I'm with Grit, its not really a grey area at all in Colorado. If you are buying an existing license or applying for a new one you will have to comply with local and state requirements which means you will have to apply with the state and be completely vetted criminally and financially before moving forward. The MED does not take call in appointments anymore, you have to send an email and they will take up to 30+ days to respond and usually around 2+ months for your first meeting with them. You will need everything in place prior to that meeting..location, lease, build out, state and local license fees, local approvals, etc...all has to be done before you even start the process with the MED. Just did a rec OPC transfer and it was over 180 days just to transfer the license with the state. So if you do not get a license it doesn't matter you still have to spend all the time and money first before you even know. Depending on local Business and Excise tax requirements there will be fees and filing requirements associated with that and can be anywhere from $2500-$10,000 and then your local zoning and specific use approval also has to be approved. Built out spaces that are zoned correctly and ready to go can sell for $150-$160 bucks per square foot and rent for $45-$55 a square foot so get ready for a little pain there. If you are looking for what they call a "vanilla box" or open shell to lease, it can be anywhere from $12-$18 bucks a sq.ft. to rent a small space and them another $75-$100 a sq.ft. to buildout with partition walls, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing..all of which must be permitted, inspected, and CO'd. Storage building grows are considered collective grows and those are not allowed very many places anymore. It is probably easier to find a 10,000+ sq.ft. place that zones correctly than a a 1000sq.ft. spot because your going to need an F1 occupancy building with an Industrial or light industrial zoning suitable for plant husbandry..not that they are not out there but small facilities are usually not zone for heavy or light industrial uses. Water becomes a serious issue as well, especially if there are alot local rules and regs for use and disposal and in drought hit areas farmers and cattle boys can be real big hurdles to getting grows approved. All in all your probably looking at close to $50,000 in state requirements and fees, $20-50,000 in attorney fees, and another $150-$200,000 in building leases and buildout for 1000sq.ft. All doable for sure but you have to be ready for the expenses as soon as they come up and then be ready to wait at least year or so before you see the first dollar in revenue so you are self financing the operation out of pocket on top of all the start up expenses.
As a real world example, I am working on a 4800sq.ft. spot that the guy wants $750,000 for the building with 600 amps of power, I will have another $500-600,000 in build out expense to get it just the way I want it and even moving 2 existing licenses (one for the store and one for the grow) I already own it will be 6-8 months fighting with the state to get it all approved and green lighted to operate and then another 120-160 days before I can see the first dollar in revenue and for the first 120 or so days I will have to buy product from myself at another one of my grow ops at fair market price just to have product on the shelf until the grow starts to product.
There is alot of wholesale out there for $1200-$1600 and very few buyers out there for product at $2000-$2200 and the smaller your grow op is the more cost per unit you are going to have to cover. 30-60 light operations have a hard time competing with 1000-5000 light operations, the economy of scale gets really real, really fast..
Again all doable though, just not for the faint at heart or underfunded
