I am hosting a Webinar coming up in September. I presented this a few times in Michigan last winter and it was really well received with attendees at the event who were in the beginning stages of applying.
Addressing compliance at the first stages is important - this is to prepare you for what is ahead and to get rid of the rose colored glasses. It is not just about making a ton of money and flipping a business - that can set you up to fail.
I thought it was important to address what to get ready for while you are preparing to move into a heavily regulated market. I also want to prepare people for what is to come, for example being over-regulated and more regulation keeps piling on. We are experiencing this in Colorado and it is getting to the point where owners just catch their breath and then a new set of regulations creep in every 4 to 6 months. Peoples heads are spinning just trying to keep up on packaging and labeling rules changes.
One of the main patterns I see on a daily basis in this industry, is āreactionaryā and at least in my own state facilities tend to wait for the government to show up and hand out violations. However enforcement is mostly medicore and then people become complacent. This is a pattern I am trying to help break by getting people to be more proactive in compliance as to reactive.
I am a firm believer in order to survive in the industry, having a strong heart, passion and love of what you do, a good product, people, processes, & stamina - oh and some deep pockets too.
I appreciate you taking the time to check my webinar out, I hope it speaks to some of you!
Some of us are certainly NOT confused by the rules, and are actively engaged with the regulatory agencies working to get the rules sorted outā¦for California anyway. It would be very interesting to understand how you distinguish between regulatory compliance that relates to licensing and the ācompliance testingā or ācompliance auditsā that some in the compliance business seem to doing. More specifically, the only professionals that have the ability to report on āauditā or system of internal accounting controls have āmagic lettersā after their namesā¦which would be CPA.
Not everyone needs help and are pretty sufficient in their own states. I also agree, some people are doing pretty amazing at handling the regulations, however others are overwhelmed (In my state I am referring to).
I have been teaching compliance classes ( based on Co. rules) out here, and we work with managers and owners on a weekly basis and some of them, not all - are overwhelmed. We just implemented new rules on July 1 and August 1 and now they have already come out with new red-lined rules this month which contradict some of the new rules that came out. Also lack of clarity or misunderstood interpretations of new rule changes.
I actually am a compliance facility auditor in Colorado, and write assessment remediation plans for people based on our medical and retail marijuana code. But this webinar is not about auditing or testing compliance - and I am definitely not a CPA!
It is more for someone who needs more context for what they are stepping into in a general discussion. Here is my list of topics I will be talking about. This is just about what to be prepared for in stepping into being regulated for the first time.
*I have begun my license application process, now what?
*We are no longer just in the business of growing and selling cannabis
*Knowing where you are at in your processes
*Stamina is required
*The unknown
*Creating Structure for every phase of the build-out process
*The importance of Trust and Verify
*Having a good security plan
*Vetting All Vendors
*Getting ready for inventory tracking
*Marketing and Branding your products or services
*Preparing for packaging and labeling of your products
*Getting ready for the retail market, but armed with compliance
*Put on your Red Flag Googles
*Creating a Culture of Compliance at every phase
*Building important relationships with local and state employees
*Getting signed up on state regulatory platforms, like OSHA and state marijuana bulletins.
*People, Processes and Products
*Investing in Compliance - Investing in your business
*Cutting corners and what you get in return
*Resources
Thanks for adding that informationā¦there is a tremendous need [opportunity for some] to assist cannabis industry businesses get their [shit together] which is a technical term. The most important suggestion I would make to someone in the role that you are taking on is "Communicate with the attorneys who are dealing with the legal, and the CPA that should be dealing with the tax and accounting issues. There is some overlap that is particularly sensitiveā¦inventory tracking and coordination with Seed to Sale requirements such and METRC need to square with what is being done for accounting and tax purposes to calculate Cost oF Goods Sold for example.
Where whomever is dealing with the regulatory compliance is doing it properly and coordinating with the attorney and CPAā¦everyone benefits and the client is certainly happy, for every hour of work you do for them, they donāt have to pay the $495/hour for my timeā¦you did a great job of covering some issues that migh otherwise fall in the crack. Good luck with your presenation.
This is awesome, Thank You! 1000% on a CPA because of 280E and they need a good attorney that actually understands the marijuana law and is not some bankruptcy attorney. Ahhh METRC is a whole other beast, lolā¦And I love technical terms. I appreciate your engagement with me and my post!
Thank youā¦that is exactly my pointā¦each of us has a role, we do best when each of us does what we do well,and make sure we coordinate what we are doing, and not trip over each other. We share a common goal, and that should be the clientās success.
I missed this one, but would love to chat sometime about compliance / traceability.
Our software solution helps producers/processors/cultivators handle compliance and government reporting in as little time as humanly possible - we do our best to ābake inā the shifting rules and regulations so that owners donāt need to constantly stress about compliance.
Just would love to connect with another compliance nerd and here about your experiences.
Cheers! and thanks for hosting webinars like this for the community - what a valuable resources and an area of growing that is often overlooked.
