Been There, Done That, Tips for Missouri’s New Cannabis Entrepreneurs

Oklahoma medical cannabis commercial cultivation and dispensary owner shares his knowledge. A must read!

Bill Cromwell, Publisher

The reality of what so many dedicated advocates fought to bring to Missouri for so many years will soon be — “Open for Business.” Those advocates made the inclusion of Amendment 2 on the 2018 ballot possible, resulting in voters choosing to legalize a plant for medical use.

This year, Missouri Medical Marijuana (cannabis) dispensaries, cultivation, labs, and other related businesses will work frantically to get the doors opened for businesses — hopefully by spring to early summer. Meanwhile, those businesses, many of which are cannabis business novices, will begin the process of designing, constructing, and implementing every aspect required by the State to provide a safe product and environment for consumers. Those seeking knowledge and help from others who have “been there and done that” will open for business faster, operate more efficiently, and excel in profitability.

That’s where companies like Jeremy Electrical, Heating & Cooling and owner Jeremy Tollie can greatly expedite buildouts and offer valuable help for Missouri’s new cannabis business entrepreneurs. Tollie has “been there and done that!”

Selfie of KC native, Jeremy Tollie at his Oklahoma commercial cultivation grow. In 2010, shortly after medical cannabis was legalized in Colorado, Tollie’s company traveled there to help a cannabis dispensary and grow facility with its buildout from the ground up. “It fascinated me, and ultimately, it led me to open an electrical contracting company in Evergreen, CO,” said Tollie. “We mainly performed service and maintenance for existing commercial grows and personal medical home grows. Then in 2018, when Oklahoma passed medical cannabis, I became a 25% out of state owner/partner of a commercial cultivation center/dispensary in Tulsa, OK, and managed the cultivation operations.” Tollie says, his Colorado experience gave him a basic understanding of the importance of proper electrical installations regarding safety and climate control (HVAC) for commercial cultivation and dispensaries. “As we moved forward to other Colorado and Oklahoma projects, it showed us that no grow is the same,” said Tollie. “Especially knowing the specific traits and phenotypes of plant genetics which can help determine how to effectively set up productive gardens.”

I asked Tollie to share his knowledge and experience with our new Missouri commercial cannabis entrepreneurs and homegrowers.

(Q) What should new cannabis business owners prepare for, which they may not have expertise in regarding buildouts and/or daily operations?

(A) Ongoing and continuous maintenance. A clean operation with quality climate control (HVAC) is extremely important for a productive commercial cultivation facility or a home-grower. Good mechanical and electrical equipment is a must. Equipment fail could cost you your crop.

(Q) What buildout tips would you offer new commercial cultivations, dispensaries, or home growers?

(A) Our experience has taught us that installing the correct equipment, proper planning, and preparation are critical. Doing it right the first time makes all the difference. Don’t cut corners. Again, cleanliness is very key — from seed to sale!

HVAC Tollie installed at his Oklahoma commercial cultivation center. (Q) As an experienced cultivator, what have you learned about the cultivation and dispensary business in Oklahoma that could help Missouri businesses?

(A) It all boils down to the time you invest. If you put in the time and effort it takes to have a superior product, you will be successful and have the advantage. I’ve seen many cannabis businesses come and go because of a lack of superior quality products, services, and attention to every detail. You simply cannot cut corners and do well in the cannabis industry — the bar today has been set very high.

(Q) What would you like our readers to know about your business expertise — your final thoughts?

◄▲Tollie’s Oklahoma cultiva(A) I believe, Jeremy Electrical, tion includes both indoor and Heating & Cooling and I fit the outdoor grows. complete description of someone who is tried and true as far as a licensed and insured business since 2007. When it comes to the cannabis business with indoor and outdoor cultivations, you must have safe and properly installed efficient equipment. A decent knowledge of what you’re doing, and the willingness to seek experienced advice to achieve great product [cannabis] and not lose your investment.

▲Tollie has installed lighting and HVAC for cultivation and dispensary businesses, both indoor and outdoor in Colorado and Oklahoma.

