Finding the Right Location for your Dispensary

You probably already know that cannabis is the fastest growing business in the US today – that means that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who want part of the action. As already mentioned, it is vital that you go into this with your eyes wide open and realise that the vast majority of marijuana businesses fail within the first year. If you are not to be one of these sad statistics we urge you to read and research in great depth before you start your business. The other thing we would say is that there is a proliferation of instant schools and ‘universities’ claiming to teach you all you need to know about the weed business, we would simply point you to our post Do We Need Medical Marijuana Degrees?
– and urge caution before you part with any money.

Now, location of your marijuana store; there is little question that finding a place for your weed dispensary will probably be the most difficult part of this whole process. All we can offer are guidelines.

The first thing you must do is take a close look at your local marijuana laws, always remembering that they often vary by county. In all cases, however, you will need to be a stated distance, usually 1,000 feet, from schools, candy stores, toyshops, parks, play areas or business parks associated with high volumes of passing children. As far as is possible, you should also try to find a location where the neighbors are sympathetic; this could be easier said than done.

Then you need to take the following points into consideration:

• Try to find a space of around 500 to 800 square feet. Remember that for maximum profit you should be stocking items allied to cannabis; one Californian dispensary reports selling $6,000 worth of cannabis themed T-shirts month
• If you are going to be growing your marijuana stock, you will need a larger space than the 500-800 feet
• Good security is vital, plan and budget for it
• Be completely honest with the landlord about what your business is – far better that he says no at the outset rather than throwing you out when you’ve invested your cash
• For the greatest footfall your dispensary should be on a main street or within three blocks at the most of a pedestrian area
• It is almost essential that you should have a ground floor location; people are inherently lazy, plus delivery people won’t take kindly to climbing stairs to a second story location
• Make sure that by the open day your marijuana clinic is hygienic, fresh, and comfortable. It’s fine to open before major renovations are complete but it is not fine to open doors to a grubby looking clinic
• Remembering that $6,000 worth of T-shirts, make sure that you have similar, fast-moving stock in place for opening day – it will help the cash flow bringing in money for more marijuana, a wider range of strains, and for renovations to your premises

Invest in good signage; it will let folk know you are there. Neon is good because you can see it for blocks around. Keep the sign neutral, that is, don’t put your business name on it just something like a cannabis leaf or something – the plant won’t change, your business name might.

If you are serious about opening up a medical marijuana dispensary, I would recommend buying this “How to Open a Marijuana Dispensary Guide“.

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