Pubdate: Wed, 09 Jul 2014
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2014 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/625HdBMl
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Natalie Swaby

POT SHOP SECURITY LIKE 'A BANK ON STEROIDS'

SEATTLE - A visit to a pot shop isn't like a trip to the candy
store.

The high-value goods inside make the foray more like a cross between a
bank and a jewelry store if a visit Monday to a medical marijuana
dispensary here is any indication.

"We have been open here for more than three years," said John Davis,
chief executive of Northwest Patient Resource Center. "It is built
like a bank on steroids."

To protect the people working, the pot and the profits, several layers
of security are needed, he said.

"You can't cut in from above. You can't tunnel in from below," said
Davis, pointing to a maze of circuits on the ceiling. "The system will
pick you up before you ever manage to get inside."

Davis also has 14 high-definition, infrared cameras always rolling.
Bullet-resistant glass is part of a demolition-resistant wall that
customers first see after they walk through the front door. The
facility is outfitted with motion sensors, heavy-duty locks and alarms.

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This, plus panic buttons for the workers, are what's necessary to deal
with cannabis in an all-cash environment, he said.

In June, marijuana retailers around Denver received a warning from
police about a plan to rob pot couriers across the metro area, and
several robberies already have occurred throughout Colorado in the
state's first six months of regulated recreational sales.

"Even if you don't keep it (cash) on site, people are going to have
the idea that you do," Davis said and gave this bit of advice to new
retailers. "Make sure you pay attention to security because the threat
of robbery is real."
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MAP posted-by: Matt