Surveillance from Seed to Sale

In the highly regulated and intricate cannabis industry, seed-to-sale surveillance is crucial for monitoring and auditing transactions. This process ensures compliance with regulations imposed by state regulatory commissions, as well as any additional rules at the county or city level.

Video surveillance plays a vital role in various aspects of a grow facility, particularly in ensuring safety for operations, products, and employees. Employee safety is a significant concern, as slip and fall incidents have occurred in the past within such facilities. By having surveillance cameras in place, these incidents can be prevented or quickly addressed.

Internal theft is another issue that can be mitigated through video surveillance. Cameras act as a deterrent and allow for the identification of any employees involved in stealing products, such as those working in processing rooms who may pocket items for personal use.

Surveillance also enables the tracking of employee location, ensuring they are where they should be during designated rest and growth periods. By confirming this information through camera footage, interruptions to the growing process can be minimized. Chemical rooms, where fertilizers are mixed for different grow rooms, can also be monitored through video surveillance, ensuring proper procedures and preventing unauthorized access.

The use of video surveillance provides an invaluable time and date stamp for activities within the grow facility. This information is essential for owners, operators, and regulatory branches to maintain transparency and accountability.

When designing security plans, there are a few key elements that must be considered to ensure compliance within the cannabis business operation. Regarding camera capabilities, it is crucial for surveillance systems to function effectively in low-light or no-light environments. In grow facilities where plants are at rest or in darkness, cameras must still capture clear video of the plants, as well as the heads, hands, and feet of individuals present. Some camera manufacturers offer technology that allows for visibility of plants with minimal illumination, avoiding disruptions to the rest mode.

Additionally, surveillance plays a role in tracking diseased plants, as regulations require proper documentation and disposal. If a plant is diseased, it must be quarantined for a specified period, depending on state requirements. The relevant authorities need to be notified for examination before the plant can be destroyed.

In summary, video surveillance is vital in the seed-to-sale process of the highly regulated cannabis industry. It ensures compliance, prevents incidents such as employee theft and accidents, and provides crucial documentation for transparency and accountability.

About the Author

Blake Albertsen is Senior Regional Sales Manager – Pacific Northwest/Western Canada at Salient Systems.

Featured

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

  • AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

    Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.