Hope Wiseman of Mary & Main dispensary shares lessons learned from launching her business, from how to approach applications and team-building to site location and security.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into back in 2014 when I decided to pursue a dispensary license. Legal cannabis was new on the East Coast, and much of the red tape that I experienced was unique to that market. Without a blueprint, we gained experience through trial and error when establishing Mary & Main in Maryland. Here are 7 things I wish I had known about opening a cannabis dispensary, and important lessons I learned through the process.
Develop your business strategy in a way that can easily be communicated to potential stakeholders. One of the biggest mistakes that many entrepreneurs make in early stages is to overvalue the license before they have a proven successful management history. Cannabis is becoming an increasingly more sophisticated industry, and investors are following suit. They are savvier on industry nuances and are looking to back companies with a proven track record and a reliable management team. This means that new-stage businesses should look to present themselves with as much value as possible. This will allow you to raise money in stages and maintain control of your business, especially early on.
Going through an application process can be very tedious and mentally exhausting.
The first is to stay organized. This may seem obvious, but as you put these packages together, you will find that they can range from 500 to 1,000+ pages of work, and that doesn’t just include written sections. Much of the application will include collecting sensitive paperwork (most of which will likely need to be notarized) from all the members of your team, your investors, and any affiliates of the company. This will all need to be organized in a specific order and oftentimes labeled in a specific way.
As you are collecting personal documents and information from multiple team members and vendors while working on responses in different documents, it becomes very difficult to keep track of everything. Due to the large number of applicants and the nature of the competitive process, your application is at risk of not being scored when even the smallest details of the submission process are not followed, so attention to detail is key.
Lastly, go all out with your application package. For example, if you can illustrate what you are describing in a section, add in a picture. If you can format your documents with your company branding, do it. The variety and illustrations can help your application stand out.
Remember that there are stages to building your company, and when it comes to team building, look to hire for what you need now and plan for your growth in the future. For first-time applicants, focus on key team members who can fulfill specific roles needed to get your company licensed. For example, you need both someone with technical writing skills as well as people with subject matter expertise in establishing cannabis dispensaries, including retail operations experience, inventory management skills and compliance know-how. At this stage, you may have to devote some equity to avoid high fees to bring on team members and subject matter experts (SMEs). For experience and high-level advice, you can build an advisory board with specific expertise to fill in holes. In your application, you will need to show a plan toward hiring key team members as your business grows, detailing the staff you anticipate for your sales team, packaging and labeling, receptionists and more.
Mary & Main dispensary in Capitol Heights, Md.
We all know the saying, and cannabis retail is no different. Of course, businesses pursue areas with high foot traffic, visibility, ample parking and the target demographic; however, you have the added the responsibility of making sure that the property is in an area that meets state and local municipality regulations, including zoning. (These are often specific to the type of license you will apply for.) Even if it is not required, it is always good to identify this property in the application stage and include it in your plans. Oftentimes your license is tied to this location and either cannot be changed or you will have to pay a fee to change it in the future. This means that you should think ahead when finding your location and consider all factors.
It may seem easier and more cost effective to opt for the bare minimum in security features and scale this area of your business as you go. Or if there are no issues after the first year, you may not think about upgrading your equipment, staff, and/or policies and procedures once business is busy. Investing in high-grade equipment and exceeding expectations from the beginning is crucial for your security. It's a situation where you would not know you needed it until you do, and that is not a situation that anyone wants to be in.
Cannabis software needs to be customized for your business. Once you identify what your sales process is, you will be able to choose the software stack that best suits those needs. First and foremost, choose your point of sale (POS) system. From there, work with software companies that integrate well with this system, as it will serve as the homebase of most, if not all, of your software needs. At the very least, this will likely include an online menu and some sort of customer relationship management (CRM) tool to stay connected to your patients and customers and communicate sales.
