Tag Archives: Sell-Smart

Massachusetts Implements Responsible Vendor Training Program

By Aaron G. Biros
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According to a press release published earlier this week, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission approved Cannabis Trainers as one of the state’s first vendor training providers. The training program, Sell-SMaRT™ is the world’s first state-approved cannabis vendor training.

Regulations in Massachusetts require all licensed growers, managers and employees that handle cannabis to take a responsible vendor training class through a certified provider by January 1, 2020.

The Sell-SMaRT™ program was originally developed for licensees handling cannabis in Colorado. In 2015, Colorado regulators granted the program the first ever certification for its Responsible Vendor Program in cannabis. Since then, almost 4,000 people have taken the Cannabis Trainers class, which has been customized for six states, including Massachusetts.

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers, built on two decades of experience in alcohol vendor training before she started the training program for cannabis. “Massachusetts is really setting a new standard with its training requirements,” says McNamara. “We’ve worked hard to customize the Sell-SMaRT™ program for the state’s needs, and we appreciate the Cannabis Control Commission’s recognition of that. We’re excited to help inspire a cannabis workforce in the state that is responsible, compliant and committed to excellence.”

Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, a Massachusetts cannabis company, says the program helps her employees learn the rules thoroughly. “Cannabis Trainers trained all of my Colorado employees, and my entire team in Massachusetts as well,” says Sanders. “I know every time Cannabis Trainers meets with my staff, we walk away smarter and better prepared to help our customers.”

Cannabis Trainers Expands To California With Custom Compliance Education

By Aaron G. Biros
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Last week, Cannabis Trainers, a compliance education and training services provider, announced their launch into the California market with their ServSafe® and Sell- SMaRT™ training programs. Ahead of the launch of California’s adult-use cannabis market in 2018, the programs will train employees in the areas of food safety and retail sales.

Maureen McNamara leading a Sell-SMaRT class

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers, says that training and certification of employees is crucial to regulatory compliance in the cannabis space. “In few other industries could a frontline employee crumble an entire business with a single mistake,” says McNamara. “We aim to honor California’s cannabis pioneers by fusing their decades of hard work with cutting-edge approaches to safety and compliance.” She has over 25 years of professional training experience and has trained and certified over 15,000 employees across a handful of industries. In 2014, she launched Cannabis Trainers in Colorado and the following year in Illinois.

According to the press release, their ServSafe® program is essentially a food safety certification course based on food safety research and the FDA food code, but tailored to the cannabis industry for retailers and manufacturers of infused products. In 2015, their Sell-SMaRT™ program was the first to gain approval from the Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division’s Responsible Vendor Program, becoming the first state-certified cannabis vendor-training program. That course is an education program for budtenders and managers covering consumer safety issues, checking IDs and other key retail regulatory compliance issues.

According to McNamara, their Sell-SMaRT™ program is designed and customized to each state’s rules for cannabis sales. “We’ll be customizing our content to ensure it’s relevant to California regulations,” says McNamara. “We comb through the rules and pull out information pertinent to the responsible sale of cannabis in each state.” They’ll be doing the same for the ServSafe® program as well. “Although it’s a nationally recognized program based on the FDA food code, states may choose to create additional restrictions for cannabis infused products.”

Maureen McNamara, founder of Cannabis Trainers

She says they look at their programs like a translation for cannabis businesses; helping employees and managers make sense of the complex and confusing rules for cannabis compliance. “Most rules are written in legalese and can be a challenge to understand, says McNamara. “We simplify it and make it approachable and easy to digest.” Looking past California, McNamara says Cannabis Trainers is looking to expand to a few other states. She says their course curricula are based on state laws, but they try their best to incorporate regulatory compliance issues on the local level. “Our course information is based on state law,” says McNamara. “And, we realize local counties and municipalities may create stricter regulations and we do our best to include those variances in our courses.” Cannabis Trainers has incorporated variations in local rules in Colorado successfully.

“In addition to California, we’ll be customizing our courses for Nevada to launch this year as well,” says McNamara. “In 2018, we aim to provide professional development and certification courses to even more states.” McNamara says they have entered talks with teams in Ohio, Massachusetts and Maryland and are also actively looking to expand into Canada’s market. Their first California class will be the 3.5-hour September 20, 2017 ServSafe® course for cannabis producers at East Anaheim Community Center.