Skip to content

Far removed from the stereotypes in movies like Cheech & Chong, medical dispensaries are actually a rapidly-growing (and completely legitimate) business worth millions and growing.

 

Of course, this means that medical dispensaries are now subject to the same concerns that every other business has: product storage, distribution, and in many cases even the proper growing and maintenance of the plants itself. While we’re not qualified to give out medical advice here at Shelving, Inc, we are pretty well-versed in how to get warehouses and distribution centers organized, so we thought we’d apply some of our knowledge to organizing greenhouses & dispensaries in order to help any budding growers out there keep their facilities properly maintained and their stock safe:

 

As with any sort of retail or warehouse design, the first step should be to identify your products and how they’ll be stored. Many dispensaries and greenhouses fulfill different roles – are you distributing directly to patients, or are you growing the plants to be distributed between different dispensaries and outlets? This is going to have a huge impact on how you design your facility, as long-term plant storage will require different installations and warehouse storage than direct-to-patient distribution will.

 

The next step is to accommodate for the needs of the plants. Far from storing typical retail items, storing plants will require something closer to food storage to compensate for the fact they’re live plants that need to be cared for. Consider a more open type of shelving like wire shelves to allow light to pass through and provide plenty of space for growth. You’ll also need to water them occasionally, so you’ll want to consider something chrome-plated that can withstand the moisture and temperature the plants need to be subjected to.

 

Speaking of the needs of your plants, in addition to having the right shelves and storage options, you need to ensure your building is designed to store plant life. This is where you can start getting some inspiration from other greenhouses and urban gardens, and look to make sure basic plant needs like sunlight and water are taken care of. If you’re lucky enough to have a facility with a lot of windows you’ll need to make sure your shelves and storage are close enough for your plants to catch some rays. Otherwise you’ll need to find other ways to accommodate your plants, such as using open steel shelves with ultraviolet lights mounted on the underside of each shelf to act as artificial sunlight. A sprinkler system will be crucial as well, or at least an in-house hose and watering system to avoid having to find a sink and using a watering can like your mom did with her garden.

 

And from there you should have the basics all set, and from there you just need to find ways to make caring for the plants easier. Any greenhouse, no matter what it’s growing, can benefit from utility carts to hang onto growing supplies and make transporting the plants much more easy. And if you provide garden-safe clothes like heavy aprons and gloves for your workers, you might want to consider providing industrial lockers to keep everything safe and out of the way.

 

It might sound like a lot, but trust us – once you get in the swing of things, running a dispensary isn’t much harder than running any other sort of greenhouse or factory, and these tips and storage ideas should be a big help in keeping things running smoothly.

Comments are closed.

Back to top