Cannabis Facility Permitting Support

*Yes, that really is the NFPA’s name for their cannabis regulation committee. We love their sense of humor.

Parts of the permitting process will likely be one of the last steps to complete before you move in and start producing. Even so, the decisions you make as you start to plan your facility will make a difference to how quickly and easily you get through your permitting process. The kind of building you choose, your location, equipment, and chemicals used in your processing all impact the permits you need before you open. Professional engineers, architects, and contractors deal with these issues every day and can help you navigate the complicated world of codes, rules, and regulations.

Depending on a variety of factors, you may encounter requirements for odor control, environmental impacts, wastewater, and air quality. Any extraction facility will face life safety and fire protection compliance requirements. All of this is on top of the requirements for having your cannabis license in the first place, and the same construction and energy standards that all buildings must meet.

Owners of cannabis production facilities may find different requirements based on location. States and counties will have their own regulations, and on top of that, may even have conflicting interpretations of the same code in different locations. Sound complicated? It is.

For example, we know of an experienced producer who was expanding his operation. He had a conflict in permitting because of the way one local authority interpreted “enclosed space.” This meant that a facility design that had easily gained permits in one county did not pass muster in another county only a few miles away. Though the facility had no walls, the second jurisdiction interpreted “enclosed space” to mean anything that had a roof. Unfortunately, the owner didn’t find this out until the facility had been built. By the time he called us, he had a choice between selling the building or adding costly upgrades to his life safety systems.

The biggest mistake a facility owner can make is to set thoughts of permitting aside until it’s time to fill out the paperwork. Many of the decisions you make early on will come into play in the permitting process. This includes the equipment you buy, the solvents you choose, the style and location of your structure, even the materials you build with. We’ve seen folks purchase equipment that will never pass muster because it does not hold the required ratings. One distraught owner had signed a lease on a space that was co-located with a day care and would never get a certificate of occupancy from a Fire Marshal due to zoning. Imagine having a year-long lease you could never use! The bottom line is, it’s never too soon to start thinking about all of the requirements you will need to meet before you can start operating.