My name is Tom and I am a cannabis dispensary security guard.
- Many people have never been to a dispensary before, and may picture it either as a head shop or a pharmacy.
Did you know that most dispensaries have a full security team? Even if there is just one guy at the door checking IDs, there may be more out of sight, watching you through the security system. This kind of security work can be very lucrative, because there are more dispensaries opening every day and not enough trained personnel to guard them. Why do cannabis dispensaries need such intense security measures, you may be asking. This is because although many states have legally cannabis use, the federal government has not. On the federal level it is still illegal to sell cannabis, which means dispensaries cannot process checks or take credit/debit cards. Cannabis is a purely cash business, so over the course of a busy day a large dispensary might take in 25 or 30 thousands dollars in cash. Over the course of a weekend, a cannabis dispensary may end up with 75 thousand dollars in cash in the safe. This kind of money makes cannabis dispensaries prime targets for robbery. The guards watching the dispensary aren’t worried about thieves shoplifting cannabis, they are worried about armed robbery. I work the graveyard shift, usually by myself, and I have a sidearm and a shotgun with me as I watch the security monitors showing me the outside of the cannabis dispensary. I have never fired a shot, but I am always prepared to!