The different paths to starting a legal weed business. Whether planting the seed and delivering the product to the consumer, or harvesting cannabis buds to manufacturers to refine. Knowing the laws, getting a license, acquiring financing and how to grow the business.
Any business has to deal with legal matters that determine the scope of operation. With cannabis these legal matters become paramount depending on the state there are applications and licenses to be obtained.
According to business analysts, the weed market is one of the fastest-growing industries that has ever been recorded. Since California legalized medicinal use, the legal business side of the beloved herb has been growing immensely. It is not uncommon to find where to buy marijuana seeds and cannabis as two of the most searched in several search engines. To meet the growing demand for the plant, people have been delving into the weed business in whichever part of the process they can.
As the number of marijuana users continues to spike, more and more people are becoming interested in the sector’s business opportunities. How does one start a legal weed business?
Marijuana and Entrepreneurship
Statistical reports over this past decade have shown an incredible rise in marijuana sales. As of 2021, the legal weed business had accrued $14.1 billion in sales alone. This excludes the same product’s illegal sector, estimated to be a little over $60 billion. The novelty of the sector and these increases in sales are best realized by entrepreneurs.
At the federal level, marijuana is considered illegal, which has greatly impacted business entrepreneurs for the past couple of years. Entrepreneurs can not borrow money from federal banks or bank their weed sales in the same institution. Though this deterred entrepreneurs in the past, the fear has been melting away.
“Weed is legal! Let’s sell it!”
Not so fast. It might be easier to continue selling it from your truck/locker.
Why Starting A Marijuana Business Is So Hard https://t.co/Te9lCrJshd
— BitterAfterDark (@BitterAfterDark) November 10, 2021
Recently, entrepreneurs have sourced their funds from other institutions and invested wholly in the cannabis industries. The outcome has been the development of huge chain dispensaries and even bigger grow farms. It is no surprise to find a highly advanced dispensary with sister stores in almost all states where weed is legal.
Also, the availability of the online space has further cemented the availability of legal cannabis as people only order, and their substances are delivered to their doors. Hence, the weed industry has been extremely open for business investments.
Career Opportunities Within the Weed Sector
From a wholesome perspective, the pot industry comprises several processes. Between planting the seed (and even before) and delivering the product to the consumer, there is a whole other range of processes. Each of these processes is a business niche for the individual. In analyzing the careers involved in weed production, it is best to divide them into the following categories;
In contact with the Cannabis
This is the most basic level of weed businesses. It involves individuals that have direct contact with the pot plants. They include cultivation managers, extraction technicians, seed analysts, and others. Each of their roles contributes to the overall well-being of the actual crop. The cultivators, for instance, are in charge of the plants and how they are doing. They determine whether the plant needs more nutrients, whether it is getting enough water, and the like.
“Complicated local rules, understaffed city departments and slow communication with state regulators have made starting a weed business in California a protracted and risky ordeal. Red tape and paralyzing legal battles are stunting the market’s growth”https://t.co/nrZshQOwv6
— Lone Candle (@Lone_Candle) January 17, 2022
On the business side of things, these careers result in the production of the needed buds. Some entrepreneurs develop weed farms and sell the harvested buds to manufacturers to refine them into finished products. Others take it as far as manufacturing the buds where they deliver finished products to the retailers.
Other processes, as mentioned, could involve making the weed into edibles, tinctures, and oils. These are the manufacturing and production processes of the business. Due to the different needs of the consumers, a good business structure will facilitate the development of varying products.
Jobs Facilitating the Well-Being of the Weed Businesses
Other than the jobs where people have direct contact with cannabis, other jobs work behind the scenes. These comprise the legal teams, the website developers, advertisers, and the like. Though they do not have direct contact with cannabis, they are just as important for running the business. For one, the legal team is responsible for ensuring all the legal aspects are straightened out.
The website developers are in charge of the technical matters to ensure that the online stores and website are running as expected. Advertisers and social media consultants ensure the business has an online presence. They engage with the consumers and direct the needed traffic to online stores and stores.
Careers in Contact with Marijuana Consumers
Lastly, we have the retail end of the businesses. These have direct contact with the finished weed products, from pre-rolls to buds and even seeds. The most common ones are the delivery personnel and the dispensary attendants. Both of these are responsible for selling cannabis to consumers.
In hiring the two, it is important to ensure they have high customer care service levels. Also, they should have knowledge of weed in general, especially the dispensary attendants. Sometimes the customers need to ask questions regarding the products, and it is always better if the attendant has some basic information.
How to Start a Cannabis-Growing Business
Now that we have discussed the entirety of the marijuana business, the next step is looking at how to start growing weed without legal consequences. One of the most important things to consider here is the legal status of the area you intend to establish your farm. Even in states where weed is legal, there are usually issues concerning the growing of the same.
States have stipulations they enforce for businesses hoping to grow cannabis on a large scale. The first thing you should do is hire a lawyer and look into the state regulations. For instance, an initial application fee of $25,000 is needed in Connecticut, and it is non-refundable. After the application, there is the first registration fee of $75,000, followed by an annual renewal fee of the same amount each year.
Other states, such as California, are a little more lenient where they have a type of growing business for small-scale farmers and another for large-scale ones. The small-scale farmers need to pay registration fees that are at most $1500. The only problem is that they can only grow 25 plants simultaneously. For the larger plants, they are required to pay registration fees and an annual subscription of around $85,000.
The need to pay these registration fees is to obtain licenses and have a legal weed farm. Lacking the license will make the entire operation susceptible to Drug Enforcement Agency raids. It is important to consider that each state has regulations on running a weed grow farm. With the help of a lawyer, the business owner can file the needed papers with the state governments and pay the needed fees. Venturing into the marijuana business for any part of the process can prove to be a bad idea in the end.
Ideally, weed growing can be quite lucrative once the licenses and legal applications are obtained. The average price for a pound of cannabis is $1500, and there are states where the number goes beyond $2000. With a huge establishment, this can be enough for the annual payments and the employee salaries plus profits.
Conclusion
The marijuana business sector is highly lucrative, as the business statistics have been reporting. The industry has led to the availability of more jobs, all of the varying closeness to the growing drug. With the reports of high profits, it is understandable that people may be interested in venturing into the business. To grow weed legally, you must go through a lot of red tapes. This red tape is in the form of application, registration, and annual fees. Once the license as per the state government is issued, then your legal weed enterprise can take off.
