Hello there everyone. I just moved to CO in the last six months and am trying to piece together a starting point for my self to begin. Any info would be grateful and I'm sure helpful to others. Thanks!
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starting processes for opening a Colorado retail/manufacturing cannabis shop
- Thread starter Connoisseur300
- Start date
You do. Making a game plan before then is probably the smartest move or you'll be further back in line.
Is there anyone on this site actually in the CO canna business that as information they are willing to share ? I already know the basic laws but getting more info on how the inside industry in ran would be beneficial.
scoobysnacks72
Member
man I worked management at the green solution for 6 months. I can tell you wait out the opportunity for a lounge or stay out its so over saturated and the overall costs to compete on a decent level to stay positive in cash flow runs around 86k feet of grow. the demand went to high with rec to grow good bud without it.
thanks for the reply. I understand how saturated the market is and you make a valid point about the overall cost. I'm looking to start a Marijuana Cultivation Facility. I'm starting with 100,000 watts. thoughts??
scoobysnacks72
Member
so you just want a grow house? id say unless you privately own the land its gonna be a pain to get your space very few pre made buildings are ok with indoor grows still even in the warehouse districts but those that are get bough fast so be ready for a high stakes fast paced grow location purchase. as far as a cultivation facility goes there is actually not a lot of purchasing being done wholesale wise from the outside sources as of yet. my personal beliefs on that being the case is the fact that most dispensaries have to much pride but also losing money still is big, the place i worked at has taken a loss since rec started mostly just on taxation. all of this being said look for your right to grow counties ie weld,morgan, etc they may hold your best options
TimeKeeper
Active member
I will tell you right now, stay the hell away from weld county! The most conservative county in CO. Not a good place unless your in big oil.
scoobysnacks72
Member
youd be surprised time keeper i was an officer there weed is one of the things they want legalized most they are in way to much pain without the financial addition of it the ranchers are the hold up atm but it is still a right to farm county if you own your land you will have no problems there are 6 large scale grows currently in weld county fyi
I'm a dispensary/grow owner/operator of 5 years. What do you specifically want to know?
tokersmoke
Member
Im in a non med state and would pack up and join the fun anytime.Ive got a family of three so its hard to do.I could only dream of opening a dispensary.With the new laws how many plants can one produce?Ive heard of gps trackers on the stem all types of things.Can anyone shed some light?Startup money? Sorry to jump in asking questions but i figure its on topic at least.
moonshine man used to post a lot here at ICmag, now he's known as rare dankness and works at one of the biggest shops in CO, his threads have a ton of info about competing in CO. theres also another guy here managing a 450 light grow i think his thread is titled "6kw fuckaround" you can check out..
most CO guys will tell you same shit, not worth it stay in your own town. you have to wait 2 years until you are even eligible, by then 100s of people will have their permits already and already competing, commercial real estate is through the freakin roof. if you gotta wait 2 years might as well setup some unlicensed grows and start poppin seeds and collecting clone stock so that you have all your shit ready to go if you got a permit. and honestly if your biggest grow so far is only 2kw than i don't see how you can think about starting a 100kw. do you even have a ballpark cost on how much you will need to invest? think 7 figures not 6. i know that most indoor grows, built exactly to code and with high end components can cost upwards of 150k per 50 lights. so for 100 lights at least a quarter million in equipment alone, not factoring in real estate costs and monthly expenses for workers and electricity. most CO shops are up in the 300-500 light range and cost millions to start up...
if i was in CO i would go a different route than all the denver guys and set up greenhouses and do full season crops and charge a much lower price than the shops and their mediocre commercial indoors. market it as "sun grown" and shit like that, and have much lower prices like 100 a zip. and make a ton of extracts with all the popcorn and shake from a large GH operation.
