In California the cost of trying to obtain a license for your cannabis business is astronomical, and could range up to almost $80k. The fee is going to be different in certain areas and so that is why for some who might not be able to afford the $80k in California, they could go looking to other regions to start up their business such as Oregon, there a license could cost a more affordable $4,000.

For those who are looking to get into the business they are already at a disadvantage from multi-million dollar corporations who could easily afford tens of thousands of dollars in license fees. They are in a better position to be able to pay for property contracts on venues that they cannot set up their shop in for perhaps many months or even years.

There is a great deal of control that gets executed along the way as well. From how cannabis delivery drivers can travel to make their deliveries, to the tags that need to be placed on each plant that gets grown, and then each of those plants individually weighed etc. The cannabis market is drowning in control and many nonsensical rules that restrict the freedom within, arguably also restricting quality, variety, and price as well, for the consumer.

For example, in the beginning for cannabis delivery in some regions the state had prohibited making deliveries for orders above $100, but for the average cannabis order it is already above $100 so that rule didn't make much sense. It took some lobbying but eventually it got changed and increased so that those cannabis delivery operators could do business.

Control, Control, Control

There aren't an unlimited number of business licenses to go around, although it should be the market determining who gets to succeed or fail, and not the state. By having those occupational licensing restrictions and costly barriers it keeps people out who specifically might need this market to try and improve their lives and increase their standard of living, those who want to do cannabis businesses.

Even if a person has the skills and knowledge, if they don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars available to help them, then that chance of getting into the cannabis market might not ever be realized. And it shouldn't be like that.

Diversifying The Cannabis Market

Cannabis businesses are one of the most difficult to start up today and it stays confusing with the continually changing rules surrounding the cannabis market around the United States. As a result there are a number of people who have sought to help change that, to improve the inclusion in the industry and help promote black owned and female owned cannabis businesses etc, to help those communities who have been some of the hardest hit by the controversial war on drugs.

One of those projects that is looking to help is the NuLeaf project and this operation has already helped some cannabis business owners to be able to obtain needed funds, giving grants and loans, to keep their operations going, when they didn't have anyone else to turn to for financial help.