Compliant at every hand-off, step by step.
Delivery is where a license meets the public, and where an inspection starts. This page is the procedure Ember runs on every order, from the first onboarding review to the last signature, so a licensee knows exactly what happens to product once it leaves the counter.
Custody transfers only against a signed manifest.
Verified at every hand-off. No ID, no hand-off.
Every scan and signature checked against the manifest.
Onboarding review
Nothing moves until the review closes. Before the first route, Ember and the licensee agree in writing on everything a courier will be asked to carry and prove.
- Dispensary license and registration on file, with the delivery scope the license allows.
- Named pickup staff authorized to sign custody over, and their hours.
- Packaging standard: sealed, labeled, tamper-evident, child-resistant as the licensee requires.
- Service area confirmed against the Central Region and the dispensary’s own limits.
- A signed logistics agreement that states plainly: product remains the dispensary’s at all times.
Order intake and the manifest
Orders come from the dispensary’s own system. Ember never takes payment, never sells, and never changes an order. Each confirmed order becomes one manifest line.
- Order reference, sealed package count, and the delivery window the client was promised.
- The named client, the delivery address, and which verification applies: adult use (21 and over) or registered medical patient or caregiver.
- The manifest locks when the route is built. Anything added later rides the next route with its own manifest line.
Pickup: sealed custody transfer
The custody transfer happens at the counter, in front of the licensee’s staff, and it is the only point where product changes hands before the client.
- The courier presents government ID and their Ember credential.
- Each sealed package is scanned against the manifest. Counts must match line for line.
- Both parties sign the transfer. A discrepancy of any kind means the order stays at the counter.
- Packages go straight into a locked, opaque tote assigned to that route.
In transit
Between counter and door, product is sealed, locked, out of sight, and accounted for at every stop.
- Unmarked vehicles and plain totes. Nothing about the vehicle or the package announces what it carries.
- Routes stay inside the agreed service area with no unrelated stops.
- Packages are never opened, displayed, re-packed, or left in an unattended vehicle.
- The client receives a live tracking link and a delivery window the moment the route leaves.
Hand-off verification
Delivery is to the named client, in person, after verification. There are no proxy hand-offs and nothing is left at a door.
- Adult use: valid government-issued ID showing the client is 21 or over.
- Medical: registered patient or caregiver status plus valid ID.
- The client signs for the sealed package; the courier scans the seal at hand-off.
- Refusal cases: no ID, ID that does not match the order, a client who appears under 21 or impaired, or anyone other than the named client. In every case the order rides back sealed.
Refusals and returns
An order that cannot be handed over is not a problem to solve on the doorstep. It returns sealed, on the same route, to the counter it came from.
- The reason for refusal is recorded on the manifest line at the time of refusal.
- Return custody is signed by the licensee’s staff when the route closes.
- Ember never holds product overnight, for any reason.
Records and nightly reconciliation
If the state asks, the record is already written. Every scan, signature, and timestamp lives on the manifest, and the manifest is checked every night.
- Pickup scans, hand-off scans, signatures, and refusal notes are retained per Maryland Cannabis Administration requirements.
- Nightly reconciliation compares Ember’s manifest to the licensee’s own records. Any variance is flagged to the licensee the same night.
- Records are available to the licensee at any time, and to regulators through the licensee on request.
Courier vetting and training
Couriers are employed by Ember, not gig drivers with a delivery app. They are selected and trained for this work specifically.
- Background check and clean driving record before the first shift.
- Training on cannabis handling, ID verification, medical registry checks, refusal scenarios, and incident reporting.
- Re-certification at set intervals and whenever the procedure changes.
- Zero tolerance for use, possession outside the manifest, or diversion of any kind.
Incident handling
A broken seal, a vehicle incident, a lost package, or an attempted diversion is reported immediately and documented on the manifest before anything else happens.
- The licensee is notified at once, with the manifest line, timestamps, and the courier’s account.
- Ember supports every regulator notification the licensee is required to make, with the records to back it.
- Every incident closes with a written review and, where needed, a change to this procedure.
Client data and privacy
Ember carries the minimum client information a delivery needs and nothing more.
- Name, address, delivery window, and verification type only. No purchase details beyond the sealed package count.
- Tracking links expire after delivery. Client data is never used for marketing or shared with anyone but the licensee.
- Access to records is limited to the people who need it to run the route or answer the licensee.
Carrier, not counter.
The line between logistics and retail is the line that keeps a license clean. Ember stays on the logistics side of it.
- Buy, sell, or hold product. It is the dispensary’s from counter to verified hand-off.
- Take payment, adjust an order, or substitute an item.
- Hand product to anyone but the verified, named client.
- Keep product overnight, in a vehicle, or anywhere but a sealed tote on an active route.
- Use or share client information for anything but the delivery.
This page describes Ember’s operating procedure. It is not legal advice; each licensee remains responsible for its own obligations under Maryland law and Maryland Cannabis Administration rules.
Bring your compliance team to the first call.
Onboarding starts with this procedure on the table. Most partners are delivering under Ember within two weeks.