Specific Licensing Concerns

INTRODUCTION Before beginning this discussion, listen to the following interview with Tahir Johnson. (Click here for a transcript of the recording). Given what you now know about licensing difficulties for some specific groups, think about the barriers for the new startup specifically. Biographical information about each founder is listed below: headshot of QuentinQuentin Occupation: Extraction Chemist Age: 46 (African-American male) Experience: 8 years working in the cannabis industry. 22 years in the food industry. Accolades: Awarded three Green Diamond Leaf awards, including Best in Class - Extracts in 2018. Other Information: Quentin began his career apprenticing in the food industry helping to develop extracts. When adult recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Washington, he applied for a job as an extraction chemist with the hopes of transferring his skills from food to cannabis. Shortly after being hired and moving to Tacoma, he was arrested on a drug paraphernalia charge while driving through Oregon with a piece of laboratory equipment. He was sentenced and served six months in prison but was able to salvage his career upon release. Quentin does not have a college degree but he has completed three certificate programs while working in the food industry. headshot of Clayton Clayton Occupation: Grower (Caucasian male) Age: 38 Experience: 8 years working professionally in the field. Accolades: Awarded three Green Diamond Leaf awards, including Best in Class - Extracts in 2018. Other Information: Clayton started growing as a hobby when he was in high school. When he was 19, he was arrested and charged with drug possession but was sentenced to probation. His interest in growing remained a hobby until adult recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Washington. He moved to Tacoma and got a job working as a grower at the same company as Quentin. Clayton does not have any educational experience after high school. Quentin and Clayton met four years ago while working in Tacoma. After getting to know each other and recognizing that they shared a drive to succeed on their own in the field, they started working on the side developing new products including extracts, edibles, and topicals. INSTRUCTIONS Earlier in this module, you discussed general barriers to entry for any cannabis-based business. While all businesses, even those not in the cannabis industry, are going to have some issues getting started, cannabis-based businesses can potentially have some more unique issues. Even going back to your introduction to the founders you may have noticed some potential red flags. Take a close look at the profiles of each of the founders. Study everything about them that could affect their ability to get a license. Discuss with the other committee members what will be the major barriers for these founders to get a license. Assume that this discussion is only within the committee and while it will be used to make suggestions to the startup, the founders will not have access to the discussion board so what you discuss will remain private.