This year should be exciting for all who have fought so hard and long to see medical cannabis come to fruition in Missouri. For the new Missouri cannabis entrepreneurs entering the business and preparing inaugural buildouts, knowing that businesses like Jeremy Electrical, Heating & Cooling with “been there, done that” knowledge should provide anxiety relief by knowing help to a faster, more efficient, and profitable business launch is only a phone call away.

For help, tips, and advice, contact Jeremy Tollie at 913.514.2393 or visit www.JeremyKC.com.

ANew Year’s Resolution You Can Stick To

by Carrie Hudson, Contributing Writer

Like most people, when the New Year comes around, I take a personal inventory of the things I can or should be doing better over the next year. My resolutions are often based around having a better work/life balance or organizing my space better.

Resolutions are very ambitious. How many people make New Year’s resolutions? How many keep them? Forty to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. The top three New Year’s resolutions are weight loss, an exercise program, and quitting smoking.

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on: ● past the first week: 75% ● past two weeks: 71% ● after one month: 64% ● after six months: 46%

Half of the people who make resolutions give up by the end of June. Half of the people who started — actually succeed. Which half do you want to be in? It’s not necessarily going to be easy to succeed, but it will be easier if you are prepared.

In my profession as a Whole Health and Wellness Coach, I get questions from my clients about how they can succeed. My first piece of advice to them, and to you, is to start slowly. I will break it down into small, manageable (and attainable) goals.

Commit to a Manageable Exercise Regiment

Gym memberships are at the highest in January when everyone commits to more exercise and a weight loss program. By October, only 22% of members who began in January are still actively using their membership. Don’t be one of those people. You can still exercise, still lose weight and maybe still attend a gym, just make it work for you and your lifestyle. Don’t set yourself up for failure, and don’t be a statistic. Starting slowly is the most important piece of advice I can give.

Here are some examples:

● Take the dog for a walk or perhaps find a friend or family member to start walking with you. If you must go alone, use this time as your own personal time without distractions. ● Park farther away from where you work or shop or even take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get your body invigorated and energized. Walk to small errands or break up your workday by taking a quick walk during your lunch hour. Think of every possible opportunity as a chance to get to move your body, engage with the world, and use the everyday tools around you to accomplish some very realistic healthy goals. It is not life-altering but rather “life-engaging.”

Healthy Snacks – The Weight Loss Resolution

Take a look at your dinner plate and try this: look at it as though it were a color palette. Is it mostly white (pasta, rice, potatoes), or is it filled with vibrant colors and textures such as leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, beets, green peppers, zucchini, and more? Try adding a few of these beneficial veggies to your regular meals slowly and then increase gradually. And, remember, water, water, water. It is so important.

And Finally, What About Cannabis?

If quitting smoking is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you may not be talking about cigarettes. If you are smoking cigarettes, quitting as soon as possible is the obvious choice to better health. Smoking cannabis is the most popular method of consuming cannabis. So how do we maintain the healing properties of cannabis and give up smoking? This may be the perfect time to consider alternate ways to ingest. As I mentioned earlier, I do, in fact, include cannabis as part of a whole, healthy lifestyle, but my choice is not to smoke it.Here are my top three favorite methods for using cannabis as part of a whole health and wellness regiment. Tinctures, sublingual, patches, and gel pens! A gel pen? YES! Rub it in like an essential oil on your wrist and jugular vein on your neck and experience relief in as little as five minutes, and it lasts four to six hours — it’s magnificent! Patches usually last eight to 12 hours and kick in as soon as 20 to 30 minutes, time-released, fabulous! I often tell people it’s a “Game Changer!”

Micro-dosing a tincture under the tongue is probably my personal favorite, although I have come to enjoy all three of these delivery methods. Here’s why I love these methods: they are socially acceptable, discreet, and less is more! I don’t have to use as much, and I have better control over the outcome. Most importantly, I can find the exact dose that works for me and repeat it time and time again and get the same relief and not have to continue to increase my dosage! Another option I really like is cannabis infused topicals, and deep acting cannabis balms you rub into your skin on the area where you have pain or

TIME to Grow

inflammation. Cannabis works like many other topical medications in that it can be absorbed through our skin. Our skin is the largest organ in the body, and it acts like a sponge absorbing between 60-80% of everything we contact. The last delivery method I would like to mention is the very popular cannabis-infused edibles, which isanother way to enjoy the health benefits of cannabis without smoking.

