You Don't Die For Weed

Why Cannabis Operations Need Real Emergency Planning Before Someone Else Gets Hurt

Last week, during a NOLS Wilderness First Responder course in the mountains of North Carolina, I kept coming back to one thing: remote cannabis operations.

Backcountry medicine and cannabis cultivation share more than you’d expect: isolated settings, delayed emergency response, and a sobering truth. When something goes wrong, help is often a long way off.

That’s not theoretical. It's a daily reality for many commercial grows.

The 40-Minute Reality

Late one night at our remote Northern California facility, my heart rate spiked and wouldn't come down. It took 40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, then another 90 minutes to reach the nearest hospital. Those two hours gave me plenty of time to think about how unprepared most cannabis operations are for real medical emergencies.

The irony wasn't lost on me. That same week, I was taking notes for an emergency response drill I'd been planning for the team. My own medical emergency became an unplanned field test of our protocols.

When Systems Save Lives

Months earlier, one of our crew flipped an ATV on our second property. The only reason we didn't find him hours later, bleeding and half-conscious, was the radio system I'd pushed to implement across all teams. He called it in immediately. We responded fast. That simple communication infrastructure (which some had called overkill) prevented a bad situation from becoming tragic.

It reinforced what every WFR instructor drills into you: you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of preparation. And most cannabis operations?

They're not prepared. Not really.

The Conversation Nobody Wants to Have

When I took over operations at this facility, I inherited more than just cultivation challenges. Two of our friends had been tied up and held at gunpoint during a robbery at this same location. They survived because they didn’t resist. Though, in a strange twist, the cat bit one of the intruders while the pit bull bolted.

During a team safety meeting, when someone suggested they'd "fight back" if it happened again, I shut that down hard. Several crew members had expressed this hero mentality that pervades cannabis culture, the idea that protecting the crop is worth risking your life.

My protocol was simple: "Show them the plants. Help them cut them down. Help load them up. You don't die for weed."

This wasn't theoretical. It was based on what had happened at our facility. The previous victims survived because they didn't try to be heroes. That's the outcome that matters.

Yet this conversation makes operators uncomfortable. It forces them to confront an ugly truth: their security planning often puts workers in impossible positions. Asking employees to risk their lives for someone else's crop isn't loyalty—it's negligence.

The Hazards We Systematically Ignore

Cannabis cultivation carries all of agriculture's inherent risks, then adds layers of industry-specific complications. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, agriculture already ranks among the most dangerous industries in America. Cannabis operations compound these baseline hazards significantly.

Standard Agricultural Risks in Cannabis:

• Workers rushing repairs on ladders over uneven greenhouse floors

• Pruning scissors creating constant laceration risks

• Heavy rolling benches that can crush fingers or worse

• Trellis poles and rebar puncture hazards everywhere

• Electrical systems operating in perpetually wet environments

Cannabis-Specific Complications:

• Remote locations meaning 30-60+ minute emergency response times

• Limited or no cell service at many facilities

• Security protocols that can delay emergency access

• Federal-state legal complications affecting worker protections

• Inconsistent safety enforcement due to regulatory gray areas

• Startup culture that treats safety as overhead rather than necessity

Multi-tier indoor operations introduce fall risks from elevated platforms. Extraction facilities bring chemical and pressure hazards, and processing can bring inhalation risk. And through it all, the industry maintains a culture that prioritizes speed over safety—a cowboy mentality that hasn't evolved with the market.

The Economic Reality Nobody Discusses

The harsh equation for workers: You're typically underpaid, definitely overworked, and operating without a real safety net. A serious injury doesn't just mean medical bills—it can mean zero income, complications due to federal illegality, and an employer who might cut you loose when margins tighten.

I've watched good people destroy their bodies for operations that would replace them within a week. The physical demands are substantial, the hazards are real, and the job security is minimal. Don't sacrifice your health for someone else's profit margins.

For operators, the economics of safety are equally stark:

• Medical evacuations from remote sites are expensive—helicopter transport alone can exceed the entire annual safety budget

• Workers compensation claims spiral quickly, especially when federal illegality complicates coverage

• Production delays from serious accidents can miss critical harvest windows

• Lawsuits from inadequate safety protocols threaten the entire operation

• Insurance premiums jump significantly after preventable incidents—if you can still get coverage at all

The ROI on proper safety equipment and training is massive compared to these potential costs. One serious incident can cost more than years of safety investment.

Building Real Emergency Preparedness

Based on both my WFR training and hard-won facility experience, here's what actually works:

Training Recommendations

For Remote Operations (30+ minutes from emergency services):

• Minimum one Wilderness First Responder per shift

• All supervisors with Wilderness First Aid (16-hour course)

• All staff with Stop the Bleed training (3-hour course, often free and training can happen on site)

For Urban/Suburban Operations:

• Supervisors with Basic Life Support/CPR certification

• Key personnel with Stop the Bleed training

• All staff with basic first aid orientation

Communication Systems:

• Two-way radios with facility-wide coverage

• Cell signal boosters or satellite communicators for dead zones

• Posted emergency contact protocols at every station

• Monthly communication drills (as opposed to annually)

Medical Equipment:

• Trauma kits with tourniquets, pressure bandages, chest seals

• Multiple stations throughout facility for rapid access

• AED for operations with 20+ employees

• Eyewash stations near all chemical handling areas

  
  

Functional Emergency Protocols:

• Designated helicopter landing zones for remote facilities

• GPS coordinates posted for all access points

• Regular drills with realistic scenarios

• Coordination meetings with local EMS

• Written protocols in English and Spanish

  
  

Creating Professional Safety Culture

The best operators I've worked with don't just meet minimum requirements, they build safety into their operational DNA:

Leadership Commitment:

• Paid training time for safety certifications

• Company covers all safety equipment costs

• Safety metrics weighted equally with production metrics

• Immediate incident reporting without punishment

Practical Implementation:

• Invite fire/EMS to tour facilities annually

• Run realistic emergency drills monthly

• Document everything meticulously

• Update protocols based on actual incidents

• Share lessons learned across the industry

Cannabis-Specific Protocols:

• Lockout/tagout procedures for all equipment

• Proper respiratory protection for all spray applications and nutrient mixing

• Security protocols that don't impede emergency response

• Clear policies on working alone in remote areas

• Weather monitoring and response plans

Time for the Industry to Grow Up

We’ve seen this industry transform from guerrilla grows to corporate boardrooms. Professionalized every aspect, from cultivation techniques to compliance protocols. Except safety.

We're still operating like it's 2012, when a band-aid, superglue, and some duct tape counted as a medical kit. That has to change. The lawsuits are coming. The regulations are coming. More importantly, people are getting hurt unnecessarily.

The Bottom Line

Ask yourself: if someone collapses at your facility right now—cardiac event, major bleeding, severe allergic reaction—are you actually prepared? Not theoretically. Actually.

Can you stop major bleeding? Can you maintain an airway? Can you get professional help on scene within an hour? Can you help someone with a spinal injury without making it worse?

If you answered no to any of these, you're not ready. And in this industry, with these hazards, at these locations, that's not acceptable anymore.

You don't die for weed. But you shouldn't die because of it either.

Cannabis Wise Guys brings the same systematic approach to safety planning that we apply to cultivation optimization. If you’re ready to protect your people, and your bottom line, let’s build emergency preparedness that actually works.