What It’s like to Run a Cannabis Business: A Look from Inside

Operating a medical cannabis dispensary has its good, bad, and ugly sides. After all, it is not all about making money but also keeping up with the struggles and concerns surrounding the entire cannabis industry.

In fact, even licensed dispensaries, like Essence Vegas, still experience pains, which are recognizably universal to all dispensaries. So now the question, “What is it like to run a cannabis business?”  Let’s find out.

The Good

Permission to operate

Essence Vegas was granted permission to operate, so it celebrated its grand opening.  

The company has a state-of-the-art cultivation facility complete with a computerized system, automatically controlling irrigation, humidity, fertilization, and temperature.

Public awareness

With so much misinformation going around, it’s no doubt that confusion and misassumption have been spreading like wildfire. In this light, Essence Vegas, one of the premier medical marijuana dispensaries in the USA, holds various events – the latest being Wellness Wednesday with the topic “Benefits of CBD” on May 16, 2018.

Recreational marijuana sale

Recreational marijuana is now legal in the Las Vegas Strip. Essence Vegas, which was established in 2016, held a celebration for this monumental milestone for marijuana dispensaries in Nevada.  

Since July 1, 2017, tourists and residents who are at least 21 years of age can buy cannabis products.

Essence now has three locations – Las Vegas Strip, Tropicana West, and Henderson.

The Bad

Unfair law?

Marijuana state law has been inconveniencing tourists cannabis smokers.

While it is legal to smoke cannabis in the state, it is not to consumed in public.

Tourists, who don’t have a private residence, cannot smoke in places like sidewalks, cars, hotels, and casinos.

Armen Yemenidjian, owner at Essence Vegas, revealed in an interview with CBS News that the law has been putting many of his customers (about 80% tourists), in a tough spot.

[Is there an industry that could let customers buy a product but not being able to use it anywhere they wanted?]

Market share

With early adopters in the growing cannabis industry, it is not easy to gain market share.

[Being legal to open and operate a cannabis business doesn’t automatically translate to more consumers because there can be multiple dispensaries in the same area.]

Bottom line: Dispensaries should offer great price, service and value, as one way to stand out the growing competition.

Competition with other industries

Vice.com, in a story, revealed that the booze industry is messing up with supply chain of legal weed in Nevada. One reason, state regulators would want to treat cannabis like alcohol.

The Ugly

Banking

It’s still the number one problem for marijuana dispensaries because banks are still taking a hands-off approach to them.  

Most banks are not willing to take the risk that the funds will be confiscated and cripple them in the process.

Security

Theft prevention is a major concern at the shops, so states with legal medical marijuana implement strict regulations with which dispensaries must comply.

Reinforced windows and doors as well as video surveillance equipment, however, can be pricey for startups.  Also, a 24/7 surveillance system, which requires data storage for video footage, which must be saved for years, skyrocket a dispensary’s expenses.

Classification

Cannabis is a Schedule I Drug, posing a hurdle to the overall progression and groundbreaking medicine.

But once most federal governments are able to reclassify the drug, more studies for more discoveries can be accomplished.  And once the medical cannabis has been accepted in the medical community, it will increase demand for state dispensaries and potentially help in economic stability.

Underground market

This has always been a problem in the industry.   

Smokers, especially those under 18, won’t be able to buy marijuana legally. They’re always a target of the black market that poses threats to minors curious about smoking weed.

The cannabis industry still has a long, long way to go regarding legalization, regulation and market share.  And being a part of it, medical cannabis dispensaries should meet the growing demands of the public and comply with the law to stay afloat.

But where are all these taking them? No one could tell.   One thing is sure though, medical cannabis dispensaries, such as Essence Vegas, is ready to take the challenges to serve its consumers looking for high-quality cannabis and cannabis-related products and reaping the potential medical and health benefits of marijuana.

[social warfare]

Emily of Essence Cannabis Dispensary