Each regulatory agency approaches how they allow businesses to operate differently. It is important to study the long-term implications of the supply chain in your state and ensure that you develop the needed relationships to weather any sort of evolution that you may experience. For example, if you are in a state that limits the types of licenses you can own (let's say you cannot be vertically integrated) and you are a retailer, you will want to build relationships with cultivators and manufacturers so that you can ensure you will always have an affordable, steady supply of product. Retailers without cultivation and production operations are beholden to the output of the other license types, so these relationships are very important to the success of your business.
Overall, opening a dispensary is a difficult but extremely rewarding experience. The compliance standards are high, but following them and the steps above will save you hours of confusion or hundreds of dollars on consultants. Please note: You may still need a consultant to help with technical writing and subject matter expertise, but now that you know what to look for, you can save time and money by organizing your own process and setting yourself up for success early on in the process.
Hope Wiseman is the CEO of Mary & Main Dispensary in Capitol Heights, Md.
Siegel shares additional details about the collaboration and how it will benefit both companies, as well as Maryland’s patients.
CULTA, a medical cannabis operator in Maryland, announced this week a partnership with Old Pal, a multistate cannabis lifestyle brand.
CULTA CEO Allison Siegel says the partnership will allow the company to bring high-quality cannabis products to Maryland’s patients, as well as a new product offering: Old Pal’s “Ready to Roll” kit, which includes a half ounce of pre-ground CULTA flower in a resealable pouch, as well as crutches and unbleached hemp rolling papers.
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Here, Siegel shares additional details about CULTA’s collaboration with Old Pal and how it will benefit both companies, as well as Maryland’s patients.
Allison Siegel: We are always on the lookout for partnerships that will allow us to bring high-quality cannabis products to the Maryland medical market. We met, hung out and negotiated with Old Pal. We knew of the success of their products in other markets but wanted to really get to know them as people and as a partner. Through the process, we continued to feel they were good business partners and, more importantly, great people. Above all else, this is what attracted us to the Old Pal team and made them a good fit for CULTA.
RELATED: CULTA Enters Edibles Space with New Partner Robhots
This partnership introduces a new type of product to the Maryland patient. It is a good fit for CULTA because it allows us to offer our high-quality flower to the patient who doesn’t want to grind it themselves but wants to ensure they have a high-quality product to roll into their own joints.
AS: This partnership currently entails the first SKU in the Old Pal offering, which is “Ready to Roll.” This includes a half ounce of pre-ground CULTA flower in a unique resealable Old Pal pouch. Also included in the kit are crutches and pure unbleached hemp rolling papers. Old Pal is also sponsoring a launch event to introduce Old Pal to the market.
AS: Old Pal’s "Ready to Roll" product offers a new product to the Maryland patient base. This product is for the patient who is looking for an easy and approachable way to roll their own joints with confidence that the flower material is of the highest quality. We feel CULTA has the brand trust in the marketplace that allows the patient base to know we are selling them high-quality product, even in a ground form.
AS: CULTA approaches all partnerships as just that—partnerships. We only chose to work with good people with great ideas and business practices. We believe the search and patience are worth it, so we have true, long-term partnerships that are mutually beneficial to both parties.
CULTA will bring Old Pal's medical cannabis to Maryland.
Bethesda, MD, August 22, 2022 -- PRESS RELEASE -- CULTA, Maryland’s top producer of craft cannabis, today announced a partnership with Old Pal. Founded in 2018, Old Pal is a multi-state cannabis lifestyle brand that’s focused on offering quality products and trusted consistency. The company focuses on value and targets consumers that are specifically looking for high-quality, fairly priced cannabis products.
“Old Pal has a proven track record of making cannabis accessible and we're excited to find new partners to serve every need of the Maryland medical patient community," said Allison Siegel, CEO at CULTA. "We believe our fresh flower and their easy-to-dose design are a winning combination."
Currently available in eight states, including Maryland, Old Pal focuses primarily on producing high-quality, beautiful cannabis at a price point that isn’t cost-prohibitive to the general public. Once the Old Pal founders began to feel pushed out of a market that was only getting more expensive, the concept of Old Pal’s always affordable flower was officially born.
