Voters may have settled the issue of legalized marijuana in Michigan, but it remains controversial for some.
That’s why some communities are choosing to opt out of letting people set up shop. But in the communities where marijuana shops are being allowed, security companies are seeing opportunities to assist and get involved.
“They have a real need for security because at any given time they’ve got cash on site, they’ve got product on site,” Mike Buckel, vice president of operations at Sonitrol Great Lakes, recently told WNEM-TV, a regional television station in Michigan.
In rural parts of Michigan, for example, federal and local law enforcement authorities have been investigating a string of violent robberies of marijuana growers and providers, according to the Detroit Free Press.
This growing security concern around the marijuana boom in Michigan clearly finds new businesses in need of an advanced security system.
“We do video cameras. We do access control. We have the swiper card in the door. We do verified intrusion systems,” Buckel said.
Sonitrol Great Lakes is a one-stop shop to keep marijuana facilities safe and secure. It is already receiving business from more than a few.
“It’s 20 plus out of the 100 licenses that have been issued,” Buckel said.
In fact good security is a key component that brings medical marijuana businesses to the area.
“One of the unique things we’re able to do is with our video system. If they press a button and their alarm goes off, we can view all the cameras from our call center here in Grand Blanc,” Buckel said.
Sonitrol is the only security business with a monitoring system in Genesee County, servicing the entire state of Michigan and surrounding states.
“Before we wake you up, we’re already going to be looking at your cameras and when we call you, we’re going to say, ‘we see this happening in your building. What do you want us to do,’” Buckel said.
Buckel said when they first started servicing these types of businesses, it wasn’t always easy to understand the need, but now Sonitrol is now looking forward to more clients and in the marijuana arena.
“When we first started in this, we didn’t know a lot about it. And now when someone rolls a plan out in front of us, we ask all the right questions and they immediately realize it’s not the first one we’ve done,” Buckel said.
