“Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed and sow it everywhere.”
~George Washington
“When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”
~Barack Obama
“Never was anything great achieved without danger.”
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
To date, eighteen states and Washington D.C. have created amendments to make the medical use of marijuana legal. During the November 2012 election, two states, Colorado and Washington, made amendments to regulate marijuana like alcohol, which excited many would-be entrepreneurs interested in making a pile of cash in the “Green Rush.” Still, as the situation now stands, earning a living as a marijuana grower won’t be an easy dream to actualize. Prospective large-scale growers need to enter the field with eyes wide open because they face a number of challenges, some of which are downright dangerous or financially ruinous. In all likelihood, only the shrewdest and most knowledgeable growers will survive.
The medicinal regulation of marijuana brought many gardeners out of the underground growing scene and into large-scale commercial operations to supply medical dispensaries. Some of these growers have been growing marijuana for several years illegally and can now grow legally under these state amendments, sort of. Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance and can land a grower in federal prison for five or more years. Most alert growers can recite a litany of unsavory tales describing how they or their friends and acquaintances now sport felony records because of Federal Government intrusion into their operations. Not fun.
Then there are the start-up costs. One Colorado man who has been growing marijuana illegally since 1996 finally decided to grow on a large scale to supply the dispensary he owned. He immediately ran into problems locating a warehouse to grow in that also included a retail storefront for the dispensary. Most property owners had little or no desire to rent to a marijuana grower regardless of the fact that it was legal by state law to grow medically. After four months of searching, he secured a location in the Denver Warehouse District. The building’s owner normally rented his unused property space for $6 a square foot, but when he learned of the grower’s intentions, he charged him $12 a square foot simply because he knew the grower had no other worthwhile options.
Obtaining a license to grow legally can prove equally nightmarish. The application process requires prospective growers to fill out 48 pages and undergo a deep background and financial history check. This takes at least several weeks, and sometimes even months, for state approval. After this, the applicant must pay fees of $10,000 associated with obtaining a grow permit from the state. This grow permit functions as a required and validating business license. Then, the grower must pay for a special tax license, which runs $2,500 per quarter, or $10,000 per year.
After having invested $20,000 in state licensing fees and substantial amounts on a location, the grower must realize that his expenses have only just begun. If he hasn’t already, he must also secure equipment, such as lights, nutrients, trays, fans, and so on. Depending on the size of the crop, these costs can range from $2,000 for a small grow, such as an individual setting up shop in a single room of his house, to $20,000 or more for a larger grow, like a warehouse to supply large amounts of patients. In one case, the grower’s location did not have sufficient electricity running to the warehouse to support the lights required. As a result, it took lots of time and money to get the warehouse up to code. Xcel Energy had to install a new transformer on the pole to supply enough power for all the added circuits. The new transformer installed tallied up to $25,000. Also, a Master Electrician was hired for all the internal work such as installing new electrical breaker boxes, new circuits, and wiring for new outlets for all the lights. The cost of installing the proper electrical equipment was in excess of $48,000. Even with a solid business plan, one can still encounter unforeseen and devastating costs.
Of course, no marijuana discussion would be complete without mentioning the industry’s inveterate enemies. The war-on-drugs campaign is one of the growers’ strongest adversaries. The campaign includes a budget of billions of dollars for the Safe and Drug-Free Communities program and an ongoing national media campaign. Many of us still remember the “This is your brain on drugs” commercials, for instance. The budget also delivers billions in funds for domestic law enforcement, much of which is used for all anti-drug programs, not just those focused on marijuana. Members and supporters of these programs, such as the alcohol industry, prisons, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, oppose marijuana legalization for diverse reasons, and as long as they receive continued financial support from the federal government, they will be a threat to growers everywhere.
The urine-testing industry represents another big problem for marijuana growers and users alike. Urine testing for drugs is big business, bringing in nearly $2 billion annually, and marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug. Legalization would significantly reduce revenue for the industry by decreasing the justification for marijuana-related urine testing. For example, Comcast currently has a company policy that tests for marijuana. Now, what if Comcast suddenly decides to change its policy and stop monitoring marijuana use in the workplace? If this happens, much of the drug testing industry’s revenue will be flushed right down the toilet.
