The business side of this industry can be complicated. One cannabis “location” consists of both a grow (where the product is grown) and the dispensary (where the product is sold). To add to the complications, there is also the rec side and the medical side.

Customers that don’t have medical cards, cannot go on the medical side…as long as they are 21. But if they are 18 and have a medical card, then they can legally purchase marijuana in the state of Colorado. And if you are not a Colorado resident, then you are limited by how much you can sell them.

The pricing even gets complicated because medical cannabis is significantly cheaper than recreational. This is encouraging people to obtain medical cards.

But this isn’t the height of concerns for a dispensary owner.

In this podcast, the guest discusses a major concern for dispensary owners; their landlords. When the landlord sees how much cash these guys are pulling in, they are obviously inclined to raise the rent…a lot. But what they don’t realize is how big of a cost rent actually is.

It’s difficult to keep track of costs and expenditures in this business because there is really not banking, and they are primarily dealing with cash; so it seems if you have a lot of cash, your profits are high.

So if you don’t write the lease just so, then a landlord can raise the price so high that you may not even be able to afford it. So, you might think, well let’s just go somewhere else. But the problem is, the license for the grow is tied to that specific location…so you can’t do that.

Therefore, for any dispensary business owner, it is highly suggested that you have a lawyer, or someone who understands compliance. Listen to the podcast below:

Marijuana Podcast -Should Marijuana Dispensaries Use A Lawyer?