Opportunities in the Legal Cannabis Industry · illegal since the birth of modern technology, the...

Cannabis Opportunities © Green Flower Media www.GreenFlowerMedia.com

Opportunities in the Legal Cannabis Industry

By Steve DeAngelo

Produced by www.GreenFlowerMedia.com


About Steve DeAngelo

A Life Well-Lived in the Cannabis Movement

Steve DeAngelo is an inspired leader, who has contributed four decades of activism and advocacy to the cannabis reform movement. His vision and leadership have been featured by news teams from around the globe including major news outlets in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The media has described Steve’s landmark Harborside Health Center as a unique facility that combines safe access to a wide range of lab-tested cannabis medicines, along with a full complement of free patient services, including a holistic healing clinic. Steve's other accomplishments include co-founding Steep Hill Laboratory, the nation's first cannabis testing laboratory; and ten years as CEO of Ecolution, a pioneering manufacturer of industrial hemp goods. More recently, Steve gathered together the A-Team of medical cannabis professionals into CannBe, the industry’s premier consulting and management company. Steve has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and the BBC; Fortune Magazine and literally every major network news source in the country. His creation of a model medical cannabis dispensary and lifelong cannabis activism, coupled with his extensive knowledge in this arena, has made him one of the most respected thinkers and speakers in the cannabis and hemp industries. Steve is gratified by the great progress of the last few years, and looks forward to the day when the last cannabis prisoner is freed from their cell.


About Green Flower Media

We believe cannabis is a life-changing plant that’s lugging around an outdated public persona.

hat’s why our mission at Green Flower Media is to produce original content that changes the social stigma of cannabis forever. That way, everyone, everywhere,

can choose to benefit from cannabis without judgment or restriction. This collective shift begins by educating people about the legitimate benefits, facts, and science of cannabis so that old stereotypes and misinformation can finally be put to rest. It also happens by telling compelling true stories of the people who use and enjoy cannabis, whether that be to stimulate creative thoughts, relax into life, deal with illness, or build empires. Whether you are an existing cannabis user looking for a place to call home on the internet, or you’re a new or returning cannabis user looking for clear, credible information about how to use this plant in a safe and responsible way, we’re glad you’ve found us. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter at www.GreenFlowerMedia.com to get new Green Flower Reports, profile videos, online courses, and more.

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http://www.greenflowermedia.com/


Room for everybody.

“There is room for everybody in the new cannabis industry. Being illegal since the birth of modern technology, the industry offers a rich playing field for almost any skill set and experience. Follow your passion; do what makes you excited – and do it in the new cannabis industry. All that stands between you and your dreams is a leap of faith.” Steve DeAngelo, CEO Harborside Health Center


Introduction: Find Your Niche. As the world opens up to the universe of medical marijuana and cannabis breakthroughs, new legal opportunities and businesses are booming. At first glance, people associate this new industry with the art of growing, budtenders, and dispensaries. But in this document you will find many more work and entrepreneurial choices to consider. With the industry growing so fast, many experts and entrepreneurs are needed to fill some pretty big holes ripe for development and commerce. These could be people who have found themselves downsized, retired, or – just as important – inspired to begin something new. And experts like Steve DeAngelo are working hard to help others become successful in this burgeoning industry. What role can you play? Let’s take a look at both the roles and the sectors currently experiencing a lot of growth and success.


What Roles Exist?

Employee Maybe you're not quite ready to start your own business, but you know you enjoy being a part of and adding value to an awesome team. To get hired, you’ll want to: 1. Find out who’s hiring.

2. Determine how you will stand out.

3. Get clear on what skills or education you will need.

Great resources for cannabis jobs:

420careers.com WeedHire.com THCjobs.com Cannajobs.com Leafhead.com Bloom Farms Cannabis Job Fair

http://www.420careers.com/

http://www.weedhire.com/

http://www.thcjobs.com/

http://www.cannajobs.com/

http://www.leafhead.com/

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/san-francisco-bay-area-cannabis-career-job-fair-11715-presented-by-bloom-farms-tickets-14838890521


