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CannaBiz Big Business Opportunities in the New Multibillion-Dollar Marijuana Industry Neev Tapiero Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. Canada USA Copyright©2018 by International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means — graphic, electronic, or mechanical — without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Any request for photocopying, scanning, or infor- mation storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to Access Copyright, the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. To make a transactional permission request please use the online Title Search & Permission tool found on the website www.accesscopyright.ca. Self-Counsel Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. Printed in Canada. First edition: 2018 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Tapiero, Neev, author CannaBiz: big business opportunities in the new multibillion dol- lar marijuana industry / Neev Tapiero. (Business series) Issued in print and electronic formats. ISBN 978-1-77040-298-0 (softcover).—ISBN 978-1-77040-492-2 (EPUB).—ISBN 978-1-77040-493-9 (Kindle) 1. Marijuana industry—North America. 2. New business enter- prises—North America. I. Title. II. Series: Self-Counsel business series HD9019.M382N78 2018 381'.41379 C2018-901253-6 C2018-901254-4 Thank you to Trina Fraser, Brazeau Seller Law for permission to use “Canadian Can- nabis Legalization Highlights by Province/Territory” on the download kit included with this book. Every effort has been made to obtain permission for quoted material and illustrations. If there is an omission or error, the author and publisher would be grateful to be so informed. Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. Bellingham, WA North Vancouver, BC USA Canada Contents Preface xiii Introduction xvii Part 1: The Many Opportunities to Do Business in the Cannabis Industry 1 1 Niche Cannabis and Trends to Consider As You Begin 3 2 Micro-Production Licenses 7 3 Doctors, Pharmacists, and Nurse-Practitioners 11 4 Clones, Tissue Cultures, and Seeds 15 1. Clones 16 2. Tissue Cultures 17 3. Seeds 18 5 Control Standards When Growing 21 1. Analyses 21 2. Batch Sampling Your Analyses 24 6 Beneficial Insects and Natural Pest Control 25 7 Edibles, Topicals, Extracts, Capsules, Concentrates 27 1. Edibles, Topicals, and Extracts 27 2. Tinctures 28 3. Balms 29 4. Extracts 30 5. Baked Goods 33 6. Capsules 34 iii 8 Retail: Vapor Lounges; Hemp, Hydroponics, and Online-only Stores; Compassion Clubs and Dispensaries 35 1. Vapor Lounges 36 2. Hemp Stores 40 3. Hydroponics Stores 41 4. Online-Only Stores 42 5. Compassion Clubs and Dispensaries 44 9 Importing and Exporting 47 10 Outdoor Growing and Greenhouses 51 Part 2: Business Considerations Specific to the Cannabis Industry 53 11 Finance: Taxes, Banks, Credit Cards, Payment Services 55 1. Taxes 55 2. Banks, Credit Cards, Payment Services 56 12 Intellectual Property 57 13 Insurance and Licenses 59 1. Insurance 59 2. Licenses 60 14 Getting an Audit, an Inspection, or a Recall 61 15 Drug Identification Numbers/National Drug Code 65 16 Growing Your Own and Strain/Symptom Correlation 67 1. Cost of Production 70 2. You Can Always Be a Canadian Licensed Producer (or US Equivalent) That Does Not Grow 70 3. Growing and Wholesaling versus Growing and Retailing 71 4. Understanding Federal Secure Storage Levels and Maximum Storage 71 5. Security-Storage Breakdown 72 6. Education and Certifications for Growers 75 iv CannaBiz 17 Software and Hardware 79 18 Personal Possession and Transporting 83 1. Secure Transport and Courier Services 84 19 Flying 87 20 Marketing and Branding 89 1. Name and Logo 91 2. Social Networking 91 3. Search Engines 93 4. Blogging 94 5. Web Conversions 95 6. Advertising 95 7. Packaging 96 21 Special Events, Trade Shows, and Conferences 99 22 Networking and Neighborhood Marketing 103 23 Your Team (HR) and Your Security (Cyber and Physical) 105 1. Your Team (HR) 105 2. Your Security (Cyber and Physical) 106 24 Writing a Business Plan 109 Part 3: Canada-Specific Cannabis Business 117 25 Canada-Specific Cannabis 119 1. The Emerging Industry in Canada 122 2. How to Approach Health Canada Regulations 124 3. Health Canada-Related Documents 126 26 Medical Cannabis in Canada 129 1. Becoming a Medical Cannabis User in Canada 131 2. Provincial Health-Plan Coverage 133 3. The ACMPR’s Closed Matrix 135 4. Applying to Be a Licensed Producer 136 5. Health Canada: The Organization 138 Contents v 27 Recreational Cannabis in Canada 141 1. Recreational Users 141 2. Collectibles and High-Value Items 143 3. Tourists and Non-Canadian Residents and Concierge Services 145 Part 4: US-Specific Cannabis Business 147 28 US-Specific Cannabis 149 1. A