Working in a medical marijuana dispensary: my thoughts

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Doctorishere12345 said:
You didn't answer my question from the previous post

how this works since federal considered marijuana as illegal and C-1 or it doesn't matter as long the state board is ok of dispense it??? Is there a conflict between federal n state?
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It’s illegal. The DEA could theoretically roll up any day and arrest everyone. State/Local law enforcement can’t because it’s only in violation of federal law. There has been an understanding that the feds won’t take this sort of action for the last 20ish years, but they are technically able to do so.
 
Sounds awesome but can't they just pay someone $10/hr to do the same thing? I'm surprised they pay anywhere close to 100k for two pharmacists. Pharmacists don't even make that in pharmacies now lol.
 
letsrun11 said:
On an average day how many customers do you serve? Thanks!!
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0-1 consults per day. it's a very slow job... you basically can watch netflix all day if you really want to. you just gotta be in the building due to the legal requirement
mentos said:
Sounds awesome but can't they just pay someone $10/hr to do the same thing? I'm surprised they pay anywhere close to 100k for two pharmacists. Pharmacists don't even make that in pharmacies now lol.
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no one would take the job if the pay wasn't competitive
 
Doctorishere12345 said:
You didn't answer my question from the previous post

how this works since federal considered marijuana as illegal and C-1 or it doesn't matter as long the state board is ok of dispense it??? Is there a conflict between federal n state?
Click to expand...

Federal law doesn't apply in dispensaries. The Supreme Court really needs to try a case about the 10th amendment. That would restore the status of drugs to states rights.
 
Amphetamine Salts said:
yes, basically downtime almost all the day. i worked yesterday 12 hours and today i'm in for another 12. right now i'm just in my office surfing the web and doing whatever on my chromebook. that's basically the job. rarely customers come in, during the afternoon it's basically dead for 3 hours straight
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So how does the store make money? No one comes in means no business. Wonder how long the store and your job will last if this keeps up.
 
I can't see a requirement for a pharmacist to be inside a dispensary lasting too long. Oklahoma tried to do that until the OSBP director got busted for bribery. It just doesn't make sense. Medical marijuana dispensaries just don't need the services of a pharmacist.
 
letsrun11 said:
Do you ever get bored? Ever miss the retail pharmacy life?
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i do get bored, but i remind myself that i am very fortunate to have such a lax job with solid pay in this job market. this is why i kiss the floor, i'm in a good location and the job market is terrible right now for pharmacists
aznhomieboi1689 said:
So how does the store make money? No one comes in means no business. Wonder how long the store and your job will last if this keeps up.
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the store is probably very profitable. some customers that come in drop $500+ on marijuana products. when we have hot products they sell out QUICK. people come in and scoop up all the flower in one go, people want their cannabis and they will pay big bucks to get it. even just a few customers in a day can total up to thousands of dollars in spend. i wouldn't be surprised if the store profits a **** ton
 
Couple of thoughts:

1. By your description of the business, they're going to run out of money by....tomorrow. Start looking.
2. If by some miracle it survives, you're toast as soon as your position isn't required since you basically said you add no value. They've already typed the letter and petitioned the regulatory body, it's a certainty.
3. You've said MULTIPLE times they require a "medical professional" to be there...I'm literally picturing an MA yelling at people over the phone "You don't need to speak to the Dr, it says Amoxicillin 1mg q8hrs for 10 days, can't you read!". Pharmacist is definitely not required, probably just for show. That's why you're making less than a nurse.
4. The legal question still hasn't been addressed. Are you still a licensed pharmacist and will you still be licensed once the board finds out where you work?

That said, it sounds like a sweet gig.
 
As someone that utilizes a dispensary for his daughter, I have a few things to say.

He has stated that all he has to do is be available for consults and to sign forms. The rest is "having a pharmacist present during operating hours". He isn't required to do anything other than be available, but this doesn't mean there aren't customers. The two dispensaries near me are full of customers from before open to after close. They are cleaning up big. Having a pharmacist requirement means there are even less dispensaries where this pharmacist is and means even more business for the owner. If it was hemorrhaging money, I doubt the owner would have opened up in the first place. Until it goes statewide recreational, there are huge profit margins to be had.