Entrepreneur

Start your own business and take a piece of the soon-to-be $10 billion dollar industry. The cannabis industry is literally seeing companies created in every genre imaginable, because the potential is so big. You’ll face some excellent competition as well as a lot of mediocrity, which comes with any industry. Look at the sectors in the following section, and – after doing some market research – brainstorm what type of company you could create to serve this blossoming industry. Great resources for starting your own business:

National Cannabis Industry Association Women Grow Arc View Group

https://www.thecannabisindustry.org/

http://womengrow.com/

https://arcviewgroup.com/


Advisor / Contractor

Think about it, every idea needs support in making it happen. Advisors and contractors that fit into the cannabis industry are going to have more business than they know what to do with. Advisors are needed in all aspects of this industry: legal, financial, manufacturing, medical, etc. Contractors are needed to help build factories, labs, products, and more. How do you get involved?

1. Educate yourself first. Get to know the industry a little by

spending time on credible websites (see below for a list). 2. Learn how others with your skill set have adapted to

cannabis. 3. Build relationships. Discover what needs are not being

adequately met. 4. Find jurisdictions that are just beginning to issue cannabis

licenses. 5. Get lists of existing cannabis businesses and offer them

special deals. 6. Display at one or more of the dozens of cannabis expos and

trade shows. Websites to get to know the industry:

www.GreenFlowerMedia.com www.TheCannabisIndustry.com www.TheWeedBlog.com www.CannaInsider.com


http://www.thecannabisindustry.com/

http://www.theweedblog.com/

http://www.cannainsider.com/


Investor Investors are flocking to the cannabis industry like bees to honey, because the opportunity is so huge. If you are an investor, or you’d like to be, few industries have such promise as the cannabis industry. Consider these points though:

1. To invest in a private cannabis company in the US, you must

be an accredited investor. Under US law, an individual must have a net worth of at least $1 million, or make at least $200,000/year to qualify as an accredited investor.

2. You don’t need to be accredited to invest in a publicly

traded company.

3. Real estate is one of the few appealing options open to unaccredited investors.

4. The best route for a small investor is to find some talented

entrepreneurs that you believe in, and invest seed money to make their concept investment-ready or to help launch their business operations.

Resources for investors:

www.ArcViewGroup.com www.newcannabisventures.com

http://www.arcviewgroup.com/

http://www.newcannabisventures.com/


Inventor With the cannabis industry blooming like never before, the market for innovation is wide open. Every day, talented people are creating and releasing new products, extraction methods, safer equipment and proprietary systems. If you like to create, this is the time to bring something new to life. Get out there and talk to people in the cannabis space to find out what’s needed.

Consultant Businesses in the cannabis space are launching in record numbers, and they need help with marketing, branding, retail, legal, financial, and more. Do your homework, research where your skills would best be applied, and find the companies that may be looking for someone just like you.


Explore the Sectors. When looking into any new industry for opportunity, you want to look at two things. First, what skills and expertise do you have? And second, where are the specific opportunities? Here are some of the sectors of the cannabis industry you might want to consider. They will give you a better way to measure your own specific skills and see where they might be applied.

Genetics Great cannabis starts with great seeds or clones. Cannabis geneticists breed different strains of cannabis to elicit different therapeutic effects and growing characteristics.

Cultivation The most successful and in-demand growers must be able to grow high quality cannabis at the lowest possible cost of production, with the greatest possible degree of reliability and environmental sustainability.

Extraction Extraction is the art and technology of detaching trichomes from their vegetable base and concentrating them. The results are


expressed in different constancies known as oil, wax, budder, shatter, rosin, and many others.

Formulation Formulation is the art and science of isolating and recombining the chemical components, so they have a predictable and specific effect on human physiology.

Infusion The second-most rapidly growing sector of the cannabis market is infused products – edibles, drinks, tinctures, lotions, and balms. Infusion is the art and science of combining cannabis extracts with foods, beverages, and cosmetics.

Packaging Cannabis is unlike any existing product, and it needs specialized packaging. We’ve already seen mini-booms in glass jars for flowers, and silicone cups for extracts. We need packaging for any goods that move from wholesale to consumer.

Software or Information Technology Cannabis has been illegal since long before the invention of computers, so very little cannabis-specific software has been introduced to the market thus far. While a few pioneers have already claimed some early ground, there is plenty of space for important breakthroughs nobody has even thought of yet.