Brief History of Legalization in the USA 149 2. Important Advice for Americans Who Already Have a Cannabis-Related Business 152 29 Medical and Recreational Cannabis in the US 155 Part 5: Going Forward 159 30 Summary 161 Download Kit 163 Questionnaires 1 Insurance 60 2 Should You Grow Your Own? 68 Samples 1 Flyer 97 2 Business Plan 112 Tables 1 Terpene Chart 31 2 Hydrocarbons 32 3 Workshops or Certifications 77 4 Growth in Canadian Cannabis Industry 134 5 Cannabis Equivalency According to the Cannabis Act 144 vi CannaBiz Notice to Readers Laws are constantly changing. Every effort is made to keep this publication as current as possible. However, the author, the pub- lisher, and the vendor of this book make no representations or warranties regarding the outcome or the use to which the informa- tion in this book is put and are not assuming any liability for any claims, losses, or damages arising out of the use of this book. The reader should not rely on the author or the publisher of this book for any professional advice. Please be sure that you have the most recent edition. Prices, fees, and other costs mentioned in the text or shown in samples in this book probably do not reflect real costs where you live. Inflation and other factors, including geography, can cause the costs you might encounter to be much higher or even much lower than those we show. The dollar amounts shown are simply intended as representative examples. vii Laws around cannabis are evolving rapidly in all jurisdictions. Please research the laws in your area and consult qualified profes- sionals thoroughly before beginning any venture. viii CannaBiz Dedication To the prettiest girl with the biggest heart in the world: Dayna. Dedicated to my son Sebastian, his mother, my amazing father and mother, grandparents, siblings, and cousins. All those who came before me; to the staff and all members at CALM, the next generation, and to the billions of victims of the War on Drugs. In the 100-year War on Drugs, yes, I believe there have been billions. ix Acknowledgments A special thank you to Ms. Johanna Metcalf for believing in me so many years ago. You helped to start something very big. Thank you, my heroes: Emmanuelle Chriqui, June Callwood, David Hutchinson, Tommy Chong, Don Wirtshafter, Arjan Roskam, Todd McCormick, Alex Grey, Alan Young, Kirk Tousaw, Dana Larsen. A special thank you to my departed friend Franco Loja. Strain Hunter, passionate gardener, world traveler, great friend, dreamer of peace, a rare and amazing human being. #fullgas A special thank you to my departed friend Paul Haden. Scien- tist, idealist, big hearted, patient, adventurous, shaman, carnivore. One of my first teachers in life. Another special thank you to all the staff at CALM, Dayna Heart- song, Emma Churlaud, Dora Sola, Laurence et Marcel, Solal, Elie, xi Aléna Smith, Trini, Raekwon, Paul Haden, Donny Wirtshafter, Bob Erb, Joe Mandur Jr., Subcool, Olaf, Franco, Doug P, John Conroy, Solly, Gladys, Irene, Serge and Maya Chriqui, Eyal, Patricia, Zo- hara, Maya, Ari, Szuszi, Miriam, Pitty, Steve Isenberg, Tom Kof- man and co., Ron Marzel, The Klincks, Jen Ruppert, Klaas H., Gary B., Paul Manning, Alan Young, Gavin B., Joanne “Kentucky Derby” Smail, Trini and Rae, Cynthia Pechenick, the Benisty family, the Tapiero family, the Haggerty/Freeman family, Little Thunder, Barry 001, Keat, Jim Wakeford, Steven Scorey, Jari Dvorak, Paul Rosen, Mark Zekulin, Paul Stamets, Dennis Peron, Jack Herer, Peter Mc- Williams, Michelle Rainey, Terence McKenna, Bob Marley, Albert Hoffman, Alex Shulgin, Jack Kerouac, Aldous Huxley, Vi Hart, @ cookiethepuppyy. Wu-Tang is for the children. xii CannaBiz Preface Welcome to CannaBiz. I hope this book gives you a glimpse into a very new and very large world: The legal cannabis industry. No one has known legal cannabis in almost 100 years; our grandparents or great grandparents might remember. A director of Law Enforce- ment Against Prohibition (LEAP), a nonprofit, has called prohibi- tion “the worst social policy since slavery.” (Not a comparison, but a timeline.) Slowly but surely, that is coming to an end. Because cannabis has been criminalized (some would say ex- cessively) for such a long period of time it had no presence out- side the black market until recently. Canada is set to become the second G7 country to legalize cannabis across the entire country, after Uruguay did it in 2014 (“Weed around the world: what legal marijuana looks like in other countries” Global News, 2013), which will put it at the forefront of the new industry worldwide. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for real change in social values. xiii My personal romance with cannabis began in the early ’90s when I was in university studying for my undergraduate degree.