According to NBC News, legal marijuana companies are finding their place, despite the many roadblocks that come with legalizing the business despite pot not yet being legal on a national level. As competition between businesses continues to increase, in many cases the prices are going down and revenue as well as states essentially compete for more tourists. Washington and Oregon are constantly having ?border wars,? and California and Oregon overall draw the most interest from out-of-state investors.
?Cannabis is still illegal on a federal level, so it makes investing very risky,? research analyst Jessica Rabe explained. Her brokerage company, ConvergEx, recently released an analysis of the cannabis industry and its likely future growth. Among the roadblocks to small businesses: it?s difficult for these companies to open bank accounts. Banks can?t accept a business that is ?illegal? — as a result, these companies often have incredible sums of money on hand owing to an ability to deposit the cash at the end of the day.
Despite this, sales from legalized marijuana hit a record high of $5.7 billion in 2015. It?s no surprise that many states are hoping to follow suit in order to boost tax revenue — with few drawbacks. Four states currently allow recreational use, and almost 50% of the country now allows medical marijuana cultivating. Many investors are eyeing California as a likely future weed-friendly state; if it passes legalization there, it will be potentially a $15 billion market.
If you?ve thoughts starting a medical marijuana business, there?s a lot more to it than just knowing which strains are the most potent. At a bare minimum, you?ll need a cannabis business license. For this, although the application varies by state, you?ll likely need to submit a marijuana cultivation business plan. Without a business plan, you?ll likely be denied — there are hundreds of people interested in getting in on this industry and competition is fierce. Most experts recommend that you hire a cannabis consultant to help you through the process and make sure you get all necessary documentation in order.
Once your marijuana cultivation business plan has been approved, you?ll likely want to look for investors for your business — a small business loan might be hard to obtain for the same reason a bank account is hard to obtain. This way, you can invest in your storefront, plants, and everything else required to start up.
