Inc. Magazine published an article for marijuana entrepreneurs to help them think about the implications of marijuana eventually being legalized across the U.S. There are obvious comparisons to the gold rush business opportunities that were born at the end of prohibition and still exist today.
Personally, I am not a fan or user of marijuana and I do not believe marijuana should be legalized nationally… But if you look at the trends in terms of state by state legalization, it seems reasonable to expect that marijuana may become legal on a national level at some point.
The following conditions in the U.S. point to eventual legalization across the U.S.:
- The U.S. government is basically owned by lobbyists… And pharmaceutical companies and other big businesses have a lot to gain from legalization of pot.
- Marijuana is (in most instances) less dangerous than alcohol, and probably not as addictive or destructive as alcohol… (Have you ever heard of a deadhead brawl?)
- Marijuana has some legitimate medical applications.
- The tax revenue to be had by already bankrupt local and federal governments is massive.
- The growth of marijuana as an industry could stimulate the U.S. economy.
The potential downsides of national marijuana legislation are:
- Marijuana will provide us access to yet another drug to potentially legally abuse… Children and young adults have a tough enough time without being under constant assault by the profit seeking artillery of marijuana product manufacturers, and…
- Drug companies will market the shit out of marijuana if it’s legalized. Get ready for a barrage of marijuana ads in magazines, the Internet, TV, Facebook, etc. hawking marijuana and deriviatives including THC laden candies, brownies, cookies… EVERYTHING.
- More people will waste their lives on drugs and early stage abuse will be less frowned upon because it’s “legal”.
Despite the pros and cons… The point is that there are definite business opportunities. You don’t have to be a marijuana seller to profit from legalized marijuana. Some ideas:
- Sell insurance to the marijuana industry.
- Sell energy efficiency solutions to the marijuana industry.
- Start a marijuana blog.
- Sell e-books on cultivating marijuana.
- Sell courses on the safe use of medical marijuana and encourage businesses who sell marijuana to buy them and make them available for free to their customers as a value added service.
- Offer consulting services on building a marijuana business.
- Invest in a marijuana farm that someone else runs.