Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

256 Marijuana Business Factbook 2019 Chapter 6 | Cannabis Testing Labs and Ancillary Firms © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. ANCILLARY FIRMS Ancillary businesses ― those that offer products and services to plant-touching companies ― provide opportunities to entrepreneurs and existing firms that wish to become involved in the cannabis industry but with a lower level of risk of federal intervention. Ancillary companies serve an essential role in the cannabis supply chain by providing services, such as marketing, legal and banking and products such as software, cultivation equipment and packaging materials. For the purposes of analysis, ancillary firms are divided into two categories: those that provide services and those that offer technology and products. This division is based on the unique business conditions affecting the two categories. One example of these unique conditions is that ancillary technology and products companies may be able to sell their products in multiple states without having to make significant changes to the product itself, such as cultivation equipment that will work in a grow regardless of state regulations. Ancillary services firms, on the other hand, may need to alter the services they provide based on the state they are working in. For example, a law firm or an accounting firm will need to adjust the guidance they provide based on the client’s state of operation.