Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Michael Irish is a longtime Oahu businessman best known as CEO of Diamond Head Seafood Wholesale and Keoki's Lau Lau.
But next year, he may be involved in a different industry - growing marijuana and selling it at Hawaii's newly legalized medical cannabis dispensaries.
Three weeks ago, the owner of nine kim chi and four sauce companies registered a new limited liability company, Hawaiian Isles Marijuana, with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Dispensaries won't be operating for another year, and the state Department of Health isn't even accepting applications for licenses to grow and sell marijuana until January. But potential licensees are already acquiring land, entering partnerships and raising money to boost their chances of obtaining one of the eight licenses that will be available.
Many expect the state-sanctioned oligopoly to be lucrative, as each licensee will be allowed to open two production centers with up to 3,000 marijuana plants and two retail locations.
Dispensary owners aren't the only ones who will benefit. People who work in industries as wide-ranging as real estate, agriculture, security, insurance and law are all poised to cash in on the establishment of dispensaries. Some - particularly lawyers and consultants - already are.
Nationally, legal marijuana is America's fastest-growing industry, valued at $2.7 billion in 2014, according to the cannabis industry investment firm The ArcView Group.
In Hawaii, about 13,800 people are currently registered to carry medical marijuana cards. But the state Department of Health expects that number to double once dispensaries open.
Hawaii just added post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying ailment for medical marijuana, making more patients eligible to receive cards. Other qualifying conditions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, wasting syndrome, seizures, severe nausea, severe and persistent muscle spasms and severe pain.
It's hard to put a dollar figure on the sales potential because patients will buy variable amounts. Under state law, patients can purchase as much as eight ounces in a month or four ounces within 15 days.
Comparing Hawaii's emerging market to other states is also tough because regulations vary in terms of the number of dispensaries permitted, the qualifying health conditions, fees and taxes. In Hawaii, dispensaries won't be subject to more taxes than any other business, but the relatively high cost of land and electricity are likely to drive up costs.
Pacific Business News estimated the sales potential at more than $30 million annually based on the assumption that 13,000 patients would buy one ounce of marijuana a month for $200.
But medical marijuana could be a lot pricier than that. According to a website that crowdsources data on the price of weed worldwide, the average price of an ounce nationally is $257 to $300. In Illinois, which recently legalized medical marijuana, an ounce is expected to cost $400.
Considering the expected patient increase, medical marijuana sales in Hawaii are likely to generate tens of millions of dollars in total revenue for the eight companies that receive licenses.
Competition is expected to be heavy for the licenses, and will require significant upfront costs.
The cost of an application alone is $5,000. Within a week of being chosen, companies have to cough up $75,000 for a license fee. They also have to prove that they have $1 million in the bank, and $100,000 more for each dispensary they are licensed to open.
Estimates for the start-up costs range from $2 million to $7 million.
That isn't stopping people like Brian Goldstein, a local technology consultant, from applying.
"I think it's well past time that our policymakers recognize the medicinal uses of cannabis," he said. "It's a drug that patients deserve access to and I want to be part of that effort."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pakalolo and Profits: Hawaii?s Emerging Medical Marijuana Industry - Civil Beat
Author: Anita Hofschneider
Contact: becivil@civilbeat.com
Photo Credit: Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Website: Hawaii News - Honolulu Civil Beat - Investigative Reporting
But next year, he may be involved in a different industry - growing marijuana and selling it at Hawaii's newly legalized medical cannabis dispensaries.
Three weeks ago, the owner of nine kim chi and four sauce companies registered a new limited liability company, Hawaiian Isles Marijuana, with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Dispensaries won't be operating for another year, and the state Department of Health isn't even accepting applications for licenses to grow and sell marijuana until January. But potential licensees are already acquiring land, entering partnerships and raising money to boost their chances of obtaining one of the eight licenses that will be available.
Many expect the state-sanctioned oligopoly to be lucrative, as each licensee will be allowed to open two production centers with up to 3,000 marijuana plants and two retail locations.
Dispensary owners aren't the only ones who will benefit. People who work in industries as wide-ranging as real estate, agriculture, security, insurance and law are all poised to cash in on the establishment of dispensaries. Some - particularly lawyers and consultants - already are.
Nationally, legal marijuana is America's fastest-growing industry, valued at $2.7 billion in 2014, according to the cannabis industry investment firm The ArcView Group.
In Hawaii, about 13,800 people are currently registered to carry medical marijuana cards. But the state Department of Health expects that number to double once dispensaries open.
Hawaii just added post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying ailment for medical marijuana, making more patients eligible to receive cards. Other qualifying conditions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, wasting syndrome, seizures, severe nausea, severe and persistent muscle spasms and severe pain.
It's hard to put a dollar figure on the sales potential because patients will buy variable amounts. Under state law, patients can purchase as much as eight ounces in a month or four ounces within 15 days.
Comparing Hawaii's emerging market to other states is also tough because regulations vary in terms of the number of dispensaries permitted, the qualifying health conditions, fees and taxes. In Hawaii, dispensaries won't be subject to more taxes than any other business, but the relatively high cost of land and electricity are likely to drive up costs.
Pacific Business News estimated the sales potential at more than $30 million annually based on the assumption that 13,000 patients would buy one ounce of marijuana a month for $200.
But medical marijuana could be a lot pricier than that. According to a website that crowdsources data on the price of weed worldwide, the average price of an ounce nationally is $257 to $300. In Illinois, which recently legalized medical marijuana, an ounce is expected to cost $400.
Considering the expected patient increase, medical marijuana sales in Hawaii are likely to generate tens of millions of dollars in total revenue for the eight companies that receive licenses.
Competition is expected to be heavy for the licenses, and will require significant upfront costs.
The cost of an application alone is $5,000. Within a week of being chosen, companies have to cough up $75,000 for a license fee. They also have to prove that they have $1 million in the bank, and $100,000 more for each dispensary they are licensed to open.
Estimates for the start-up costs range from $2 million to $7 million.
That isn't stopping people like Brian Goldstein, a local technology consultant, from applying.
"I think it's well past time that our policymakers recognize the medicinal uses of cannabis," he said. "It's a drug that patients deserve access to and I want to be part of that effort."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pakalolo and Profits: Hawaii?s Emerging Medical Marijuana Industry - Civil Beat
Author: Anita Hofschneider
Contact: becivil@civilbeat.com
Photo Credit: Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Website: Hawaii News - Honolulu Civil Beat - Investigative Reporting
