Compliance

Compliance refers to the comprehensive activities, procedures, and documentation that licensed cannabis businesses use to satisfy state and local regulatory requirements across cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution, and retail. Because cannabis remains federally illegal, each state sets its own framework administered by agencies such as the California DCC, Colorado MED, Oregon OLCC, Washington LCB, Massachusetts CCC, and Florida OMMU. Core components include Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering opening/closing, ID verification, cash handling, waste disposal, sanitation, and recalls; detailed record-keeping (transactions, COAs, batch numbers, training records, and surveillance footage typically retained 2–7 years); internal audits reconciling physical inventory with POS and state track-and-trace data; and external regulator inspections. Dedicated compliance officers monitor regulatory changes, oversee SOP implementation, manage audits, train staff, and interface with regulators. ASTM Committee D37.02 is developing quality management system and Good Manufacturing Practices standards to formalize cannabis compliance frameworks parallel to FDA pharmaceutical norms. → See also: METRC, Seed-to-sale, COA