A cash machine in the corner. An armed security guard near the door watching customers’ every move. As any legal weed buyer knows, these two features of marijuana dispensaries in Illinois set them apart from the typical retail experience.
Legal marijuana sales are heavily restricted, and federal laws prevent dispensaries from accessing traditional banks – that’s why there’s so much cash. Given all that cash, and the expensive cannabis products, Illinois state law requires security be on hand.
“We’re dealing with weed and cash, and it’s high risk,” said a local officer recently while standing outside of a Near North dispensary. They did not want to be named, citing concerns about job security.
More than two years into recreational cannabis sales, some dispensary owners are investing more into private security. Data obtained from the Chicago Police Department show that the city’s 19 licensed dispensaries reported 13 combined burglaries, attempted burglaries and criminal damage reports since shops selling marijuana for recreational use opened in 2020 (medical-use cannabis sales have been legal in Illinois since 2015). Break-ins mostly occurred at businesses on the city’s North Side, and the breaches – combined with office vacancies in some retail zones near dispensaries and a rise in civil unrest during the pandemic – have led dispensaries to invest in more private security officers, said shop owners and an industry consultant. [Read more at WBEZ Chicago]
The post Chicago’s legal weed biz is creating a boon for private security firms appeared first on Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news.
