Are pharmacies victims of armed robbery?

It’s been ten years since Washington State legalized recreational cannabis, but the financial institution of the cannabis industry hasn’t evolved since then. This lack of banking services has left weed shop retailers at the mercy of robbers with too much cash in hand. Some have even gone so far as to characterize them as sitting ducks, and current trends suggest that is the case.

How bad is the armed robbery problem at weed shops in the state of WA? Can anything be done to improve the situation immediately? What is the fate of weed shop owners in the state heading into 2023? Read on as we attempt to provide answers to these questions and more.

Cannabis dispensaries in different states are known to suffer from several problems. Some of these are due to a lack of logistics and other operational facilities readily available to other companies. As a result, the cannabis industry and its stakeholders are suffering some ills that other companies are better protected from. One such scourge is the recurring threat of robbery and violent crime that has plagued Washington weed shops.

The lack of banking services for cannabis companies means the industry is limited to cash-only transactions. This means cannabis dispensaries are likely to have huge cash stashes on site, information well known to all and sundry. The implication is that licensed cannabis companies are no easy prey for armed robbers.

A tracker from Uncle Ike, who is a member of Washington’s Craft Cannabis Coalition, paints a good picture of how dire the situation has been so far. Uncle Ike’s tracker shows at least 100 armed robberies took place in licensed cannabis retail stores in Washington in 2022 alone. This statistic is worrying considering it is the highest in the last decade. What it shows is that the burgeoning sales that the state’s cannabis industry is experiencing are being noticed by the negative elements of society. This spurs them on to continue carrying out repeated attacks on weed shops across the state.

According to reports from Uncle Ike, the increase in robberies at weed shops has been actively noticed since 2017. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has not officially prosecuted weed shop robberies over the years. However, since 2017, Uncle Ike has kept an informal tally of robbery incidence based on reports. The increase in the tax on cannabis goods in 2017 was also identified as a factor leading to an increase in robberies at weed shops.

These heists are actively taking a lot out of the state’s cannabis industry, both financially and otherwise. The robberies have since turned violent, with the first robbery involving the killing being recorded at a Tacoma cannabis store in March this year. The robberies in the Seattle area and the cities of Tacoma and Bellevue, where cannabis stores are regularly vandalized, have been incessant. The tracker’s reports match data from the Bellevue Police Department on armed robberies at cannabis stores in the area.

For those who don’t know, the cannabis industry and the retail businesses that operate within it do not have access to banking services. This is because cannabis is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug, making the majority of activities conducted in the market illegal at the federal level. That means they don’t have access to bank loans, capital, and other regular banking services. This has since created a situation where the industry is primarily dependent on cash and has since led to repeated robberies.

It’s so surreal that Adán Espino, executive director of the Craft Cannabis Coalition, thinks it’s fair to say there’s probably more cash in cannabis stores than in banks. This has made the weed stores an active target for repeated robberies in the state. The robberies weren’t just limited to cash, as growers also became victims within the state. This indicates the activities of gray market individuals who are still trying to continue their illegal activities within the state.

Weed shops across the state are making the best of the situation by stepping up security to help them deal with the looming threat. Even if this is not entirely pleasant, in order to provide potential customers with the right atmosphere around the store, it is a necessary measure. Customers will have to get used to more security guards in the weed shops for a while before the banks can serve them.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has observed the recurring trend of robberies and recently issued a statement on the matter. The panel held a roundtable discussion with industry stakeholders to see how the trend can be contained and scaled back. One outcome of this meeting is the series of crime prevention training sessions conducted with licensees and law enforcement agencies. The board also contacted a security firm to offer licensees a free on-site security assessment while exploring other non-cash options that could be used.

The SAFE Banking Act is intended to curb all of these problems of a cash-dependent economy once it can pass the Senate. The regulation will protect banks that want to offer their services to licensed marijuana companies from the clutches of federal regulators. Though the bill has passed the US House of Representatives multiple times, it has yet to garner the much-needed bipartisan support needed to pass the Senate. Once that’s accomplished, we can say goodbye to the days of incessant weed shop heists across Washington and across the country.

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