No doubt, the state amendments legalizing marijuana have created an opportunity for growers to arise from the underground and grow commercially and legally with a chance to earn a respectable living, but not without risk. The cost of obtaining permits from the state, securing a location and equipment, and facing marijuana opponents are only a few ongoing challenges, but it’s also true that some people are already getting very rich from capitalizing on the Green Rush. Everyone just needs to approach the issue with a sound understanding of what might go wrong.
This is really interesting. I knew the start up costs for dispensaries and grow houses were expensive but I never thought about the drug testing industry. Times are also wildly different than the girl smashing the egg with a frying pan days. Maybe we need to consider how important the industry of drug testing really is.
Solid article. For those thousands out there who think they can just fall back on opening a dispensary might think differently
It’s sort of surprising to see how much private money is tied up in the American justice system. You talk about the urine-testing industry as being profitable, so are private detention centers that house most drug offenders.
I still can not see why the topic is still in the air. The amount of money the government makes and can potentially make off of legal marijuana sales and taxes is much higher than the money made in drug testing. It seems insane to me that they cant see the great potential to make the state money off of marijuana sales because of lobbyists and idiotic “morality issues” when it can do so much good to our economy. I hope it becomes legal in all the states. Even though I don’t use it myself the benefits and good it can bring to our economy vastly out way the “harm”
I feel like there is always going to be a silver lining for everything. I personally did not vote yes on the Amendment, but I don’t necessarily disagree with it. It is definitely interesting that there are all of these costs to growing marijuana. I would have never thought it would be that expensive. It seems as if they are trying to make it very complicated on the people that are growing. Maybe if they continue to make it so costly and complicated, no other states will vote to legalize and the drug testing industry can keep their revenue intake. It has already been such a battle, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be won any time soon for the people that are growers.
There are vast amounts of possiblities when it comes to the advances in marijuana. Unfortunately, the disadvantages I believe will be quite significant. Putting the legal age at 21 will have the same effect as alcohol did when it became legal. Furthering this venture into marijuana most come carefully. The flood of young into the criminal justice system is at stake.
I like that you kept your opinion neutral for the most part and made a point to simply present facts and personal accounts on the subject. It is obvious that you have researched your facts. I do not have personal experience with such matters, but I am acquainted with people who do. Here are a few things I have heard from them in regards to the subjects:
“It’s not easy. It’s very expensive to grow. You have to stagger the growth – can’t have more than 2 oz. of ready-to-smoke stuff at a time. It can cost $75 for a 3ft plant. It can cost $20 for a 6inch seedling that isn’t even guaranteed to grow. There is a fragrance that carries into hallways and other rooms – it’s awful sometimes.”
“We call it the green store, so the title ‘Green Rush’ is appropriate.”
“If you prepare edibles for sale, you have to have a separate kitchen from everything else. No contamination of any sort.”
“You can only have a certain amount of plants at a time when you begin.”
“What about later – are they going to control the grade, the quality, the level of potency? Are they going to control who gets what and then decide that some people don’t deserve anything?”
“It is a very unstable business if you are not well aware of what you are doing. You cannot just have outdoor growing in CO – due to our weather here, you need to have secure bubble tents, greenhouses, or the like.”
“You need to have someone who knows what he or she is doing when it comes to tending and trimming your plants.” One wrong move and an entire crop can be wasted, and that is oftentimes a huge amount of money just washed down the drain alongside the spare clots of soil.
I have read your article to four or five of my friends and they all agree with everything you have stated. I also agree with what you say, from a bystander’s point of view. Any small business is difficult to get up and running. I have a few friends who are attempting to do so right now, and they can attest to the huge amount of stress and aggravation involved. Add the additional weight of the business being illegal in many ways, as well as frowned upon by much of the general public, and the feat becomes more than daunting. I can sympathize with anyone trying to make their way through the process, whether it involves marijuana or not.