, can take more time to coordinate. The Green Solution routes its products through a distribution center. But Trinidad is nearly four hours from the hub, which makes inventory planning trickier. That means employees need to look closely at sales trends and data to plan shipments. And they have to plan deliveries weeks in advance to ensure the company’s inventory of product is in line with customer demand, Lopez said. Another challenge is staff training on identification cards, Lopez said. At dispensaries near state borders, employees are more likely to see out- of-state IDs and must be more diligent about checking for valid identification. To do that, they use state and international identification books, digital ID scanners and small magnification devices known as loupes to more closely analyze ID cards. USE AWAIVER One way to educate consumers about state law and mitigate the risk of selling to out-of-state customers is to have them sign a waiver or an acknowledgement of state laws at the checkout counter. Some marijuana retail shops use digital waivers on tablets at checkout that ask consumers to acknowledge the legal ramifications. Waivers should vary from market to market in order to address any relevant state laws, Easley said. “You’re able to say then, from a liability standpoint, that you educated your consumers,” he added. In general, a waiver can ask consumers to agree to: • Not use cannabis products while driving or operating dangerous machinery. • Use cannabis products in accor- dance with all applicable state and local laws. • Keep cannabis products safely and securely stored away from children and animals. • Use cannabis products only within the borders of the applicable state. • Not resell cannabis products in or outside the applicable state. • Use cannabis products only discrete- ly in the safety and security of their own domicile and not to consume or use cannabis products in public. EDUCATE CONSUMERS A key tip for operators near state lines is to strictly adhere to state laws and educate consumers on the rules. For example, The Green Solution’s employees remind out-of-state customers that it is illegal to take cannabis prod- ucts out of Colorado and that customers would be subject to state and federal laws if they did, Lopez said. Harmony, meanwhile, does not sell product to consumers who lack valid New Jersey medical marijuana patient identification. “Being the closest dispensary to Manhattan, we regularly encounter New Yorkers and tourists who are unsure of the local and state laws,” Brodchandel said. “They assume they can purchase (medical marijuana) without valid identification and then travel interstate with the product.” Harmony’s website shares information about how patients can qualify for the New Jersey medical marijuana program, and staff members are trained with talking points to explain that out-of- state patients cannot purchase cannabis in New Jersey, he said. These are sound strategies for operators in adult-use markets, too, Brodchandel noted. “(Businesses) in states with recreational use should educate customers that it is a federal crime to cross a border with banned products,” he said. “Consumers must be educated on—and comply with—state rules and regulations.” A billboard posted in Connecticut, left, alerts drivers that adult-use marijuana is legal in neighboring Massachusetts. Theory Wellness in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, below, also benefits from its proximity to New York state. Courtesy Photos BUSINESS ALONG BORDERS