Cannabis store security systems
For cannabis store owners, managers and franchise groups in Alberta and BC, from a single store to several locations.
Updated
The quick answer
A cannabis store needs cameras that clearly cover the entrance, sales floor, tills, back room and outside, an intrusion alarm that a monitoring centre watches after hours, silent panic buttons for staff, and access control so only the right people open the storage room, the office and the receiving door. Retailers must meet AGLC and Health Canada requirements; we design systems to support your licence requirements. Check the current AGLC rules for your store. In BC, stores follow the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) rules in the same way.
Where the risk is in a cannabis store
What owners tell us about
- Break-ins after closing, often through the front glass or a back door
- Product going missing from the back room with no record of who went in
- Staff alone at opening and closing
- Footage that’s hard to find or too blurry when it’s needed
- Old systems that were installed in a rush to open
Where problems usually start
- Keys shared between shifts instead of personal fobs or codes
- Cameras that don’t clearly show faces at the door or hands at the till
- An alarm with no glass-break sensors on the storefront
- No backup power or cellular connection for the alarm
- Nobody watching the cameras overnight
Systems that fit a cannabis store
| System | What it does |
|---|---|
| Security cameras | Clear views of the entrance, sales floor, tills, storage room, receiving door and parking, recorded on equipment you control. |
| Intrusion alarm | Door contacts, motion sensors and glass-break sensors, monitored by a monitoring centre after hours, with battery backup and a cellular connection. |
| Panic buttons | Silent buttons at the tills and in the back office that alert the monitoring centre or a manager without anyone in the store knowing. |
| Access control | Personal fobs or codes for the storage room, office and receiving door, with a log of every entry by name and time. |
| Remote video monitoring | Our monitoring partner watches the cameras after hours, warns people off through a speaker and calls police or your contact if it’s real. |
| Video intercom | At the receiving door, so staff see who’s there before they open it for a delivery. |
Built around your licence rules
Your licence may set rules on where cameras must cover, how long video is kept, how the alarm is monitored and who can enter storage areas. Those rules change from time to time, so we don’t list them here. Give us the current requirements for your store and we’ll design the cameras, alarm and access control to support them, and document what was installed so you have it ready.
Not legal advice. Check the current rules with the AGLC in Alberta or the LCRB in BC, and with Health Canada.
How we work around your opening hours
Most of the work can be done with the store open: cameras and cabling go in a section at a time, and anything that takes a door or the alarm offline is done before opening or after closing. We never leave the store without a working alarm overnight.
New store? Bring us in before the fit-out closes the walls, so cabling, door hardware and power are planned with your contractor. We work across Alberta and BC from our Edmonton head office and our offices in Calgary, Red Deer and Kelowna.
Your checklist
Before the site walk
- Your store layout, with the sales floor, storage room and receiving door marked
- The current licence requirements you need the system to support
- Who should get alarm calls and panic alerts, and in what order
- Your opening hours and when after-hours work suits you
At handover
- Admin access to the cameras, alarm and access control, in your name
- Full documentation: device list, camera views and settings
- Staff trained to find and export a clip
- A personal fob or code for every staff member
Staff privacy and footage
Alberta’s and BC’s private-sector privacy laws (both called PIPA) apply to video and door logs recorded by businesses. Post signs, point cameras only where you need them, limit who can view footage and keep it only as long as you need it. Keep cameras out of washrooms and staff change areas, and decide in writing who can view and export footage. Not legal advice.
Opening a store or upgrading an old system?
We’ll walk the store with you, check it against the rules you need to meet, and give you a written quote.
Related: liquor store securityretail plazasintrusion alarmspanic buttons
Stuck with a system nobody will fix?
We repair and take over cameras, access control, intercoms and alarms installed by other companies, when your current provider has fallen short.
Help: Export Avigilon video
Cannabis store security questions
What security does a cannabis store need?
Usually cameras on the entrance, sales floor, tills, storage and outside, a monitored intrusion alarm, panic buttons for staff and access control on the back rooms. Your licence rules decide the details.
Do you know the AGLC security requirements?
Retailers must meet AGLC and Health Canada requirements, and the rules change from time to time. We design to support your licence requirements, so check the current AGLC rules for your store and share them with us.
Do you install security for cannabis stores in BC?
Yes. BC stores follow the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) rules. We design around the requirements you give us, from our Kelowna office and across BC.
Can the storage room open only for certain staff?
Yes. Access control gives each person their own fob or code, limits the storage room to the staff who need it and logs every entry.
Who answers the panic button in a cannabis store?
A silent alert goes to the monitoring centre, which follows your call list, or to a manager’s phone. Nobody in the store hears it.
Can someone watch our store cameras overnight?
Yes. Remote video monitoring through our monitoring partner can watch the store after hours, warn people through a speaker and call police or your contact.
Will the alarm still work if the power or internet goes out?
Yes, when it has battery backup and a cellular communicator. We include both in commercial alarm designs.
Can you install without closing the store?
Usually. Cameras and cabling go in while you’re open, and anything that takes the alarm or a door offline is done outside opening hours.
Can you manage several cannabis stores in one app?
Yes. Cloud-managed cameras and access control can put every location in one app, with staff access set store by store.
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Get a cannabis store security quote
Tell us about the store: size, doors, current system and the licence rules you need to meet. We’ll follow up to book a site walk.
Call and a real person answers, 24/7 for emergencies.