Now, once it's no longer necessary to retain a pharmacist, this will change, but it sounds like OP is already working on his next business. I say it's a smart move, enjoy your free time and make the most of it while you can. I was looking into similar positions, but my state doesn't have the pharmacist requirement so no jobs that would pay enough to sustain me.
 
So I looked at some numbers and what I found was the typical dispensary has about 100 customers per day that spend about $50 per visit. Some may think this is too low but I like these numbers

With profit margins at around 20% after taxes, I hope this place is bringing in more then $5k a day.

That's only about $270k to pay all other employees outside the OP plus building expenses.

Don't forget about the $250k+ easily to open the dispensary in the first place.

Get rid of the pharmacist or have a pharmacist open the dispensary themselves and it could be a pretty good business.
 
wagrxm2000 said:
So I looked at some numbers and what I found was the typical dispensary has about 100 customers per day that spend about $50 per visit. Some may think this is too low but I like these numbers
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Haha! 50 bucks a visit! Interesting to see that pot prices have not changed much over the years..
 
JustFillIt said:
Haha! 50 bucks a visit! Interesting to see that pot prices have not changed much over the years..
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From what I was reading, prices have been actually forced down due to competition.
 
I'm all about gloom and doom but I have to say I'm happy for the OP. For what it's worth, this is the job that allows the OP to make use of (his?) hard-earned license, and not robbing him of his mental health and energy so he can work on his side hustle. Few of us can claim this luxury at our current jobs, and fewer can say that they can make their "free" work time worthwhile.
 
Honestly, the job sounds relaxing. I'd just try to get a per diem job on the side to keep some more traditional experience on your resume just in case we see national recreational legalization.
 
Chrish said:
Instead of posting negative comments, people should take advantage of OP’s experience and ask relevant questions. He is probably the only poster on this forum with this unique experience.

Being a d!ck doesn’t help anyone.
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I think people are actually giving OP good feedback

I would want a job in a busy retail store that I know will be around for awhile other then a job where once the owners get smart they will let me go.
 
wagrxm2000 said:
I think people are actually giving OP good feedback

I would want a job in a busy retail store that I know will be around for awhile other then a job where once the owners get smart they will let me go.
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I disagree. I think once he has experience making close to 6 figures in this unrelated job. He will be able to take on other emerging roles within the industry now that he has proven he is "worth" that much

Just because he trained as a pharmacist doesn't mean he has to work as one forever, just like how many industry pharmacists job roles evolve to the point that they don't even keep their licenses active. Gotta roll with opportunities as they come
 
Saiyo said:
I disagree. I think once he has experience making close to 6 figures in this unrelated job. He will be able to take on other emerging roles within the industry now that he has proven he is "worth" that much

Just because he trained as a pharmacist doesn't mean he has to work as one forever, just like how many industry pharmacists job roles evolve to the point that they don't even keep their licenses active. Gotta roll with opportunities as they come
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Other emerging roles?

You mean another sucker thinking they need a pharmacist?
 
What future does a pharmacist have in the marijuana industry? Oklahoma tried to get pharmacists involved and it got a lot of backlash before the OSBP got caught committing fraud. Stoners can grow and sell their own weed. They don't need a pharmacist to help them do their work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him. I just don't see the long term growth of pharmacists in the marijuana business.
 
Chrish said:
Instead of posting negative comments, people should take advantage of OP’s experience and ask relevant questions. He is probably the only poster on this forum with this unique experience.

Being a d!ck doesn’t help anyone.
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If I could give this post 10 likes I would.

If I could make 100k/year and all I had to do was burn one down every day with no strings attached - sounds nice...
 
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BenJammin said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him. I just don't see the long term growth of pharmacists in the marijuana business.
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Perhaps, but he's not growing anything long term in the marijuana biz. He is instead smoking them or so he claimed. Being able to openly light one up at work is a claim that no one else can make, not even Sparda. Forget job stability. This is immortality.
 
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