how to open a legal dispensary in CO

i wish to eventually move to CO and obtain a medical card and grow licence and from there open a medical dispensary what are the proper channels to go through?

do i need to be a citizen of CO?
can i actually do this legally with a medical card and licence to grow? or will i have to buy from other medical growers?
is there a limit to how much i could grow and posses in CO as a medical patient?
is medical marijuana a publicly traded business in CO?
any additional information would be amazing...

Good times, hope that helped and be sure to do a TON of homework. This isnt just like opening any old business. People will be out to get you and in the end it is up to you to defend yourself and to make the right decisions pertaining to the well being of yours and Colorados medical marijuana program.

thanks for all the info man this is the plan for my life in the next 5 years but who know maybe then there will be dispensaries in VT where i am by that time it would be easier than the move to out west i have a staff in mind already and a plan to get money rolling in to start the business i just think this would be the perfect job for me id like to grow and sell my own mj legally

Im from Colorado, and out here medical marijuana dispensaries are popping up like crazy nowadays.... It's a huge, booming, and growing industry right now in Colorado. Traditionally Coloradans have been relatively very liberal with regards to marijuana in the past. In Denver, marijuana has been decriminalized, and in many other cities, people have taken similar steps, such as voting to make recreational marijuana users the local law enforcement's lowest priority. More recently, the public's attitude regarding medical marijuana has become even more positive, due to the general public's increasing awareness of the reality that smoking weed is less harmful, both to the individual and the society, than alcohol is, and that it serves a legit medical purpose. Most people now are supportive of efforts to treat marijuana more like alcohol and less like a dangerous, illegal drug. In my estimation, it won't be long before a state-wide decriminalization law is passed in Colorado.

Like I said, dispensaries are popping up all over the place here recently. This recent surge in the number of dispensaries made national news, and California is now the only state with more dispensaries than Colorado. This surge is, in my estimation, a direct result of the Obama administration's termination of federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. Under Bush, when state laws undermined federal laws regarding marijuana, the feds intervened, meaning that the DEA raided dispensaries and the feds punished innocent patients and caregivers. But now, this has ended, which legitimizes medical marijuana and opens the door to legalization.

The end of these raids has HUGE implications regarding the legality of marijuana for medicinal, as well as recreational, purposes. First of all, obviously, it legitimizes medical marijuana dispensaries and essentially turns the medical marijuana industry from a gray area into a legitimate industry. Furthermore, it implies that states will be allowed to set their own laws regarding marijuana, and that these laws will be considered legit, even if they undermine federal laws - in other words, hypothetically, a state can now truly legalize marijuana, and it would be legit. For the first time, the door is open and the path to legalization is as clear as ever. By the time I graduate college and finish studying economics out in California, I expect marijuana to be legal in either Cali or Colorado.

In short, the medical marijuana industry in Colorado is booming, the future is bright, and legal marijuana business opportunities are very, very plentiful. It is a large industry, growing amazingly rapidly, with the potential to be absolutely huge in the future. You have made a great choice - Colorado is a great place to open a dispensary, and now is a great time.

Here's some relevant articles and links to check out... these may help answer some of the more specific questions you have; if not, just do some online research, and the answers you need shouldnt be too hard to find.

Marijuana clinics crop up rapidly in Colorado | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

Medical Marijuana Has Become A Growth Industry In Colorado -http://www.stonerforums.com/lounge/marijuana-activism/15163-med-marijuana-has-become-growth.html

Medical Pot Dispensaries Thrive In Colo | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

Medical Marijuana Applications Spike | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

Health Board Nixes Change To Colorado Pot Use | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

Loveland Shop To Offer Medical Pot | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

The Law & Marijuana chronicles: Breckenridge - http://www.stonerforums.com/lounge/marijuana-activism/13344-law-marijuana-chronicles-why-marijuana.html

Colorado juror: Medical marijuana case a waste of resources -http://www.stonerforums.com/lounge/marijuana-activism/15031-colorado-juror-medical-marijuana-case.html

Coloradans Report Drinking Less, Smoking More Pot | Cannabis News - Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis

Colorado: stakeholders pack major medical marijuana hearing -http://www.stonerforums.com/lounge/marijuana-activism/14180-colorado-stakeholders-pack-major-medical.html

Colorado dispensary forum: Colorado Dispensaries - Stoner Forums - A Marijuana & 420 Friendly Community

Peace

PS - if you do end up opening a dispensary here in my great state of Colorado, don't forget about me when building a staff

thank you everybody in colorado for the info keep it coming i feel as though i will need to do alot of research

Yes, Yes you do.

