Cannabis SOPs — write the playbook before the inspector asks for it

Every other compliance surface (training records / surveillance retention / discount audit log / recall response / signage discipline) traces back to a written procedure. The inspector is verifying you have one BEFORE checking whether you follow it. Without the SOP, even when you ARE following the right procedure on the floor, you can’t prove the procedure was the intentional one — the cite shifts from ‘procedural failure’ to ‘winging it.’

Written, dated, version-controlled, signed-by-MOD on the cover page. Update the version-date EVERY time the procedure changes; not a calendar exercise.

1. 1**Open / close procedure** — opening checklist (alarm disarm / camera check / register-stock count / cash drop) + closing mirror.
2. 2**ID-scan + age-verification** — what scanner, what fallback for damaged IDs, what the budtender does if the scan fails (per /guides/wslcb-compliance-coded-vs-handed).
3. 3**Sale-to-minor block** — coded-gate flow + manager-PIN-override policy + escalation path. Signed-acknowledged by every staff member annually.
4. 4**Industry / heroes / medical discount verification** — per WAC 314-55-095 + /guides/industry-discount-verification-cadence. Pay-stub-or-badge requirement, 50%-cap policy, photograph-as-evidence step.
5. 5**Cash drop + variance review** — per /guides/cash-discipline-at-a-cannabis-dispensary. Drop frequency, in-safe cap, variance threshold, who signs off on counts.
6. 6**Surveillance retention + clip retrieval** — per /guides/cannabis-surveillance-discipline. 45-day floor, the camera-bridge query process, the <30-second SLA.
7. 7**Recall response (operator-side)** — per /guides/cannabis-recall-handling-first-four-hours. The 4-hour clock, customer-contact steps, regulator notification, disposal documentation.
8. 8**Vendor receiving + manifest reconciliation** — match WSLCB-CCRS / METRC manifest against physical receipt; flag discrepancies; accept-or-reject decision tree.
9. 9**Customer complaint flow** — verbal / written / online. Triage criteria for what gets logged + escalated vs. resolved on the floor.
10. 10**Staff training (warm + cold paths)** — per /guides/cannabis-staff-training-warm-path-cold-path. Both curricula written + signed.
11. 11**Data + privacy** — per /guides/cannabis-data-discipline-cybersecurity. PII handling + retention + breach-response.
12. 12**Emergency procedures** — fire / medical / robbery / WSLCB inspection. The 60-second response per /guides/wslcb-unannounced-inspection-first-60-seconds + parallel response trees.

• **Cover page with version + last-revised + signed-by-MOD.** Revision date changes the moment the procedure changes; not a calendar exercise.
• **Quarterly review even when nothing changed.** MOD reviews the binder, ticks each section, signs the cover. Documents that the procedure remains the procedure. Sounds bureaucratic; it’s the difference between ‘our SOP is current’ and ‘our SOP went stale 18 months ago.’
• **Trigger-based revisions:** WSLCB rule update / post-incident (after a sale-to-minor near-miss / a recall / a security event) / staff-turnover (when the MOD changes, the new MOD reviews + re-signs all 12). All three trigger a same-week revision pass; not a calendar event.
• **Acknowledgment log per section, per staff member.** Staff signs that they’ve read the relevant SOP at hire + on every revision. Inspector asks ‘has Pat read the recall procedure?’ — operator hands over the dated signature.

1. 1**Asks for it by name.** ‘Bring me the SOP binder.’ Time-to-produce matters; if it takes >60 seconds the inspector’s opinion of the operation drops.
2. 2**Reads the cover page first.** Version + last-revised + MOD signature. Old date + missing signature = first finding even before reading content.
3. 3**Picks 2-3 sections randomly.** Asks the lead-on-shift to walk through one. Compares the verbal answer to the written procedure. Mismatch = cite.
4. 4**Asks about post-incident revisions.** ‘You had a recall in March. Show me the SOP revision that came out of it.’ If the binder shows a March or April revision tied to the recall, the inspector sees an operator who learns. If the procedure looks identical to a year ago, the operator didn’t.
5. 5**Photos relevant pages.** The inspection record carries forward. Next inspector references the prior log; persistent issues compound; persistent improvements stack.