California is the largest cannabis market in the country. In fact, now that 42 million people have access to both adult use and medical marijuana in California, that market is half of the currently legal US market right now. People ask me, “Why is California exciting?” California has some of the best rules in the nation regarding cannabis law. For example, there’s no residency restriction on owners of cannabis licenses, unlike some other states. That means you can be a New York resident and own a business in California. You could be a Canadian resident, you could be from China, you could be from anywhere in the world, and own a business in California related to cannabis.
There’s also no restriction on public company ownership, unlike other states, like Colorado. The market in California is very open to investment. You’re not technically even an owner in California until you own 20% of a cannabis license. So California has great rules, they also have no significant vertical integration limitations, which means you can own any combination of licenses you want. You can own dispensaries and grows and infused products companies. You can have a delivery service in California. There are no limitations on that other than the testing laboratory license, which always has to remain separate from all the other licenses.
So the new rules in California that came about in November of 2017 are very favorable to the cannabis industry, however, they are constantly changing. In fact, the agencies are currently drafting new rules already, just six months into the program. So that’s why it’s essential that you have lawyers like the lawyers at McAllister Garfield guide you through this complex regulatory regime. The California market’s huge. It’s a huge opportunity. Entire careers will be spent just in California. But certainly for players from outside of California, it’s a huge opportunity and we encourage you to reach out to us to learn how you can be involved in the California cannabis market.