The Challenges Of Operating Cannabis Businesses In Multiple States

The Challenges Of Operating Cannabis Businesses In Multiple States

When you are operating a number of cannabis businesses in various states throughout the United States, each of these states have to follow their own rules as each state has their own regulations, guidelines, laws and rules as it relates to growing ownership, testing, packaging and marketing. MSOs or Multi-State Operators will often attempt the act of standardizing their particular practices. However, it can get quickly complicated, especially if you do not conduct research ahead of time. Some cannabis businesses can face competition and be opposed by local business owners. Others may relish the competition because of confidence in their products.

The Packaging

Packaging is a viable commodity when it comes to doing business within the cannabis industry and in multiple states. The business owner has to specific where (location) the product was manufactured and the ingredients used to create the product. The strictest regulations and standards should be applied with labeling and packaging so people can take it seriously. Before the product hits the market in all states, inspections have to be done before the rollout of the product and any changes necessary must be handled quickly. Each business owner must have their own rules to product creation, but for the most part, labeling is something that each state has standardized. So, cannabis businesses must follow those standard rules prior to shipping the product to the specific state.

Pesticide Formula

It can be a nuance to comply and keep up with state to state guidelines. And, it is not just simple to apply the strict standards and then just clear the bar. It is also important to check the ingredients within the formulas allowed for pesticides in each location. Yes, each state has its own pesticide formula guidelines.

The Focus of Standardization

The focus on these and other standardization rules will definitely increase as we see more packaging specialists get into the cannabis industry to throw their expert weight around. It is best for cannabis businesses to hire employees who bring the best industry practices learned from previous retail businesses. As companies start to evolve, the employees and other official staff will bring their experience and expertise to this topic. However, it is safe to say that multiple state operations call for a centralized model for packaging and purchasing. The product variations have to be minimized between states. The costs also have to be reduced for companies to enjoy a good bottom line because of all the nuances involved.

The Specifics

Doing business in multiple states might cause local opposition. This is in relation to how the various states issue cannabis licenses to applicants. The local cannabis businesses have to compete with out-of-state operators and nine times out of ten, they might not like it and you cannot blame them from thinking that way since there are only so many licenses that are issued each year. So, the competition is real and you would think that the state's action might benefit the local cannabis businesses, but that is not how the states determine which company gets their marijuana licenses. It is on a first come, first serve basis and it also has to do with which company submits the right paperwork and which one does it in a timely manner.

Final Thoughts

And so, it continues to be a challenge for operating cannabis businesses to extend their product line into multiple states. One other challenge is finding experienced workers who understand the industry and know the laws governing the particular state. If employees do not have the experience, then the challenge is in training them. The Cannabis Training University is constantly taking enrollments year round and cannabis businesses can sign up their employees for such comprehensive training so they can get ready to do justice to cannabis businesses in any state. To learn more about fast enrollment, visit the Cannabis Training University.