“Our partnership with CULTA is the first time our cannabis will be available to medical cannabis patients in Maryland,” said Rusty Wilenkin, CEO at Old Pal. “Through this partnership, Maryland patients will have exclusive access to Old Pal’s flower and our Ready to Roll packs are a great introduction to our ethos.”
As part of the Old Pal x CULTA partnership, CULTA will release a 14g Ready to Roll bag. These convenient packs have everything a medical patient needs to roll their own cannabis. Each kit will include 14g of high-quality, pre-ground cannabis, hemp rolling papers, and a crutch. The packs are resealable so patients can keep their medication fresh and are available in indica, sativa, and hybrid. And, true to the Old Pal mission statement, the Ready to Roll bags are competitively priced.
“This is actually my favorite Old Pal product,” said Wilenkin. “So it only makes sense that this is the product we’d go to market with in Maryland. Our pre-ground flower is great for so many reasons. The flower is coarsely ground and easy to use, especially for patients with arthritis since there’s no need to use a grinder. We’re excited for new patients in Maryland to try our products.”
Beginning in August, medical patients can find Old Pal products at CULTA’s Baltimore dispensary, in addition to various partner dispensaries throughout Maryland.
In addition to Old Pal, CULTA has ongoing strategic partnerships with other popular companies in the cannabis space, including Cookies and Robhots, and is constantly seeking new opportunities for growth in its partnership vertical.
The major industry advocacy group says SAFE Banking will not promote equity in cannabis without significant changes.
On Aug. 17, the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) held an online panel to elaborate on a recently released paper expressing the group’s opinion that, if not changed, the SAFE Banking Act and related legislative provisions will perpetuate or worsen equity issues in cannabis.
The CRCC partnered with The Ohio State University’s Drug Enforcement Policy Center at the Moritz College of Law to host the event, held via Zoom, presenting their case on the shortcomings of SAFE Banking language to date and offering ten suggestions on how it can be improved to promote equity in both cannabis and finance.
The diverse group of high-ranking cannabis officials debunked some commonly held beliefs about SAFE Banking, backing their conclusions with data and firsthand experience leading state and city cannabis programs.
“It’s often claimed that SAFE Banking is being passed for equity,” said Cat Packer, former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation. “The reality is that the act has been passed seven times but hasn’t mentioned equity once.”
The CRCC’s position acknowledges the potential benefits of SAFE Banking, though their paper points out that it might not even be needed: despite hundreds of financial institutions already providing services to cannabis businesses, to date only one credit union has been penalized by enforcement actions.
Their position against the bill comes down to one main idea: the financial services industry has a long history of racial disparity, so there’s no reason to expect it to change without explicit direction. Since proposed cannabis banking protections don’t force financial institutions to work with cannabis companies and leaves decisions about loan eligibility to their discretion, providing safe harbor may only worsen racial inequity in the cannabis industry.
“Increased access doesn’t mean equal access,” said Rafi Aliya Crockett, a commissioner of the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
The CRCC also mentions the practice of redlining, the banking industry’s denial of mortgages to people who live in Black or immigrant neighborhoods, and how its growth coincided with the efforts of Harry Anslinger and the government to negatively associate cannabis use with Black and Hispanic minorities.
“We’ve been working at this since the 1930s,” said Dasheeda Dawson, Cannabis Program Manager for the City of Portland.
The CRCC panel presented 10 recommendations designed to specifically improve SAFE Banking and broadly increase equity in both banking and cannabis. Of particular note was the first suggestion to use revenue collected under IRS Section 280E to create a fund supporting businesses owned by people harmed by the war on drugs. Section 280E is part of the tax code that allows many companies to write off normal overhead expenses, but doesn’t apply to the cannabis industry.
Since the IRS collects billions of extra dollars from cannabis companies that can’t use 280E write-offs, the coalition suggests redirecting a portion of this money to people impacted most by the drug war.
“We aren’t advocating that 280E [not applying to cannabis] is a good thing,” explained Shaleen Title, former commissioner on the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. “Of course it should be reversed, but while it’s not, it should be used to address the harms of the war on drugs.”