honestly if you got a large amount of seed money, come out to CA and get ready for our market to take off. or find another emerging medical state like rhode island, illinois, wisconsin, florida etc…
most CO guys will tell you same shit, not worth it stay in your own town. you have to wait 2 years until you are even eligible, by then 100s of people will have their permits already and already competing, commercial real estate is through the freakin roof. if you gotta wait 2 years might as well setup some unlicensed grows and start poppin seeds and collecting clone stock so that you have all your shit ready to go if you got a permit. and honestly if your biggest grow so far is only 2kw than i don't see how you can think about starting a 100kw. do you even have a ballpark cost on how much you will need to invest? think 7 figures not 6. i know that most indoor grows, built exactly to code and with high end components can cost upwards of 150k per 50 lights. so for 100 lights at least a quarter million in equipment alone, not factoring in real estate costs and monthly expenses for workers and electricity. most CO shops are up in the 300-500 light range and cost millions to start up...
if i was in CO i would go a different route than all the denver guys and set up greenhouses and do full season crops and charge a much lower price than the shops and their mediocre commercial indoors. market it as "sun grown" and shit like that, and have much lower prices like 100 a zip. and make a ton of extracts with all the popcorn and shake from a large GH operation.
honestly if you got a large amount of seed money, come out to CA and get ready for our market to take off. or find another emerging medical state like rhode island, illinois, wisconsin, florida etc…
tokersmoke
Member
Great comments prop 215 definately hit on some good points.Thank you for sharing
since most of us on ICmag don't have a spare million or ten lying around, seed money is basically venture capital money from outside investors, they are the ones driving the CO and WA markets.
CA is heading to rec legal soon, but all the other states are still "med" legal, and in most cases the med market is very strict about who can participate but if CO and CA are any indication eventually those states will want the tax money and loosen regulation, then the people who had already established small local followings can go legal, but thats a big IF. it all depends on your local state, in WA for example i502 is pretty fucking bad and bans all home growing, same with illinois and new york proposed med laws. the black market will still thrive because they made the med market too strict….
in illinois you need to spend 150k+ in permits up front for a cultivation facility, not even including the costs to set up the damn facility in the first place! 25k non refundable deposits are gonna shut most regular folks right out of the game…then an automatic 100k payment to the state. and you can't pay them with a duffel bag full of vac sealed 20s.
CA is heading to rec legal soon, but all the other states are still "med" legal, and in most cases the med market is very strict about who can participate but if CO and CA are any indication eventually those states will want the tax money and loosen regulation, then the people who had already established small local followings can go legal, but thats a big IF. it all depends on your local state, in WA for example i502 is pretty fucking bad and bans all home growing, same with illinois and new york proposed med laws. the black market will still thrive because they made the med market too strict….
in illinois you need to spend 150k+ in permits up front for a cultivation facility, not even including the costs to set up the damn facility in the first place! 25k non refundable deposits are gonna shut most regular folks right out of the game…then an automatic 100k payment to the state. and you can't pay them with a duffel bag full of vac sealed 20s.
Pepe le skunk
Member
From what I'm hearing in october the warehouses will have a chance to wholesale to different dispensaries. And a few other regulations like 1500 ft rules for shops. The zoning is also hard to find. The ones in place have a big advantage.
The greenhouse makes the most sense. Growing indoor on large scale just doesn't make sense when the sun exists. The only reason for warehouse is because it's illegal, and you don't want people to know what it is(so they don't rob you). The future will be greenhouses with supplemental lighting, boutique strains, and high end extracts(Ice water, BHO, C02, ETC...).
If you want 100Kw in lights, then go for it. It's unnecessary and it wouldn't even begin to compete with what is out there.
They have legit money behind them, and that is a huge advantage. There is plenty of opportunity though.
If you want 100Kw in lights, then go for it. It's unnecessary and it wouldn't even begin to compete with what is out there.
They have legit money behind them, and that is a huge advantage. There is plenty of opportunity though.
nastynate420
Member
Shit, with the way things are going in colorado shit's not going to be profitable to grow indoors or on a small scale at all w/ in 5 years.
