Getting in at ground zero is one thing – making it work is something else. For many, financial hurdles are needlessly complicated with what should be a seriously epic and rewarding venture. Securing investment funds as a dispensary owner can be impossible, banks won’t go near you, cash payments are all you can accept and employees aren’t won over by cash payments. For them, credit becomes an issue and likewise, banks often don’t want anything to do with them.

In addition, writing off business expenses when running a legal marijuana business is ruled out by section 280E of the US tax. Which in turn means that those in this line of work are handing over hundreds of thousands of extra tax dollars each year, which in any other line of work would be written off and returned.

Suffice to say that while states like these are making huge advances in terms of public policy on cannabis use, there’s still a hell of a long way to go on the business end of things.