Medical Marijuana delivery services are the newest offspring of the MMJ movement, and home delivery in certain states is as controversial as it is popular.
Making the decision to start your own delivery service cannot be made lightly, and there are many factors that must be considered prior to starting such a service.
So you are ready to start a MMJ delivery service, here a just a few elements that must be considered in order to have a legal and successful mobile dispensary, compassion club, caregiver, or co-operative.
1. The Law
There are currently 16 legal medical marijuana states that allow Medical Marijuana, and each has specific guidelines on cultivation and distribution. Your best bet is to consult with an MMJ attorney on whether a delivery service is legal to operate in your state, and in many states MMJ attorney will provide free consultation through advocacy groups.
In the age of the internet websites have been created to take the work out of researching, applying for dispensary or caregiver licenses, negotiating fees and legalities, and defining the “grey” areas in each individual MMJ state/city bill or ordinance.
It is well worth paying for legal guidance to ensure your dispensary delivery service application is approved and to save time as the process can be quite complex.
2. Cost vs. Profit
Depending on the laws in your state and how you intend to supply the MMJ, operating an MMJ delivery service may not be cost effective for you. For example the average cost of operating and opening a dispensary in many states and Washington D.C. can be upwards of $200,000 which may be unavoidable because opening a dispensary, investing in large scale expensive cultivation set-ups, and hiring knowledgeable growers may be required in order to operate as a mobile service.
In some other states like Arizona where dispensaries have not yet been established patient-to-patient/caregiver compassion clubs have become the only means of obtaining MMJ legally, and because the clubs provide personally cultivated MMJ that is donated by registered patients the profit far outweighs the costs so delivering to patients can be very lucrative.
3. Security
Finally, security is a key element to any business, and probably a bit more with a mobile service that is dealing in large amounts of cash, and a highly desirable substance to bad guys. One might consider having a system with another trusted partner or employee that rides along or constantly checks in before, during, and after a delivery. Other means of protection may be considered as well, communicating with patient prior to delivery to help establish guidelines for the transaction and to get a sense of who you are about to do business with.
Consideration must be taken of the laws in your state if non-deadly or deadly weapons are used for personal protection, and with MMJ patient services many times possession of weapons could be considered intent to commit illegal activities especially when considering a mobile service.
If you decide to start a Medical Marijuana delivery service, weigh all the costs before beginning that venture, not only financial, but personally and legally as well.
Good luck and great success on your new MMJ business, Happy Growing!
Courtesy of the Medical Marijuana Blog