Other recommendations related to reporting on equity-related best practices, compliance with equitable banking standards like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and explicit protections for Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The group also suggested clarification that cannabis-related criminal records should not be an automatic red flag when evaluating suitability for a loan.
The CRCC’s warning on cannabis banking comes amid a period of speculation among industry stakeholders and advocates about the possibility of passing federal legislation. The SAFE Banking Act has passed the House of Representatives as a standalone bill or with a larger spending package seven times, including last month in the National Defense Authorization Act, part of the federal defense budget. Around the same time, a bill allowing cannabis companies to advertise on television and radio was introduced into the Senate committee that regulates the Federal Communications Commission.
Perhaps most notably, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who once vowed to block any standalone cannabis banking legislation that didn’t address equity, recently said he’d be open to a “SAFE Banking plus bill” that includes provisions to help small and minority-owned cannabis businesses. Noted cannabis analyst Pablo Zuanic said in August that considering recent legislative activity and hints towards compromise by Congress, the passing of SAFE Banking alone in this year’s session would be a “worst case scenario” for 2022.
Much remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: these negotiations between business groups and advocates for equity like Sen. Booker and the CRCC will decide who gets to reap the economic benefits of one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing industries.
Ascend Wellness Holdings’ dispensary in Montclair, N.J., is the company’s second location to begin serving an expanded customer base in the state.
The choppy road to launching adult-use cannabis sales in Montclair, N.J., finally smoothed out for Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) on Aug. 19.
The New York-based multistate, vertically integrated operator announced that its existing medical dispensary at 395 Bloomfield Ave. officially began commercial sales for adults 21 and older, becoming the 18th retail facility in the state to do so.
While Ascend’s Montclair store is open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, it has specific medical-only hours reserved for patients—as mandated by state regulators—and adult-use customers will require an appointment to visit during the initial launch.
The company’s announcement comes nearly four months after Ascend launched adult-use sales at its Rochelle Park, N.J., location on April 21, when it was among six other companies to get the nod from the state’s Cannabis Regulator Commission (CRC) to expand operations.
“After an incredible adult-use launch in Rochelle Park, the Ascend New Jersey team is thrilled to bring that same energy and enthusiasm to Montclair,” AWH President and co-founder Frank Perullo said in an Aug. 19 press release.
“New Jersey is already showing signs of a booming adult-use market, and Ascend has proactively scaled our operations and staffing to serve our customers’ specific needs in the state,” he said. “We are grateful for the support of the Montclair community and cannot wait to share the Ascend experience with the people of Montclair and the surrounding towns.”
While Aug. 19 marks Ascend’s official launch of adult sales at its Montclair location, that launch comes more than two months after a premature launch that was halted by a local zoning ordinance.
On June 7, Ascend’s retail staff began serving adult-use patrons inside its Montclair dispensary from roughly 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., believing it had the green light to do so. But township officials informed the company’s workers that they were in violation of an ordinance for the new clientele base.
It took until July 25 for the Montclair Township Planning Board to memorialize its approval of a conditional use permit from an application Ascend had submitted June 6. But township officials still didn’t provide final approval of Ascend’s adult-use license at the time and the company’s general counsel, Douglas Fischer, warned the township it would take legal action if the license was delayed any further.
RELATED: Ascend Wellness Ready to Take Legal Action Over Licensing Holdup in New Jersey
“If Ascend’s license is not issued despite its satisfaction of all conditions precedent, Ascend will have no choice but to pursue all available options, including but not limited to public engagement and legal action,” Fischer wrote in a July 26 letter to the township’s acting attorney.
Now that its Montclair location is squared away, Ascend officials are focused on launching adult-use sales in Fort Lee, N.J., this fall.
With the state’s full legalization of cannabis, Ascend added 4,000 square feet of canopy in New Jersey for a total of 20,000 square feet of canopy in the state and 217,000 square feet overall, according to its second quarter financial results.
To accommodate heightened customer demand, Ascend offers medical patients a medical-only express lane, direct access to the front entrance, private consultation rooms and designated parking spots. Walk-in medical patients requiring time-sensitive services may also shop without an appointment.
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