We’re finally free to travel again! Now that states have opened up for business again, we found a few places where you can expand your cannabis culture. Are you itching to explore the world again? Are you eager to grow your cannabis knowledge and strain collection? If so, you may want to plan a trip to the following places next. Our curiosity led us down a rabbit hole of research to find the states with the most cannabis dispensaries per capita.
When we say per capita, we mean per 10,000 residents. Many factors contribute to the number of dispensaries in each state, such as
- Legalization
- Walkability
- Economy/Economic Finances
- Employment Rates
- Crime Rates
Which State Has the Highest Number of Cannabis Dispensaries?
Our research first led us to Cannabis Report World, which ranked the states with the most cannabis dispensaries per capita. Can you guess the number one spot? It’s not California…or Colorado…or Washington. It’s Oregon! According to Cannabis Report World, Oregon has 16.5 dispensaries per capita. I lived in Portland for many years and can attest to this: there’s practically a dispensary on every main street.
While some of you may have predicted Oregon as the winner, we bet you can’t guess the second place. No, seriously, this one blew our minds. It’s Oklahoma! Freakin’ Oklahoma! It has 15.6 dispensaries per capita, followed by freakin’ Montana (specifically Missoula, a college town) with 15.1 dispensaries. At first glance, you may not think of Oklahoma and Montana as cannabis-friendly states. It’s true that recreational use has not passed yet but patients with certain qualifying conditions may access cannabis for medical purposes. And it sounds like they’d have a pretty easy time getting it!
States With The Least Dispensaries Per Capita
As we mentioned earlier, the legalization of cannabis is a prime contributor to the number of dispensaries in a state. So, it should come as no surprise that states with no legal cannabis whatsoever do not have a single dispensary. That counts for…
- Utah
- Texas
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- West Virginia
- Idaho
Would You Ever Open Your Own Dispensary?
As legal cannabis gradually makes its way across the country, the number of dispensaries per capita could change at any moment! Coronavirus could the next massive contributor to cannabis legalization as so many governors have deemed it “essential.” If access to cannabis feels limited in your city or state, why not open your own dispensary? Yes, it would be a massive undertaking, but it’s no different than any other business. Media outlet BPlans spoke to Mitch Woolhiser, owner of Northern Lights Cannabis Company in Denver, Colorado, about his journey. “It’s one of the hardest things you could possibly do,” he says. “It can’t just be this fun thing. It has to be taken seriously. It’s still at the ground floor of the whole thing, considering the federal illegality of it. It’s still a good time to get in.”
How To Open Your Own Dispensary
Okay, so according to Mitch, opening your own dispensary takes a lot of work—but it’s totally possible at this rate of legalization. We already know that cannabis is a billion-dollar industry. Even the CBD industry brings in millions of dollars each year. To open your own dispensary, Mitch recommends the following steps…
- Do your research on cannabis laws
- Find a compliant rental property (can’t be near a school or church)
- Write your business plan (access capita and set your budget)
- Look into the competition of nearby dispensaries (a market search)
- Get licensed…and then get product
- Market the living hell out of your dispensary
We Should See More Cannabis Dispensaries In The Future
Thankfully, the future of cannabis looks brighter than ever. Even during a global pandemic, people want their weed! In fact, it was during the coronavirus outbreak that dispensaries saw record-breaking sales from coast to coast. The need for cannabis dispesanries is there, so go after it! If you’re not the dispensary-owning type, you could always move to a state with the most dispensaries per capita.
