For budding entrepreneurs, the increasing sweep of legislation towards liberalizing cannabis laws has presented an opportunity – or potentially a wealth of opportunities. With the knowledge that there is a willing customer base out there, it’s understandable that a lot of people will want to unlock the potential income stream that this creates.

However if you are someone who has considered beginning a business to harness this potential, it is beyond vital that you don’t let your ambition run ahead of best practice. For anyone looking to make a business out of cannabis and its related products, the following steps are essential.

Settle on a Type of Business

The cannabis business is different from many other sectors right now, in that it is still a new and relatively untapped field. You are unlikely to find that the market is saturated, whatever you choose to do – but you do need to have a coherent idea of what your business will be. Is it going to be a dispensary that sells to people with medical exemptions? Are you planning to grow for wholesale purposes? Will you focus on edibles? There are a lot of potential paths here, and picking your preferred one is an indispensable first step.

Make Sure You’re on the Right Side of the Law

You have no doubt read headlines here and there from when states have opened up their laws regarding the possession, use and sale of cannabis, but headlines only ever scratch the surface. Some states will allow the sale of the product, but only for medical use. Others may allow you to grow, but only on a limited basis and not to sell what you’ve grown. As you understand it, your state (or town) may have made cannabis legal – but before you even put a business plan together, read the law word for word. You don’t want to find yourself with a business plan that can’t legally be put into action.

Complete the Paperwork

If your state has legalized the sale of cannabis, then the chances are it has required all sellers to be licensed. In some cases, you may need one permit to grow and another cannabis license for sale in a dispensary. At this point, hiring a lawyer with an understanding of the cannabis business would be a smart move – they’ll know which licenses to apply for and which paperwork needs to be filed with which authorities.

Pick Your Location Carefully

Broadly speaking, public opinion on the use of cannabis has moved a long way just in the last few decades, and even some people who would consider themselves straight-laced and abstemious agree to the legalization. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be some who are displeased to see a dispensary open on the edges of their neighborhood. Public opposition can be detrimental to your finances, so pick a locale that can work for you.

Once these steps have been satisfied, there are obviously questions of the cost of opening a cannabis dispensary and renting premises before you can consider launching. But if you can get the practical steps done and banked, then it’s all going to be much easier from here.