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We have explored just a few ways you can work New Year’s resolutions into your lifestyle without disrupting your entire life and still attain your goals ofbecoming healthier. Most importantly, this is a commitment to “Self” to start and be committed to “You” because You Are Worth It! Small but meaningful changes each day turn the key to small victories, which over time, will lead to giant, massive accomplishments. After all, life is meant to be a journey of self-discovery, not a race!

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Writer Carrie Hudson is a Certified Health Coach and passionate about cannabis education, truth, and change. Originally from Missouri, Hudson now resides in Colorado with her two dogs and is actively engaged in teaching how to live a true. whole-health lifestyle. Visit carriehudson.com for more information.

The information contained herein is not intended to replace a one-to-one relationship with a doctor or qualified healthcare professional. Therefore, this information is not intended as medical advice, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information based on research and experience. The information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content is for general information purposes only.

Building a Secure Cannabis Transport Vehicle

Looks Should Be Deceiving

by Kevin Ellison,Contributing Writer

Ihave always been a “car nut,” as my mother calls it, so much so that my first word was “car.” Forty some years later, I am still just as fascinated with cars and trucks as I was as a toddler. Because of this lifelong obsession, my family was not surprised when I started “Granddad’s Trucks,” a custom upfitter of security vehicles. I will save the long story behind the name for another issue, but the important part is that I have been customizing and doing work on my own vehicles for decades.

As one of the founders of Cannabis Security and Technology Solutions (CST), I manage the Security and Video System division as well as the Transportation division. Last summer, when I began looking to source transportation vehicles that would meet the DHSS regulations, I discovered that the existing customization companies were willing to add whatever I needed. However, without knowing the regulations, they didn’t know what exactly might be required. As did more research, I found that it wasn’t quite as simple as I had expected because some of the options that I felt were critical, required knowledge of security panel configuration as well as an understanding of what is most vulnerable when transporting cannabis. So, I decided to take a company that I had started as a hobby into a company that creates custom vehicles for security companies and secure transportation.

The first vehicle my company, Granddad’s Trucks, built for the Missouri cannabis market is a Ford F250 that will be used by CST Solutions as a transportation vehicle. I personally have over 200 hours of research into the changes and additions we have made. This research only has to be done once per vehicle model, but it is vital to map out all of the changes, including weight, electrical needs, and impacts, longevity, etc. You may have seen the truck on display at the Kansas City show in November, or there are pictures of it on our website, www.granddadstrucks.com. This truck is a good example of what anyone in Missouri should consider for a transportation vehicle. As a reminder, in Missouri, any facility transporting cannabis has to follow specific regulations, whether it is a transportation company, cultivation, manufacturer, dispensary, or testing facility.

Using a company that focuses on building commercial vehicles, typically referred to as an “upfitter” by manufacturers, is essential to customizing any vehicle for commercial use. All of the manufacturers have precise guidelines for upfitters to follow to keep the vehicle within certain specifications. Anytime you add items to vehicles such as shelving, it adds weight to the vehicle beyond what the manufacturer had intended. This changes the geometrical dynamics of the 44 January 2020 vehicle, which can affect handling, tire wear, and many other aspects of the vehicle, including collision performance such as timing for airbag deployment. Collision performance is critical because it can affect the safety of your employees, whether or not your insurance covers an accident and legal liability. Upfitting guides from the manufacturers tell companies how to adjust shocks, sensors, and other parts of the vehicle to maintain the manufacturers’ collision avoidance and energy absorption specifications.

Anyone who is transporting cannabis has to determine what kind of vehicle they want to use based on what they will be carrying and how far they might be going. Typically, in other states, companies have used vans for cannabis transportation, which from a security point of view, is the main reason for not using a van. If a criminal is targeting a transportation vehicle, they will be looking for vans leaving or arriving at facilities. They will be less likely to suspect a truck or SUV. A further consideration for anyone transporting flower and trim from cultivation facilities will be odor. Flower will be packaged in an airtight bag, but trim, that will be used in extraction, may be bundled and not in sealed bags, which will make the van and anyone in it smell heavily of cannabis. Prepare to be pulled over by law enforcement if that is the case. In a truck bed, the bed can be sealed and even have its own air handler with a carbon filter to remove cannabis odor.

