Tulsa Company Revamps Storm Shelters To Protect Marijuana Dispensary Workers

With the medical marijuana industry being targeted by criminals, a Tulsa tornado shelter business says it has the solution.

Their tornado shelters can withstand an EF-5 tornado. Now they are also being used to protect cannabis products and help keep employees safe during an armed robbery.

"It’s big, huge, bolted to the ground,” says Chelsea Harless, The Bakery Cannabis Dispensary.

Chelsea Harless opened her dispensary, The Bakery, just a week ago and says she feels safe.

"To me it was really a no brainer just for me to feel safe, my patients to feel safe, and have our medicine stay safe,” says Harless.

A Tulsa business, Tornado Place, installed one of their tornado shelters in the dispensary to use as a safe.

Joshua King is the sales manager for a branch of that company called, Green Safe. He says these shelters can do more than withstand severe weather.

"With the expansion of the cannabis industry, we were like we can satisfy this need, go into any existing location, we can make it as big as the company grows or goes,” Joshua King, Green Safe.

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King says the shelters are built with quarter-inch steel and can be made to be bulletproof.

"We are almost at three quarters of an inch of steel with just our standard panel and also the ballistic steel - so nothing is coming through there,” says King.

He says these shelters will protect product and employees.

"Unfortunately armed robberies are happening. If they have a spot to go to they can shut the door, they can lock it, call police, call whoever, they are protected,” says King

Dispensary owners invest thousands of dollars into cannabis product. Harless says, if you are going to invest that much, you should be willing invest in protecting it.

"We just wanted to make sure our product was safe and we were safe,” says Harless. “It's six foot by seven foot. It's huge."

"You’re spending all of this money to come in and have this product at night, you know you have these people that break in. They aren't going to be able to get into this monster safe that's there,” says King. "They want quick smash and grab type stuff."