Seattle marijuana

Everything cannabis, pot, or weed in Seattle.

Guest Post: Cash Only Businesses Create Unwarranted Risk

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It’s been an concerning couple of weeks for the cannabis industry from a security point of view here in Washington State state and it’s only going to get worse as we roll into the holidays.

The recent stories in the news about people getting hogtied or pistol whipped to get cash and weed out of them is alarming. These criminal elements are only attracting more crimes and potentially creating copy cats. So how do we fix it? The holidays are here, crimes of opportunity will present themselves with the holiday shopping season. So how do we combat that here in Washington state? And how can we prevent this from happening to other up and coming states with medical and recreational shops to open?

In my opinion, we have to educate the public and change public perception on marijuana and a cash only businesses. The public must know and understand that marijuana is not that hard to get your hands on. Criminals and the black market are selling it everyday. On the black market, it’s cheaper because there is no quality control and there is no tax on it. Anyone with a internet connection can research how to grow and care for a marijuana plant. So the real problem isn’t the plant or the marijuana itself. It’s the cash that surrounds and attracts all these criminal minds. It’s the fact that the government isn’t allowing a reputable tax paying business to keep and store their transactions in a bank.

The longer the government and banks hold out on doing business with marijuana companies, the longer the crimes will continue to occur. Criminals think business owners and their families are taking these huge duffle bags of cash home every night. That’s just stupid. Money and product goes into a huge vault that will take you a godly amount of time to TRY to get thru. By then you have tripped a silent alarm, a secondary regular ADT type of alarms, cops are on their way and your actions have been caught on cameras. Dumb criminals think that by cutting the power, they won’t get caught. They never considered a back up system that keeps recording and sends the data to the cloud.

There has to be a better way to prevent future cannabis crimes where the potential owners of pot shops are covered and do not have to constantly worry about thief’s trying to break into their facility. The recreational 502 and medical owners that are working in this industry must understand the risks and be willing to take certain security measures if they are to survive such brutal tactics.

A Security Guard’s Perspective: Be Extra Vigilant this Halloween

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Halloween has always been a fun way to get free candy! Am I right? It was one of my favorite times of the year while growing up. As I got older, I started to hear and read the horror stories that went along with Halloween. People getting robbed or murdered in their own home, because they opened their doors to what they thought was a simple traditional gesture of handing out candy.

From a security stand point, those worries still concern me. Even more so now that we guard a cash only business. I recommend that every store open on halloween, whether it is a legal marijuana shop or a department store, take extra security measures to prevent from being robbed. Let’s find a way to be festive and secure. I was talking to one of my friends that works for a well-known security company and he told me that he’d seen a few mask-related incidents this Halloween. Luckily he was able to stop the criminals and they had to do their time in jail, but if he wasn’t there to guard the property who knows what might have happened! It’s sad that a handful of people are ruining the fun of Halloween for everyone. It’s supposed to be a fun, exciting time of the year! Not one that is notorious for crime!


As for recreational marijuana retail stores, I recommend you ask your customers to take off their mask or wigs when entering the facility. If they are carrying bags or any other large bags or items, ask to see inside them. It may be intrusive, but assure them it’s for their security and ours. If they refuse to show you inside their bag, then ask them politely to leave their bags in their cars. Again, assure them it’s for their security and yours. Most people will cooperate and completely understand. If you don’t feel comfortable asking customers to do this, you could always consider hiring some store security services. Those guards could attend your store for Halloween, ensuring that they only let safe customers inside the store. That could increase security significantly. Take no chances this Halloween. Let’s have fun and be safe!

Going Undercover: My Shocking Discoveries While Inspecting Legal Pot Shops

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I recently went “mystery shopping” to experience first hand, how several different local recreational pot shops operate and serve their customers. Indeed, every pot shop is different, but I found out just how different each shop is.

From a marijuana security stand point, I want to know that a facility is not only warm and inviting, but clean and secure as well. I want a facility that is well lit on the outside, with convenient parking. I am also very conscious of the surrounding businesses, their security, and if they will attract unsavory characters. Every store has different set ups, different products, different staff and different security measures – or lack there of. Overall, I was shocked and alarmed in regards to some of my discoveries.