Marketing Cannabis

Consumers have been dreaming of professionally branded and marketed goods for decades – and will gobble them up given the chance. Cannabis marketers will develop the look and feel of brands of the future, decide on their packaging and advertising and sales channels, recruit and manage celebrity ambassadors and organize promotional events.

Retail This is the most visible sector of the cannabis industry currently, but nobody knows what will happen in the future. A lot depends on regulation, but the one thing we know for sure is that people are going to keep on buying cannabis.

Consumption Clubs This sector of the industry barely exists now, but will be powerful and important in the future. Consumption club entrepreneurs will reimagine social spaces and make them fun and comfortable for people using cannabis.

Tourism As long as cannabis is legal in some places, and illegal in others, cannabis tourism will exist. Hotels, Bud & Breakfasts, restaurants, tours, music and film and art festivals will be created to welcome these “cannatourists” and give them a taste of what they cannot get at home. And even after cannabis becomes legal nationwide,


these places and events will continue to win over cannabis enthusiasts looking for a bit of leisure.

Media Whether it’s online content, magazines, documentaries, TV shows, or podcasts, the media space is wide open for great talent and amazing content to feed the world’s ever-growing curiosity about this plant.

Events

Cannabis lovers want to get together and have experiences together. Create for business or pleasure or both. We had been keeping cannabis in the shadows for so many decades that the ability to celebrate it in the open and connect with others is something a lot of people are excited about.

Sales & Distribution

This sector of the industry takes the product from the farm to the consumer. Each legal cannabis state is organized differently, but the supply chain typically includes transporters, wholesalers, and retailers.

Real Estate Tens of thousands of farms, factories, warehouses, and retail locations will be needed in the coming decades – and huge


opportunity awaits real estate owners, investors, and developers willing to work with cannabis projects.

Finance Speaking of interest rates, many investors have taken advantage of the banking embargo and offered lines of credit, debt or convertible debt to canna businesses. Interest rates on these deals typically range from 12% to 20% – a great deal for investors who are confident in the credit worthiness of their borrowers.

Insurance This is another area where the reluctance of existing providers has created a market opening for new companies to service the canna business sector. Like all businesses, canna businesses have risks: crop failure or contamination, product liability, fire, theft, etc.

Human Resources

The greatest bottleneck to success in the industry is finding enough well-qualified cannabis professionals to power all the new ventures being launched. Dozens of firms will be needed to source and place the army of competent professionals this new industry will need.

Legal While there is less work for criminal defense attorneys (due to legalization), there will be more work for licensing and land use lawyers, IP attorneys, corporate and transactional firms,


employment and labor specialists, regulation writers, lobbyists, and litigators of all stripes.

Associations / Networks The cannabis industry has had a national trade association for over five years – The National Cannabis Industry Association – yet this is another area where there is so much new action it's hard to keep up. Like all industries, the cannabis industry will need associations to represent it.

Education Almost everybody needs good education about cannabis and the cannabis industry, whether or not they use it themselves. This includes doctors, nurses, patients, lawmakers, teachers, parents, cops, growers, extractors, manufacturers, employees, executives, entrepreneurs, investors, government workers, and scientists…the list just scratches the surface.


Where would you like to spend the rest of your career? People like Steve DeAngelo have devoted their lives to cannabis activism. Steve himself has been at it for four decades, and he’s not about to quit now. The good news is that it’s easier to talk about cannabis than ever before. This plant is without a doubt one of the hottest topics in the U.S., and it’s up to people like us to make sure it stays hot until everyone, everywhere has access. There are 3 ways you can do that:

1. If you haven’t already, go get your copy of Steve’s new book – The Cannabis Manifesto. It will provide you with all the knowledge, information, and fuel you need to bring cannabis out of the dark and into the light. www.CannabisManifestoBook.com.

2. Go spend some time on the Green Flower Media website, which is filled with top quality cannabis content to educate, entertain, and enlighten you to the truth of cannabis. www.GreenFlowerMedia.com

3. Let’s be friends on social media so you can continue to engage with us, in real time, around these important cannabis conversations.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk to you soon.

http://www.cannabismanifestobook.com/


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