Security is not only an integral part of any growing legal cannabis business, but it’s also a licensing requirement. Many traditional security companies aren’t open to changing their protocols. I had the chance to talk with Douglas White of Forensic Fog Technologies to discuss how cannabis businesses could change the way everyone looks at security and asset protection – no matter the location.
Jason Sander: Thanks for joining me today, Douglas. Let’s start with your elevator pitch.
Douglas White: My pleasure. Forensic Fog technology is basically a fog machine that acts as a security device. The product that produces the fog is propylene glycol, which similar to what people use in their vapes. The main function of the device is to deter crime. When a thief encounters the fog, they become extremely disoriented and almost blinded. Most of the time this is enough to scare them off, because they have no idea what that fog is, and they’re not sure if they’re being gassed, or what is happening. As we say, they can’t steal what they can’t see.
If they do somehow manage to steal products or property, the devices use plant based DNA that is like fly paper to a criminal. The forensic tagging DNA remains on the skin, hair and clothes of the perpetrator, along with anything they’ve stolen, easily linking them to the exact location of the crime with a simple forensic test done by police investigators. It is perfectly safe, doesn’t harm products or property in any way and does not injure the perpetrator, just disorients and scares them.
JS: Give us a little history of Forensic Fog.
DW: A gentleman in England by the name of Paul Dards was tired of having his property broken into. So he developed the prototype SmokeCloak device in 1992. After perfecting the technology, the product was released 20 years ago. Since then, business owners in 50 European countries have used SmokeCloak DNA to successfully deter property crimes. The SmokeCloakDNA system won the 2014 Innovation of the Year Award in Popular Science. After reading this, I contacted them and said I would be happy to promote the brand here in the U.S. To my surprise, most American security companies gave me a resounding “meh” when it came to adopting forensic fog.
Enter the cannabis entrepreneur. People in the legal marijuana industry tend to be more progressive thinkers in the way they look for business solutions and were very receptive to us. They know they have to be ready to adapt to an evolving industry. We’re now doing for dispensaries and other cannabis locations what we’ve been doing for pharmacy loss prevention, pawnshops, banks, jewelry stores, museums, etc. The more people understand how this safe, affordable, theft deterring product works, the better the industry will be as a whole. I even use it in my own home.
JS: It’s a great thing to be able to fight property crime and free up police resources by using this innovative technology. Thanks again for joining me today.
For more information about Forensic Fog, check out their website and videos on YouTube.
Excellent Article, Jason- keep up the great work!
Thanks for the great chat! I enjoyed discuss this exciting technology with you.
Wow, that’s a really clever way of thkniing about it!