SOPs & Operations
Daily Operations, Sales Rules, and Compliance for New York Dispensaries
Running a dispensary in New York is about more than having a license. Once your doors open, compliance shifts to daily execution. Most fines, stop-sale orders, and enforcement actions come from operational mistakes, not licensing errors.
This guide explains what dispensary operators need to know about sales, delivery, inventory, packaging, labor, and waste management.
What We Cover
- Sales Operations (ID Checks, POS, and Limits)
- Delivery Rules
- Inventory and METRC Compliance
- Packaging and Labeling
- Labor, Payroll, and Employment Compliance
- Waste, Returns, Recall, and Destruction
- Why This Matters
- Related Pages
- Source Material
Sales Operations (ID Checks, POS, and Limits)
Sales compliance starts the moment a customer walks through the door.
Operators must follow:
- ID checks
- Every customer must be at least 21
- Always verify a valid, government-issued ID
- Intoxication
- Do not sell to anyone appearing impaired, even if they are of age
- POS limits
- All transactions must go through an approved POS
- Sales cannot exceed New York’s per-transaction limits
- Records must match inventory and METRC
Proper sales operations prevent illegal resale, fines, and stop-sale orders.
Delivery Rules
Delivery is allowed but strictly regulated.
Operators must follow:
- Who can deliver
- Only W-2 employees of the dispensary
- No contractors
- No third-party apps or courier companies
- Vehicle and manifests
- Delivery vehicles must meet requirements
- Deliveries must carry proper documentation
- ID verification
- Age must be verified at the door, not only at checkout
Following these rules reduces enforcement risk.
Inventory and METRC Compliance
Accurate inventory is critical.
Operators must follow:
- Intake and storage
- Log all products on receipt
- Store products securely
- Counts and quarantine
- Perform regular counts
- Quarantine unsellable items
- Document adjustments
- POS and METRC
- Ensure inventory data is synced
- Errors or mismatches can trigger enforcement, even without diversion
Packaging and Labeling
Retailers may not repackage cannabis. Products must be sold as received from licensed processors.
Operators must follow:
- Compliance checks
- Confirm packaging includes required warnings and THC statements
- Prohibited items
- Noncompliant products must be quarantined
- Noncompliant products cannot be sold
Labor, Payroll, and Employment Compliance
Labor laws apply fully to dispensaries.
Operators must follow:
- Hiring and scheduling
- Follow minimum wage, overtime, and scheduling rules
- Payroll and termination
- Maintain accurate payroll records
- Follow legal termination procedures
Labor violations can result in fines and jeopardize license renewals, even if cannabis operations are compliant.
Waste, Returns, Recall, and Destruction
Unsellable products must be handled carefully.
Operators must follow:
- Quarantine and logging
- Track returned, expired, damaged, or recalled products in both POS and METRC
- Destruction
- Follow approved methods for destroying cannabis
- Recalls
- Execute recall procedures precisely to avoid enforcement issues
Why This Matters
Most compliance failures occur during daily operations.
Common causes of enforcement include:
- Missed ID checks
- POS errors
- Delivery violations
- Inventory discrepancies
- Noncompliant packaging
- Labor violations
- Improper waste handling
Related Pages
Source Material
