Important Points for Building a Licensed Outdoor Cannabis Site
by Jason Tobias, July 8, 2021
Compared to growing indoors, growing outdoors has fewer barriers to entry. It also has some unique challenges.
We’ve outlined some common issues would-be outdoor growers face once they have selected their site and are ready to apply for their Health Canada licence.
In this article we discuss the following aspects of planning an outdoor grow:
Need help with your outdoor grow? Call us, we can help. Consultations are always free and confidential.
Utilities
In addition to fresh water, reliable electrical power and some form of communications are critical for operating a licensed site.
Usually a standard household electrical service is enough power to start. Taking future expansion and storage needs into account may also mean making provisions for three phase power.
If grid power isn't available a combination of generators, solar and batteries can also be used.
For many sites, especially in rural BC, connecting to grid power can be a long and costly process. Starting the utility application as soon as possible is a must. Even for sites with grid power a backup generator paired with an uninterruptible power supply (battery backup) may be required to deal with any unexpected outages.
Internet, cell service or even old fashioned phone lines are some of the ways to connect your site’s security system to off-site 24/7 monitoring. Internet service can also be used to remotely view cameras, do system troubleshooting and a million other useful things. Even rural satellite service like Xplornet can work in a pinch.
Cannabis Security System
For outdoor growers with micro licences, a fence is all the security required. The type of fence can vary as long as it “is constructed in a manner that prevents someone from easily jumping or climbing over it”. (Government of Canada, Physical Security Measures Guide for Cannabis )
Barbed wire isn’t explicitly required but it isn’t a bad idea as a deterrent for would-be intruders. For sites where the fence is the only barrier separating the world from your crop, a good fence isn’t just a compliance issue, it is also peace of mind.
Standard cultivation licences require the addition of physical security measures such as video cameras and intrusion detection. To put it another way, you need a security system. This security system needs to work night and day, rain or shine, 365 days of the year. Planning the fenceline in conjunction with the security system is preferred so that blind spots, extra long cable runs, camera placement and other issues can be resolved before construction begins.
There are a number of different ways to meet the physical security requirements that vary in cost and effectiveness. Things like user friendliness, redundancy, total cost of ownership and future expandability are also important considerations. Most consumer level systems are only able to provide a portion of the functionality required to meet the regulations.
Regardless of approach, security costs increase in proportion to the length of the fence. However, for smaller sites up to 90m x 90m, the security costs don’t vary as much based on size. It can make sense to set this as the minimum if the space is available.
Non-rectangular site perimeters with lots of corners or elevation changes are more complex to secure and generally result in more expensive security installations. Long, straight fence lines can make use of a single camera.
Cannabis Operations and Storage
Activities such as harvesting, bucking and bulk packaging are considered part of cultivation and therefore can be done within a licensed outdoor cultivation area.
Drying and freezing are considered to be storage and need their own dedicated areas. Batch drying plants or flower from outdoor harvests can be impractical due to the amount of space required. Therefore cultivators often opt for large scale bulk drying or fresh frozen. These options take up less volume but consume large amounts of electrical power.
Storage areas can be added to a licence once it has been approved by Health Canada, meaning that cultivators can sometimes defer a portion of their capital spend.
Seasonality and Timing
Winter isn’t just a bad time to grow outdoor cannabis, it can also be a bad time to do certain types of construction. Planning to have your outdoor site built before the snow flies not only ensures fewer weather related construction delays, it also ensures better odds of your licence submission being approved before spring planting season.
Planning for the Future
The logistics of outdoor production at scale can be daunting even for seasoned growers. Some growers opt to increase their capacity gradually year over year so they can dial in their process without overextending their labour and capital.
Tactics can include using strategic partnerships with other licence holders, building out cultivation areas in stages, and installing modular licensed operations and storage areas as required.
Summary
Confused by the regulations or not sure where to start?
Book a call with Jason for a free consultation about your cannabis project.
We specialize in security systems for Health Canada compliance.
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