How to Start a Hemp Farm in Texas

The biggest news to come out of the Texas House Agriculture and Livestock Committee this year is the passage of “House Bill 1325”. That day a Wednesday, Texas State Senator Charles Perry declared, “Wednesday is not hump day but hemp day.” TEXAS HOUSE BILL 1325 IS A GAME-CHANGER.The bill, now signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, “legalized the cultivation of hemp, …

July 2019 Updates to Cannabis Security Regulations in Massachusetts

The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) released the draft versions of updated regulations for medical and adult-use cannabis in the great Commonwealth. And assuming no significant changes between the draft and ratification (temporary measures have a habit of becoming permanent), it is worth reviewing the changes made to the regulations. Here we will review the security components including but not limited to 935 …

Cannabis in California – June 2019 Update

The last few years have been quite the ride for cannabis entrepreneurs in California. As the market has evolved, so have the risks for businesses. We appreciate Andrew Mukthar reaching out with this article about their experiences and advice in California. The post discusses newer topics du jour in the cannabis industry, such as inversion (e.g. sales to other states) and requirements …

New Jersey ATC Applications 2019

We have already started working with several clients for the next round of the New Jersey ATC cannabis application which is due August 15th.  In the last ATC round, we were proud to have scored an average of 91% for our clients with a high score of 94%. We are currently helping with the security build-out of an NJ Cultivation and Dispensary …

Cannabis Security Consultant Pawn Jewelry Tony Gallo

Understanding The “Rules” When Designing Your Cannabis Facility

When it comes to designing the security for a cannabis facility it is very important to strictly follow your state and city security rules and regulations in order to ensure you are in full compliance. Finding a security consulting company within the cannabis arena with proven experience like Sapphire Risk Advisory Group, to say the least can be a challenge.  So, when the …

Quality control is focus of proposed marijuana process in company

Clean Technique, Inc. (L-R) Kevin Wong, Robert Parvere, Tym Wowkand Tony Gallo. (Photo by Amy Porter) *This article by Amy Porter originally appeared in The Westfield News on May 22, 2019. Sapphire Risk was fortunate to assist the marijuana processing company with their city council permitting hearing* WESTFIELD, MA – The Planning board convened a public hearing Tuesday for a …

NJ Department of Health

Today the NJ Department of Health is releasing the Rule Adoption notice for N.J.A.C. 8:64 that will appear in the May 20 New Jersey Register.  This rule contains readoptions, amendments and repeals largely in line with what was proposed last summer.  The rule adoption is attached, and please refer to the Register on May 20th for the final version.  The …

Hempcrete

​As we all know hemp is now legal nationwide for agricultural production. With Sapphire’s ubiquitous presence as a leading cannabis security and hemp security company in the industry, we have met a lot of amazing individuals and have learned about their ideas. One is Eric McKee; he is involved heavily in the hemp industry and building Hempcrete houses and buildings. …

Who Are You In The Cannabis Industry?

When most people say they have been involved in an industry for five years, they usually are considered new to that industry. In the cannabis industry, five years is considered a lifetime because as we all know the business of cannabis is really no more than ten years old. Back when I started, there were two types of people in …

Adding Temporary Staff on Your Way to Long-Term Success

​Previously we have written about educating your seasonal staff and taking steps to limit your vulnerability to theft by your seasonal staff. But as the employer-employee relationship changes during this age of the “gig economy”, the attitudes and interests of your temporary employees should be taken into account. ​As any good planner will tell you, it’s never too late to plan for the …