Dig Deeper: Health Care Issues
How to Open a Medical Marijuana Dispensary: Where You Can Open and What to Do
If you're planning on opening a dispensary, first check with state officials to navigate the local laws and ordinances that will govern your dispensary's actions. Because medical marijuana dispensary laws vary so much from state to state, and there's not always one department set up to govern the medical marijuana trade, Bedrick recommends that an entrepreneur should first check with the Department of Health Services as a good starting point.
Then, you'll need to go through a licensing process. Some states, like California, don't restrict the amount of dispensaries in a certain zone, unlike other states, like Delaware, that bid out dispensary licenses sparingly. Entrepreneurs should also check with local officials on how to incorporate the business. Some states require all dispensaries to be non-profits, while others can be registered as C-Corporations.
Considering there will be quite a high degree of competition, Bedrick says any dispensary entrepreneur must have a solid business plan, ties to the community, and a squeaky clean record.
Kris Krane, another co-author of the See Change report agrees.
"The right candidate is a business-minded entrepreneur who cares about the issue and cares about doing it right, and can handle a certain degree of risk," he says. "This is an industry that is very much in its infancy, where regulations are not clearly defined. There is the threat of federal involvement, and anybody getting involved has to be comfortable with a certain degree of risk, but recognizing that the long term rewards—both in financial and social cause—can be extremely high."
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How to Open a Medical Marijuana Dispensary: The Costs and Revenues You Can Expect
"You better be well-funded," says Bedrick. "This is not for the faint of heart."
Considering legal and consulting fees, an entrepreneur can expect to dole out between $30,000 to $100,000 just to make an application, according to Bedrick. Then, if you are granted a license, then you'll need to do a build-out, which will run you $100,000 to $300,000. After you've built the store, then you'll need the product. And if your state also allows a cultivation location, that will run you anywhere between $200,000 to $400,000.
Though it will vary widely, start-up costs average out to around a quarter of a million dollars, according to Bedrick. Kris Krane, author of the See Change report, said that some entrepreneurs paid as little as $40,000 while others paid as much as $500,000.
"For somebody wanting to start a dispensary or cultivation center, start-up costs are going to involve getting through the regulatory structure, which can be quite complicated and quite difficult," says Krane. "If someone is going to do this right, they're going to want to hire good lawyers, a good CPA, and a good consultant."
And how much can you make?
"It's a loaded question," says Bedrick. "It can be anywhere from failing to doing very well and making $100,000 a month in revenues."
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How to Open a Medical Marijuana Dispensary: The Ancillary Benefits of Opening a Dispensary
While dispensaries are the obvious business model for those looking to break into this industry, there are perhaps less obvious altenratives.
"Demand for marijuana has produced a number of business opportunities," See Change reports. "Other entrepreneurs are providing marijuana infused products including edibles, tinctures and salves. Development and sales of smoking and non-smoking paraphernalia for consumption are on the rise."
Bedrick would agree. He says that while some patients enjoy smoking the medicine, there is a considerable move and market share toward the edibles. What started out as a couple percentage points of the market share is now up to about 15 percent. Medicinal marijuana can even be made into sodas, bars, elixirs, and lozenges. "Some people just don't like smoking," he says. "This makes it easier to take."
And where there's a growing market, there's always a few creative types lurking behind the scenes.
Russell Perry, who owns Keane, a creative advertising agency in Tempe, is working on concepts to promote medical marijuana dispensaries.
"I think what's really kind of awesome for people in our industry is the opportunity that lies ahead," he says. "Unlike opening a CPA firm, where there's a preconceived notion of what that brand is supposed to look like, it seems like this is a wild-wild-west. We're on the ground floor trying to shape it. Who knows what's going to happen in 10 to 15 years."
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