When Buying a Dispensary Beware of Misleading Numbers, Cooked Books

Did you miss the webinar “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling?” Head to MJBiz YouTube to watch it now!


Thinking about buying a medical marijuana dispensary?

Be careful, as there are many pitfalls and complications that can trip you up, according to one expert who has spoken with dozens of dispensary owners and managers over the past few years.

Dr. Sean Breem – who runs Medical Cannabis of Southern California, which helps patients get MMJ cards – wrote a very insightful blog post offering tips for people looking to get into the industry.

He warns potential buyers to be wary of the financial numbers a dispensary owners provides, as the figures “ain’t what they say they are” and the “books are cooked every time.” One caveat: Breem’s view applies to dispensaries in California and other states that only allow nonprofit dispensaries, as opposed to Colorado, which has for-profit MMCs.

Breem offers some insight into customer loyalty, saying that in many cases patients visit a particular dispensary because of specific employees rather than prices or ambience. Lose those employees, and you might lose customers.

It’s also interesting that employee theft seems to be a problem, and it seems that some dispensary owners aren’t disclosing upcoming regulatory measures may force the MMC to close.