The Struggle Is Real: What It’s Really Like to Be a Cannabis Retailer

When California passed Prop. 64, recreational cannabis was expected to become a booming industry, eclipsing even the wildly successful medical industry it replaced. While many operators in the cannabis scene were skeptical of the bill, others dove headlong into what they anticipated would be a new green rush. Countless brands popped up to take advantage of the expanded market, and dispensaries were expected to reap some of the biggest rewards of recreational legalization. As a result, one of the most salient misconceptions about retailers is that they are rolling in money.

But the reality is that many cannabis retailers are drowning in taxes, struggling to stay afloat. This myth was confronted with a sour dose of reality when Doobie Nights was burglarized in January. The shop was closed at the time, so no one was hurt, but the details that emerged were astonishing. Security footage revealed that the thieves pulled up in a Mercedes and a Maserati, wearing designer shoes that appeared to be worth thousands of dollars.

“It’s the rich robbing the poor,” Damon Crain, co-owner and general manager of Doobie Nights, said shortly after the incident.

Poor? How could the owner of a pot dispensary in the largest legal cannabis industry in the world possibly be poor? Turns out, there are more reasons than you’d expect. Between exorbitant taxes, a saturated retail market, and the inability to write off most business expenses, Doobie Nights, which celebrated its third anniversary last December, has still not turned a profit.