When starting a medical marijuana dispensary the bylaws must be properly written reflecting the current laws of the state and a core team must be gathered. Management, employees and collective members must follow the bylaws – just having the proper documentation is only one piece of the puzzle. It is very important that the right people are hired to manage and work in the medical marijuana collective in order for it to thrive.
When the concept to start a marijuana dispensary (or delivery) is conceived documentation and formalities must be completed which will set the tone and foundation for the organization. it is very important that the right kind of people are hired as part of the medical marijuana collective team to abide by the grey California marijuana laws. The two most important qualities of the collective staff are honesty and reliability. Since the collective deals with a lot of cash and controlled valuable medicine the employees need to be trust worthy. The medical marijuana collective should still have safeguards in place and double checks to ensure the money and medicine are maintained at proper levels. This will not only help defer any fraudulent activities but will also help with human accounting errors.
All potential candidates should be interviewed and asked a list of required pre-prepared questions. In some cases a second round of interview may be required if not sure.
As per the California marijuana laws a copy of the employee’s medical marijuana recommendation, collective membership agreement, Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification & current ID) should be retained and held for 3 years, and W-4 (Employee Withholding Allowance) issued by the IRS. The medical recommendation and W-4 form should be updated each year.
All employees in California need to be compensated, eg. Security guard. A properly set up collective should be able to minimize its number of required employee in order to save additional costs.
Workers Compensation Insurance for your medical marijuana collective:
Be aware that the descriptions of employees will have a great impact on the cost of coverage; it is much cheaper to categorize someone as administrative rather than security. Be aware of the differences: (i.e. If someone can be classified as either administrative or a secretary, it’s better to go with administrative). Be prepared with your list of employees and job titles before you call the agent. This way you won’t be answering from the cuff and should be able to avoid unwanted, erroneous statements. However, there are now insurance agents who specialize in marijuana dispensaries, and they can likely provide you with the best advice regarding this issue.