My name is Susan & I am a cannabis dispensary security guard.
Many people have never been to a real dispensary before, & may picture it either as a head shop or a pharmacy.
Did you ever know that most dispensaries have a full security team? Even if there is a single woman at the door checking IDs, there may be more out of sight, carefully surveying you through the security system. This kind of security work can be particularly lucrative for us, because there are more dispensaries opening every day & not nearly enough trained personnel to guard them. Why do cannabis dispensaries need such high tech and intense security measures, you may be asking. This is because although many states have allowed legal cannabis use, the federal government has not. On the federal level it is still illegal to go out and sell cannabis, which means dispensaries cannot process checks or even take credit/debit cards, then cannabis is a purely money business. That means over the course of a tied up day a big dispensary might take in 25 or 30 grand in money. Over the course of a weekend, a cannabis dispensary may end up with even more money in the safe. This kind of money makes cannabis dispensaries amazing targets for robbery. The guards enjoying the dispensary aren’t upset about the idea of thieves shoplifting cannabis, they are upset about armed robbery. I personally work the graveyard shift, usually by myself, & I have a sidearm & a shotgun as I watch the security monitors showing myself and others outside of the high quality cannabis dispensary. I have never fired a shot, however I am always prepared to!