Initially, I was impressed by one marijuana store, which will obviously be unnamed. The store opened recently in the Pierce County area. The modern, decked out facility, looked clean and inviting. However, I was shocked to see no pot shop security personnel on the premises. Why would an owner put so much effort and money into their facility, but not hire real security personnel to help protect the investment? I believe this is very important and necessary, not just for the security of the legal marijuana store, but the security of the customer. In short, security personnel can be an important asset in ID’ing potential customers, monitoring the premises for suspicious characters or activity, and can offer a trained assistance in case an unwanted incident does occur.

I was greeted by a bud tender upon entering the shop. Once in the shop, I conversed with the staff who stood behind the counter. After a short while. I was asked to rotate around the front desk and the proceed behind the counters to get a closer look at a product. Ask yourself this: if you were an owner of a pot shop with lots of cash on site, would you want your staff to break the security codes and measures?

Without any security personnel on site, is saving money that would pay for real security worth the cost of an inside job? Does this bud tender have a plan incase of an emergency? A threat? A deranged citizen who was of his or her meds?

From a pot shop owner’s point of view, you must look at real security as a solution to avoid risks and possible liabilities. From a customer’s point of view, ask yourself does this store care about my security? Will they protect me if I’m placed in harm? Or will they just stand there and watch in shock like most customers would?

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My last location was a real winner! Of course, I’m being sarcastic. First of all, the facility that looked very unappealing. In fact, I didn’t even know the facility was a marijuana store. The sign above their store was almost non existent. Because of the color scheme of the building, it was even difficult to find the door.

I waited in the parking lot for a few minutes to see if there was some kind of traffic going in and out of the store. When no one entered, I proceeded to see if anyone was inside. Not surprised, the weed shop was practically empty except for three budtenders. They were all behind the counters checking their phone statuses. No security personnel  to check my ID.

Inside, the facility was bare, even a bit eerie. Two out of three budtenders helped out by answering my questions, while the third guy never even bothered to look up once. The store only carried one brand of cannabis flower and no edibles. Upon asking the budtenders how long the shop has been in business, one of the told me ever since mid August.  In business for roughly 3 months and you still only carry one strain of cannabis?

But here’s the real shocker. Not only was I able to walk inside the shop without showing my ID, but I was able to purchas a pre-rolled joint without having to show my ID! These lack of standards are completely unacceptable! Especially, when there are recreational marijuana shops that are going the extra length and taking their business ventures very seriously. Why would the Washington State Liquor Control Board take an extended amount of time to issue licenses, then allow an operation such as this? Where are the checks and balances?

In my opinion, the WSLCB has got to do a better job of communicating their intent to all legal marijuana retail stores and hold owners accountable for their lack of standards. Oh, and while they are at it, they should also modify their regulations in regards to “third party” security companies, and allow them to be armed. Why wait for a tragedy to occur before changing THAT regulation?

Guest Article: Aftermath of the Church Protest at Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop

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Nacho is a member of the Apache 6 Security Team. This is his perspective of the Aftermath of the Church Protest at Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop.

Well, it’s been about a week since the church protest and roughly two weeks since Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop had its’ grand opening. The church marijuana protest called for a rally everyday at noon and at 5pm, and continue until the pot shop closed down and moved out. With a front row seat every single day, we have witnessed that the church is not that dedicated. Either, they forgot the weed shop protest was at noon and 5pm, or they could only muster five bodies to hold up signs.

From a security company perspective, we respect their point of view. But from a reality/common sense point of view, they need to put aside this anger/hostility towards the pot shop and move on. The shop is not going away. The owner, Ian Eisenberg, has even has reached out to the church and offered to push back the opening hours until after church services are over, or not open Sundays at all. The church refuses to work with the owner.

