Marijuana Business Magazine

108 • Marijuana Business Magazine • November / December 2017 Y ou don’t have to hail from Cali- fornia to get in on what will be the biggest cannabis market in the world. The Golden State’s new medical and recreational marijuana programs do not have a residency requirement – a fact that could attract droves of out-of-state entrepreneurs to California and revive memories of the 1849 Gold Rush. But does that mean cannabis entre- preneurs can stroll into California and open a business? Hardly. While there are no legislative or legal obstacles to non-California marijuana businesses at the state level, they do exist at the local Non-California MJ entrepreneurs can set up shop in the Golden State, but local regulations, customs and other factors can present roadblocks level, in terms of regulations, real estate and culture. “There will be tremendous opportuni- ties,” said Avis Bulbulyan, CEO of SIVA Enterprises, a Los Angeles-based, canna- bis-focused consultancy. “But California has its own unique rules and culture, and you need to be mindful of that as an out- of-state person, otherwise it’s going to be difficult to get traction and shelf space.” Local Catch While California’s new MMJ and adult-use law doesn’t mandate state residency, it does require business license applicants to first have a local MJ business permit before they can apply for a state permit. And many of those municipalities require marijuana business operators to be residents of California or the municipality where they want to apply. “You can’t apply for a state license until you have a local permit. So, a lot of this is determined by a local permit,” said attorney Joe Rogoway, head of the California-based Rogoway Law Group. Los Angeles attorney Hilary Bricken noted some places stack the deck in favor of residents. “There are definitely cities and coun- ties that are putting a premium on being by Omar Sacirbey C alifornia D reamin' OPPORTUN¬T¬ES FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS