Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A green rush could be around the corner.
Hawaii's first medical marijuana dispensaries, set to open next July, could serve as ripe business opportunities for affiliated businesses, such as farms, security management, and product manufacturers.
The insurance sector in particular is likely to be eyeing potential profits through working with the new Hawaii medical cannabis industry, which PBN has estimated could surpass $30 million in gross annual sales statewide.
Doug Banfelder, a commercial insurance specialist at Premier Southwest Insurance Group in Arizona, says Hawaii's developing system could be compared to Arizona's relatively new medical marijuana dispensary system.
In Arizona, the opening of the dispensaries was delayed by more than two years, but profits have been worth the wait, he said.
"[Business was] slow at first, but once Arizona's program finally came online we wrote 70 percent of the market and used that success to launch to the national level," he said. "Our wholesaler tells me we submit more new business to him than any of his 1,600 other agencies."
Entities running dispensaries, plant cultivation, or product manufacturing, will need insurance policies including general liability, property, product liability and business auto, Banfelder said.
"Part of a full general liability package includes loss of income, business personal property and coverage for crop, finished stock, and or cannabis inventory," he said. "Dispensaries should also consider professional liability, as there is a pharmacy type of exposure."
Landlords should also be wary that their lessor's risk coverage could be affected by leasing to medical marijuana affiliate companies.
It may be particularly difficult for cultivation centers to find space to grow plants. Under the Hawaii law, production centers may not be under the same roof as dispensary retails stores.
"Coverage can be found, but it's not easy," Banfelder added. "There is always an element of risk due to the conflict between state and federal laws."
Banfelder advised that each licensee budgets at least 1 percent of their conservative projected gross revenues for a general liability insurance package.
Eight of the first Hawaii licensees will be announced in April, following a January application period overseen by the Department of Health.
Hawaii lawyer Stephen Pingree estimates each license could generate 70 to 100 jobs, for dispensaries, cultivation centers, production and extraction centers, security personnel, and management.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: ?Hawaii medical marijuana dispensaries could generate business for other industries - Pacific Business News
Author: Lorin Eleni Gill
Contact: Contact Us - Pacific Business News
Photo Credit: Matthew Staver | Bloomberg
Website: Business News - The Business Journals
Hawaii's first medical marijuana dispensaries, set to open next July, could serve as ripe business opportunities for affiliated businesses, such as farms, security management, and product manufacturers.
The insurance sector in particular is likely to be eyeing potential profits through working with the new Hawaii medical cannabis industry, which PBN has estimated could surpass $30 million in gross annual sales statewide.
Doug Banfelder, a commercial insurance specialist at Premier Southwest Insurance Group in Arizona, says Hawaii's developing system could be compared to Arizona's relatively new medical marijuana dispensary system.
In Arizona, the opening of the dispensaries was delayed by more than two years, but profits have been worth the wait, he said.
"[Business was] slow at first, but once Arizona's program finally came online we wrote 70 percent of the market and used that success to launch to the national level," he said. "Our wholesaler tells me we submit more new business to him than any of his 1,600 other agencies."
Entities running dispensaries, plant cultivation, or product manufacturing, will need insurance policies including general liability, property, product liability and business auto, Banfelder said.
"Part of a full general liability package includes loss of income, business personal property and coverage for crop, finished stock, and or cannabis inventory," he said. "Dispensaries should also consider professional liability, as there is a pharmacy type of exposure."
Landlords should also be wary that their lessor's risk coverage could be affected by leasing to medical marijuana affiliate companies.
It may be particularly difficult for cultivation centers to find space to grow plants. Under the Hawaii law, production centers may not be under the same roof as dispensary retails stores.
"Coverage can be found, but it's not easy," Banfelder added. "There is always an element of risk due to the conflict between state and federal laws."
Banfelder advised that each licensee budgets at least 1 percent of their conservative projected gross revenues for a general liability insurance package.
Eight of the first Hawaii licensees will be announced in April, following a January application period overseen by the Department of Health.
Hawaii lawyer Stephen Pingree estimates each license could generate 70 to 100 jobs, for dispensaries, cultivation centers, production and extraction centers, security personnel, and management.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: ?Hawaii medical marijuana dispensaries could generate business for other industries - Pacific Business News
Author: Lorin Eleni Gill
Contact: Contact Us - Pacific Business News
Photo Credit: Matthew Staver | Bloomberg
Website: Business News - The Business Journals
