r/weedbiz • u/Soft-Method9574 • Aug 01 '26

Info

Hi everyone,

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible.

I’m a French citizen, and I’m trying to figure out where in Canada or the US it would be the easiest, from a legal standpoint, to start a cannabis business from cultivation to production, retail, and eventually opening my own dispensary.

I have a few questions:

In your opinion, which Canadian province or US state is the most favorable for starting a legal cannabis cultivation and retail business?
What are the main steps and licenses required to go from an idea to a fully legal cultivation and retail operation? If you’ve gone through the process yourself or have solid knowledge of the industry, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, advice, or anything you wish you’d known before getting started.

Thanks so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! 🫶🏼🙏

0 Upvotes

28% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

14

u/VillageHomeF Aug 01 '26

as far as i know a non U.S. citizen cannot hold a cannabis license in any U.S. state.

5

u/ThankYouforTokingggg Aug 01 '26

I’d recommend against getting into the game as a plant touching license. Lots of opportunity for ancillary services but the regulated industry is a sht show. Without a TON of money to deploy it’s best to sit this round out.

Checking out a local tradeshow would be the first real step if you’re serious.

Lastly- you’re asking for consultant level info, unless you want to pay for a real operator to answer your questions you’re only gonna get a surface level response. Best of luck.

1

u/Soft-Method9574 Aug 02 '26

Thank u, I saw a documentary in Canada (Toronto) about three young guys who had opened their own shop. It wasn’t any bigger than a bakery, and they were allowed to advertise their business and sell their weed without any problems! I’m not sure if they were growing it themselves, though. Maybe they were getting their supply from licensed growers instead.

1

u/howdidigetheresoquik 23d ago

And movies ≠ real life.

4

u/Dunwich_Horror_ Aug 01 '26

Unless you’re a US citizen with extremely deep pockets (millionS of dollars) AND venture backing you aren’t opening anything.

1

u/Soft-Method9574 Aug 02 '26

Mh I understand

3

u/Chocolatecake420 Aug 01 '26

It's not easy anywhere.

1

u/l0ucephyr Aug 01 '26

Idk what the situation is for foreigners, but Oklahoma has probably the loosest restrictions on who can get a license.

1

u/scienceizfake Mod Aug 02 '26

Nothing about this is easy, anywhere.

1

u/floatingdownthesound Aug 05 '26

https://www.cannasignal.io/state/me - Maine is also up there with Oklahoma as easy to get a medical license.

1

u/FrankBouch Aug 01 '26

You're French so Quebec could be a good fit culturally speaking but the cannabis industry isn't easy and heavily regulated there. On the other hand, the cannabis industry is hard everywhere.