Recently, the Uncle Ike’s staff went to Starbucks and purchased coffee and coffee cake for the protesters (all 5 of them), and the church members pushed them away with their signs! Luckily someone recorded their behavior and posted it on Facebook. It’s a shame, because this just shows that everyone at Uncle Ike’s is willing to cooperate with the church. If they had been accepted by the church, they may have even used some of the fundraiser ideas you can find here to help generate some funds for the church, as they are always looking for donations. But instead, the church has turned them away with their hostile behaviour. It’s amazing for us to see the strength and numbers when the media is out covering the story, but the minute the video stops rolling, the protesters seem to jump in their cars and drive away. The media recently visited the premises, to do an update, and managed to only gather around eight protesters in front of the camera. That is the largest gathering we have seen since the original protest!

During these protests, or lack thereof, We have seen a fleeing felon on foot, trying to run away from Seattle Police, on 23rd & Union. Three Seattle police officers gave chase. They finally cornered the man within an apartment complex. Even K-9 units were brought in because the suspect was armed and dangerous. So why make note of this when this article is about the church protests? Because, this was in broad day light while the 5 protesters were out flashing their signs! That little corner lot where Uncle Ike’s pot shop is located was, at that time, one of the most secure places to be at the time and the protesters took refuge during this incident. You won’t see that on the media.

The point is, the pot shop is not going away, it’s here to stay. The church needs to find a better way to reach and mentor their youth. The owner didn’t “disrespect” the church, he made a business decision and purchased the land. A member of the church personally told me, on the day of the rally, that ‘they (the church) screwed up by not buying the land when it was available.’ Can you blame a business man for making a business decision? Putting money back into the economy and the community? One person alone is trying to clean up the neighborhood and add security to the lot and you want to protest that? Should we challenge the church to do the same? Why aren’t they protesting the liquor store, or the barbershop, where loiters seem to ‘hang out’ and ‘gather’ well into the night?

I respect the religious values of the protesters and their right to protest, but maybe their is a better way to approach the situation. After all, they appear peaceful and act like victims until you offer them coffee and cake, then they just shove the signs at you! (In one protesters defense, the lady in the video did come over and apologize the next day).

How about we use our strength and numbers, and combine our numbers to fight for the ‘real’ problems? Like the security of everyone in the area? Because, all I see is good honest people walking into Uncle Ike’s pot shop partaking on something the people voted for.

Flirting With Black Market Risk

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Nobody wants to buy last minute tickets the day of a Seahawks or Mariners game only to find out they were fake. So why would anyone want to buy weed from someone in the parking lot next to a recreational pot store, not knowing exactly what they were getting? Is saving $10 worth that risk?

I’m sure many of you heard about the guy selling weed from the trunk of his car just outside of the Cannabis City pot store a few days ago. The guy eventually left before getting caught, turns out he had stolen license plates so they couldn’t actually trace the origin of the make & model to a specific person or persons.

The question you should ask yourself is this, what if it had been a sting operation? Is saving a few dollars worth getting busted? Not only that, but your dealing with a shady character that could turn out to be your worst decision ever. We have heard so many tragic stories of Craigslist sales gone wrong, who is to say this wouldn’t be another example of that. They profile you, determine that you have money or are worth money, a couple guys follow you home & brake into your home or worse, assault you.

There are so many “what ifs” with dealing with people who don’t have your best interest at heart. The guy in the parking lot is going to sell you whatever he can to make a quick buck, he doesn’t care about the quality or how it will affect you in the end. The sales associates at a retail store on the other hand are knowledgeable about what they are selling you. You have a variety of products & flavors to choose from & you know the staff are not going to follow you home!

Maybe I’m too paranoid, but am I alone?! Many of you go out of your way to park where they won’t recognize your car or refuse to show your driver’s license for fear that someone is going to rat you out to your employer so who’s the paranoid one?! Why flirt with danger?! Buy from a reputable store! It’s legal! Saving a few dollars from a stranger you don’t know could cost you a lot more than you bargained for!

Apache 6 Security Team Logo

Nacho is a guest writer and a member of the Apache 6 which provides security services for the recreational marijuana industry in Washington State.