The Oregonian: Ancillary Businesses Adapt to Cannabis Market

The financial benefits of cannabis legalization make a lot of headlines as the tax revenue generated and jobs created almost always exceed expectations. The positive economic impact of regulated cannabis commerce isn’t just in the surface numbers as the benefits filter throughout the industry and into ancillary businesses and throughout the local economy. Of course, licensed growers, processors, and retailers create jobs and help their local communities, but, as The Oregonian reported, ancillary businesses have found that it can be profitable to cater to the burgeoning industry:

As a third harvest season looms near for the region’s newest state-sanctioned crop, those in Southern Oregon’s developing cannabis industry are adding long-established businesses to their Rolodex.

With product names such as “Cheech & Char,” “Gnarley Marley” and “Spicoli Special” — the latter a reference to Sean Penn’s perpetually stoned surfer in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” — there was little question which custom-made soil blends from Biomass One were tailored for cannabis growers.

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For Dan Bachtell, general manager of farm equipment dealer KBE Central Point, that has meant a host of new tractor and attachment sales that started as a surprise, and has become something of a specialty.

The cannabis industry will only continue to grow as more states and nations legalize, opening up a multitude of economic opportunities both within the industry and in related businesses. A whole host of companies and entrepreneurs can benefit from helping the new business sector, from creating soil mixes to security to accounting. With more mainstream investors and companies joining the industry, there’s no time like the present to establish your niche.

If you are in the cannabis industry or ancillary business sector, or thinking of making the move into the marijuana market, the International Cannabis Business Conference this September 27th and 28th in Portland, Oregon, is the event for you. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn the latest and network with top investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. Hurry and get your “early bird” tickets by September 12th to save $200!