How To Save Your Cannabis Dispensary Money By Spotting a Fake ID

Knowing how to spot a fake ID is critical for any cannabis business to continue to conduct business.

Your employees need to know which government-issued IDs are acceptable for cannabis purchase, how to spot a fake ID, and the tools that can help cannabis dispensary employees find a fake.

However, in order to know how to spot a fake ID, cannabis business owners must properly train their employees and protect their business by implementing Standard Operating Procedures in their

dispensaries.

BuildMySOP invited ID expert and educator Russel Wright to join our podcast Ask The Regulator, to discuss the importance of employee training, and how retail cannabis Standard Operating Procedures can help prevent facilities from receiving fines or even losing their license at the expense of

selling to an underage customer.

How to Save Your Cannabis Dispensary Money By Spotting a Fake ID

Adopt Standard Operating Procedures for your cannabis business
Invest in employee training so that they know how to look for fake IDs
Protect your business even when your employee does sell to an underage customer
Offer frequent employee training & development

How Dispensary SOPs Protect Your Cannabis Business

Selling cannabis to an underage customer can earn your facility thousands of dollars in fines, and depending on previous violations can end in suspension of business temporarily or indefinitely.

Having a thorough system of Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures will help protect the facility against fines, suspension, and even closure due to selling to underage or falsely documented people.

Standard operating procedures can facilitate frequent employee training, reminders for the procedures involved with identification reviews, and offer employee support.

Too often, there are new and often untrained employees stationed at the front of the retail dispensary whose job it is to check IDs and not surprisingly are making many mistakes because they are not yet properly trained and supported.

Since facility owners are relying on their budtenders to check IDs properly, having thorough and frequent training is crucial in the facility’s fight against illegally serving underage or undocumented customers.

The Importance of Employee Training

Employee training should include what to look for when reviewing IDs, the diligent steps taken to catch a fake ID, and why it’s important to pay attention.

Having regular training for employees can maintain their motivation for looking for fake IDs, keeping the information fresh in their minds, and learning about the most common things other facilities are finding in their area.

What Your Employees Should Know

Employees should not rely on the scanners to screen customers’ IDs and instead should diligently use the ID Guide Book to make observations and be keenly aware of the customer standing in front of them.

A good practice is to encourage employees to write notes inside of the book concerning fake IDs they’ve seen in order to help assist their colleagues in their own reviews.

Also, display the date that a customer had to have been born before in order to be 21 years or older to buy marijuana. This can help employees do their due diligence in checking the age of the customer.

Properly trained employees should be observant of every customer and their ID, making note of the customer’s facial features and even ears in order to know that the photo is that of the customer.

In addition to observing their features, it’s important to check the customer’s body language and behavior. Oftentimes, customers with fake IDs are either very talkative or extremely quiet and looking around a lot.

Another thing that employees learn in their training is when in doubt, ask the customer to sign their name and compare the signature to that on the ID.

The experts advise dispensaries to be on high alert when there is a concert or festival in town, or there is a holiday and higher travel, and college towns when students return to class after a holiday.

What Happens If Employees Sell to an Underage or Unidentified Customer?

This is where having proof of employee training and a system of Standard Operating Procedures in place can actually save your business from heftier fines and license suspension.

Punishment from underage sales depend on the training and mitigating factors. Since both the State and local licensing jurisdictions have to review each case, they take a lot into account such as previous violations, fines, suspensions, proof of training, and any history of selling to underage customers.

Some States only allow so many violations before they suspend a license indefinitely. Fines are most likely unavoidable and can be a hefty $5,000 per sale.

When cases are being reviewed, video footage from security cameras will be looked at to see what protocols the employees took to verify the ID and take all measures into account.

In most cases, if the facility is in compliance and still sell to an underage customer, their license will not be suspended or revoked.

Offer Regular Employee Training and Development

The cannabis industry is considered the fastest growing industry in the US today, and as more states legalize adult-use marijuana, more employee training opportunities are being presented to facility owners who are needing to train staff in all areas of the business.

Getting proper and frequent training for employees is an investment that can save facility owners tons of money in fines and suspension.

In our Ask The Regulator podcast, we talked to ID expert Russel Wright who offers ID Verification Classes in the Colorado area and beyond.

He said that often facilities will request ID training courses every 2- 3 months in order to refresh the previously trained employees and offer training and support to new employees.

And the more frequent the training, the more IDs are confiscated. Upon returning to facilities, employees shared confiscating 60-600 IDs due to his training.

You can get in touch with Russel Wright here and opt for a 70-minute basic training and audit to start. The investment helps your facility and employees feel more confident in verifying IDs and can help protect your cannabis business.

Invest in Dispensary Standard Operating Procedures

Investing in both proper employee training and a standard operating procedure system will protect your cannabis business and help owners retain their profits, being able to keep the doors open and business growing for years to come.

BuildMySOP is equipping the cannabis industry with customizable templates for all facets of the cannabis industry. SOPs are key in protecting your business from the liability of employee error.

It also helps to ensure the compliant practices are being followed at all times, including properly checking IDs, and setting your business up for success when random regulatory inspections come your way.

Next Steps

In order to save your cannabis dispensary money, facilities must invest in proper employee training and retail cannabis Standard Operating Procedures.

Investing in training will protect your facility and your employees, ensuring that they are supported in the task of looking for fake IDs and held accountable through the use of thorough standard operating procedures.

Oftentimes, avoidable mistakes have been made when employees are not paying attention and are distracted. So it’s important to stay diligent in employee expectations and revisit the procedures often.

Next, we will be discussing how cannabis business owners can create a work culture that keeps employees accountable and ultimately protects your business. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to tune into our LIVE podcasts about the latest cannabis business news.

For additional product and pricing information, visit our website.

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