Washington Initiative I-502: Security Camera System Requirements for Cannabis Farms and Dispensaries

Washington state requirements

Here are the requirements for Washington state as listed in WAC314-55-083(3), sec. title: "What are the security requirements for a marijuana licensee?"

(3) Surveillance system. At a minimum, a complete video surveillance with minimum camera resolution of 640x470 pixel and must be internet protocol (IP) compatible and recording system for controlled areas within the licensed premises and entire perimeter fencing and gates enclosing an outdoor grow operation, to ensure control of the area. The requirements include image acquisition, video recording, management and monitoring hardware and support systems. All recorded images must clearly and accurately display the time and date. Time is to be measured in accordance with the U.S. National Institute Standards and Technology standards.

(a) All controlled access areas, security rooms/areas and all points of ingress/egress to limited access areas, all points of ingress/egress to the exterior of the licensed premises, and all point-of-sale (POS) areas must have fixed camera coverage capable of identifying activity occurring within a minimum of twenty feet of all entry and exit points.

(b) Camera placement shall allow for the clear and certain identification of any individual on the licensed premises.

(c) All entrances and exits to the facility shall be recorded from both indoor and outdoor vantage points, and capable of clearly identifying any activities occurring within the facility or within the grow rooms in low light conditions. The surveillance system storage device must be secured on-site in a lock box, cabinet, closet, or secured in another manner to protect from employee tampering or criminal theft.

(d) All perimeter fencing and gates enclosing an outdoor grow operation must have full video surveillance capable of clearly identifying any activities occurring within twenty feet of the exterior of the perimeter. Any gate or other entry point that is part of the enclosure for an outdoor growing operation must have fixed camera coverage capable of identifying activity occurring within a minimum of twenty feet of the exterior, twenty-four hours a day. A motion detection lighting system may be employed to illuminate the gate area in low light conditions.

(e) Areas where marijuana is grown, cured or manufactured including destroying waste, shall have a camera placement in the room facing the primary entry door, and in adequate fixed positions, at a height which will provide a clear, unobstructed view of the regular activity without a sight blockage from lighting hoods, fixtures, or other equipment, allowing for the clear and certain identification of persons and activities at all times.

(f) All marijuana or marijuana-infused products that are intended to be removed or transported from marijuana producer to marijuana processor and/or marijuana processor to marijuana retailer shall be staged in an area known as the "quarantine" location for a minimum of twenty-four hours. Transport manifest with product information and weights must be affixed to the product. At no time during the quarantine period can the product be handled or moved under any circumstances and is subject to auditing by the liquor control board or designees.

(g) All camera recordings must be continuously recorded twenty-four hours a day. All surveillance recordings must be kept for a minimum of forty-five days on the licensee's recording device. All videos are subject to inspection by any liquor control board employee or law enforcement officer, and must be copied and provided to the board or law enforcement officer upon request.


How to Comply with the Washington Recording Regulations:

To ID someone at twenty feet, we recommend that you have at least 1080P resolution cameras. Even though your technical requirements state 640x470, at that resolution, you won't be able to ID someone at 10 feet unless you have a narrow angle zoom lens camera. Being able to identify someone at 20 feet is out of the question at 640x470 resolution. This means that you have to pick HD cameras. All of our cameras are HD.

How to Comply with the Washington Storage Regulations:

Like most states, the storage requirements are the hard part. We actually use Washington state's requirements as the examples on our main Cannabis regulations page.


*We're not lawyers and laws do change. We try our best to keep this page updated with changes to the law, but you should always do you own research or hire your own lawyer to guarantee compliance with the law.