But I do have to add that if you wait 5 years it will be all over by then

do u have to be sick to get a note in CO ?????????? i knwo you do in cali & the cops frown if your note is for anxiety or something like that.....i hope this medical thing last longer than 5 years.....

im kinda hoping it doesnt in theory we should not need to have excuses to smoke this wonderful herb... it should just be legal but since i see that as more of a 15year away things...or atleast with the way our government run and state official being who the are currently...so until then i would like to be part of the medical movement...and yes from what i have read so far you need to get a doctors recommendation to get a medical card...i feel as though i easily qualify as i already have back and knee trouble not dabilitating but it gets worse and worse with each passing year which isnt fucking right im only 21 y/o i should be peak of physical and mental health but not so much... you know what else they frown upon in cali is tax evasion by the dispensaries making them nothing more than drug dealers... i dont think that the dispensaries are going anywhere i think it the next ten years or so you are gonna see a walmart effect accur large corperate dispensaries in the governments back pocket swallowing the little guy and local business i think as a country we need to support our act local businesses and economy...we need to fix things on a state to state level before we can fix nation issues...especially concerning herb...states can decriminalize and even legalize on their own without any government approval just cant get caught smoking by fed agents of any kind...but state and local offical can decide not to enforce fed laws...

Maybe a good place to start would be the state health department website.

They have Ammendment 20 posted as well as some of the processes and requirements:
Medical Marijuana in Colorado

Yes, in Colorado you need to have a recently documented qualifying condition.

However, even if you don't pay the zillions of dollars to get a MMJ rec, the fine for possession of under an oz is 100 and issued as a misdemeanor ticket.

In Colorado, the last 9 pages in Denver's Westword magazine/paper are covered in ads for clinics giving medical marijuana licenses, and there are more classified ads for caregivers.



Nobody that I've heard of has been denied. Standard rates are $110 cash for doctor / $90 check or money order for the state. All you need is a Colorado ID. No prior medical history is necessary.

Chronic pain is number one complaint. A common story is: "I had this ski injury some years back, and it still bothers me. It gets in the way of my life because it causes insomnia (too much pain to fall asleep), poor performance at work, more upper respiratory infections due to lack of sleep, and limitations on my daily activities because of the pain. I just want to be able to give my 2 year old a piggy back ride (a little thick there? haha). I haven't had any problems with addiction and I don't want to have any. I'm trying to stay away from opiates, and besides, they don't work that well anyway."

My brother got his at a clinic on Wadsworth where it was first come, first serve and about 50 people were in line for their licenses. He got there 30 mins before they opened and had to wait about an hour. Many people were shut out or had to wait for many hours to get theirs. I went to one dispensary in downtown Denver, where I liked everyone (except the doctor, ironically). They are by appointment only, and I had to wait 3 weeks for my appointment, but I'm old and I've stood in enough ski and concert lines. I was in the clinic for an hour and a half, but 40 minutes was to wait in line for the pharmacy (only one patient at a time). In that time period, I saw AT LEAST nine patients get licenses.

What ever the number of new licenses are quoted per day, it's way low. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there were 1000/day. I hope this lasts..but I don't see why not; licenses have to be renewed each year and that's a shit load of money for the state and a very large cohort of new, young voters. I think it would have to be the feds, but at least for three more years, cross your fingers.

- Lisa

the CO state health dept is on record this week as saying 400 to 600 registry license requests are made a day. up from about 1500 less than a year ago to 13,000 this month. id say thats a HUGE number for Colorado as the number of people in this state is not exactly like californias. Think about that. What you come up with after a moment of thought is that colorado is full of good times stoners. and people who recognize how safer of a substance that it is.


the new legislation being tried to put in place isnt gonna fly either. something by the people will need to be done. i dont think anything is wrong with the sytem as is. DO NOT VOTE FOR ANY CHANGES OR SUPPORT ANY CHANGES. the people trying to make the changes are trying to put words in the peoples mouth and try to convince everyone that what the med mj bill was meant for in CO is not what its being used for today. its a joke and these people are just scared.

My partner and I wrote a step-by-step guide about how to open a dispensary. We've helped open over 50 of them across the nation, some were in Colorado.

Check it out if you're interested. Let me know if you have any questions.
I'm always happy to help.

Jerald
How To Open A Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Any State

how to open a legal dispensary

Hi, Matt Jacobsen here... I see theres a lot of confusion on this matter (even on this board - when in reality its a very simple process).

If you want to open a dispensary get it from the horses mouth. Ive personally opened six in California.

Ive written a free newsletter with tips, tricks, advice, your states laws and the exact process you need to take for any state you want to operate in.

If you want to know how to do this, get the free newsletter Ive written for this exact purpose at www.start-a-dispensary.com on how to open a dispensary

Ask away if you need additional help or questions.

Regards, Matt