Truck Exterior Security Features

Heavy-duty steel bumpers and push bars bolted to the frame enable drivers an escape if a criminal pulls in front of the transportation vehicle to block their path. Extremely bright LED lights front and rear deter ambush risk when pulling into dark areas.

CST chose a truck for the first vehicle since cultivation transportation will be the first transportation that is needed. As a ¾ ton truck, it already had upgraded suspension, but we added the extraheavy-duty suspension from the snowplow and trailer towing packages, which allows for the added weight of the modifications plus up to 1,500 pounds of cannabis while remaining within the manufacturer specifications. We also upgraded the tires and wheels to improve traction and to better handle the additional weight, without changing the geometry of the wheels or the circumference of the tires.

We replaced the stock bumpers with heavy-duty steel bumpers and push bars bolted to the frame so drivers can escape if a criminal pulls in front of the transportation vehicle to block their path. We also added extremely bright LED lights front and rear, so the driver never has to risk ambush when pulling into dark areas. This is especially important during winter months when there are more hours of darkness. A heavy-duty metal bed cover with double locks will protect the contents of the bed.

Truck Interior Security Features

Kevin Ellison shows interior truck features; a locking drawer system in the bed of the truck to hold large individual boxes of cannabis that can be sealed with manifest tags or stickers. The transporter only has to unlock the drawer for each facility stop.

We installed a locking drawer system in the bed of the truck to hold large individual boxes of cannabis that can be sealed with manifest tags or stickers. The transporter only has to unlock the drawer for each facility stop. As required by the regulations, the drawers, boxes, and the truck bed can all be easily washed and disinfected between transportation runs. We wrapped the bed in Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) blocking film (like Faraday Fabric-EMI RFID) to prevent criminals from using RFID scanners to identify vehicles that have a large amount of RFID signals. We also added a layer of insulation to help the truck-bed maintain proper temperatures in extreme cold or extreme heat conditions

protection to prevent vehicle theft as it will not start without a badge scan. The security system can be monitored and managed remotely by the security company or the owner of the transport vehicle. There is also an integrated transport DVR (the same type used by bus and rail transit in many metropolitan areas), which connects to the vehicle’s built-in cameras allowing a full 360-degree view of the truck at all times. The camera system is further supplemented by an interior camera pointed at the driver and a sixth camera monitoring the cannabis in the storage area.

Location Tracking (required by MO State regulations) provided by a telematics module constantly shows key information about the vehicle’s location, direction, speed, engine status, tire status, and other critical pieces of information. Reporting allows the review of each driver’s habits and averages such as speed and braking force. The requirement for constant communications with the driver will be managed by a combination of cell phones and shortwave radio.

SUVs and Vans will use many of the same types of systems, though slightly different due to the sizes of the vehicles. For transporting from manufacturing facilities to dispensaries, the dual drawer system will be replaced with a six-foot-long, four-foot-wide slide-out shelf that can facilitate wrapped pallets or large locking containers, which allows easier transportation of packaged goods with minimal changes to the vehicle. The shelf can hold 1,500 pounds, so a significant amount of product can be held. There are also other secret security features that for obvious reasons cannot be mentioned here.

Recap

Whether you use Granddad’s Trucks or a different company for your vehicle, please verify that they are an upfitter that takes the required measurements to ensure the vehicle remains within manufacturer guidelines. Using correctly modified vehicles along with following proper maintenance procedures will ensure that your transportation efforts don’t suffer the expense of out of service vehicles. We purchasing vehicles from a great fleet dealer based in the St Louis area. Contact me directly via email, phone, or through our website to get the dealer’s contact information. I truly want the cannabis industry in Missouri to be successful, so I will happily share any information I can whether you are using Granddad’s Trucks for your vehicle upfitting or not. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have; we all want a safe and successful industry.

Kevin Ellison Co-Founder and CEO of Cannabis Security and Technology Solutions and Owner, Granddad’s Trucks, Building a Secure Transportation Vehicle. Contact Ellison at 417.877.0512 or kevin@cstsolutionsgroup.com. Visit online www.granddadstrucks.com or www.cstsolutionsgroup.com.