NEWS How difficult is it to start a small marijuana dispencery in Canada?

[Taino1171]

I live in the United States and I want to start a marijuana dispensary, the only problem is that, despite 11 states legalizing it since from 2012 to 2020, marijuana is still illegal on the federal level and even in legal states banks here will not give you a loan to so you can purchase the property and the bulk and the bongs and the marijuana and sell them for higher profits.

I was wondering, let's say I leave the united states and I immigrate to a comfy suburb of or the city of Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver and I want to get financed to start my dispencery, what obstacles would I have to go through before I can start opening up my dispencery.

*also if you're curious, I was gonna have an anime themed dispencery that also sells bongs and dabbing rigs, just so I can at least be unique.

 

[BII]

First off, does Canada give cannabis business licenses to non-citizens? Will Canadian banks, venture capitalists, etc. fund a foreigner just showing up? Will you have the cannabis sources and other business connections you need up-front? I doubt it.

If you have good access to capital, why not acquire a going dispensary; or take an executive/manager position, since I presume you must have lots of dispensary and business experience to want to found one in a different country.

Otherwise, dispensaries look to be lots of work and most don't make a profit.

 

[Taino1171]

First off, does Canada give cannabis business licenses to non-citizens? Will Canadian banks, venture capitalists, etc. fund a foreigner just showing up? Will you have the cannabis sources and other business connections you need up-front? I doubt it.

If you have good access to capital, why not acquire a going dispensary; or take an executive/manager position, since I presume you must have lots of dispensary and business experience to want to found one in a different country.

Otherwise, dispensaries look to be lots of work and most don't make a profit.

Well I'm saying if I immigrate and become a canadian citizen, I grow my cannabis, it sounds from my perspective all I need is a cannabis buisness licence and a bank loan so I can purchase the property and items used to smoke it with. I dont have buisness experience actually, but I do have an idea of what can be expected.

 

[BII]

Well I'm saying if I immigrate and become a canadian citizen, I grow my cannabis, it sounds from my perspective all I need is a cannabis buisness licence and a bank loan so I can purchase the property and items used to smoke it with. I dont have buisness experience actually, but I do have an idea of what can be expected.

Doesn't it take years to become a citizen? So you expect to grow and sell too? That will likely require multiple facilities and licenses. With no mainstream business experience, how do you expect to get financed?

Rather than a dispensary (too crowded; too regulated), if I were young, I'd think about founding a cannabis cafe/bar, or cannabis-themed vacation facility. Sooner later the US states that have legalized will allow this, and lots of new virgin markets will be available. You could even have a chain of anime-themed cafes.

 

[Taino1171]

Doesn't it take years to become a citizen? So you expect to grow and sell too? That will likely require multiple facilities and licenses. With no mainstream business experience, how do you expect to get financed?

Rather than a dispensary (too crowded; too regulated), if I were young, I'd think about founding a cannabis cafe/bar, or cannabis-themed vacation facility. Sooner later the US states that have legalized will allow this, and lots of new virgin markets will be available. You could even have a chain of anime-themed cafes.

I dont know, the states have the right to legalize marijuana but if we get another dumbfuck Republican president, such as someone like mitch McConnell (our current Senate majority leader who's a Republican) he can enforce the federal law and force the legal states to give up their weed and we go right back to when it was illegal, this can happen especially since we have a corrupt electoral college that looks like they'll just keep voting Republican so our corporations can keep being rich. Basically theres no guarantee that in the states where it's legal will remain being legal unless marijuana is federally legalized which nobody here thinks will ever happen in our lifetime.

 

[Tycho]

You have to win a lottery for a licence. It's not like opening a 711. And then you have to make money. Not so easy. Oh and you need a clean background and secret security clearance, and so does your staff. And the city/municipality you want to open in must approve it (doesn't happen too often). You need a business plan and about 500k to open.

Look at it this way, I live here, and I didn't open one. That *has to tell you something. But I like it that way. Makes my BM crop worth more. lol

 

[Northern Grower]

Allot of replies from ontario. First off you'd have to look at which province you want to operate. Some places, each location is just an arm of the prov government liquor/gaming and cannabis body. Alberta is very privatized, and locations are up to local bylaws, and if you pass security clearance with AGLC there aren't many barriers. Similar process to opening a liquor store.

In your case it might be easier to partner with some one in canada in a friendly jurisdiction.

Due to legislation you can't be an LP and promote your own product in your store. You can sell it in your store but it has to be an even playing field.

The problem with the whole thing is you need to have a facility built and staffing more or less figured out before sales licenses are approved. So there is very large upfront cost with no guarantee of a return. More often than not you are not buying the retail condo, you have to sign a lease. So you have a few months of carry cost before you get income.

Nothing that can't be overcome.

 

[Egzoset]

Nothing that can't be overcome.

So you think, until it's time to buy the customer's full trust, and "Légaleezation" was no such legislative creature. Born in addictionist paranoïa instead... No need to go further, i'll stop right there.

...

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

You have to win a lottery for a licence. It's not like opening a 711. And then you have to make money. Not so easy. Oh and you need a clean background and secret security clearance, and so does your staff. And the city/municipality you want to open in must approve it (doesn't happen too often). You need a business plan and about 500k to open.

Look at it this way, I live here, and I didn't open one. That *has to tell you something. But I like it that way. Makes my BM crop worth more. lol

yup, gotta love those dispensary prices vs friends BM prices and you know what actually went into growing it.