Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Telemedicine

The medical marijuana industry in Los Angeles and Orange County is still growing at an astounding rate. With there being some room for improvement in developing new ways for patients in need to have easier access to their medicine, and a lot more money to made, it should not be surprising that there is such a high rate of growth.

However, despite the obvious damage, those entering the industry need to make sure that whatever they do to assist patients and maximize revenue will not be seen as interfering with the ever changing medical cannabis laws in the State of California and the local ordinances in the Los Angeles area.

According to a recent news feature form Forbes, a new service is offering what they refer to as telemedicine appointments, where they can get patients a prescription for medical marijuana without the patients having to leave home. A woman and her brother founded the company and started selling marijuana-infused gummy bears about four years ago. While, as they noted, the local ordinances at that time were more like guidance than black and white laws, they did everything they could to comply, but they were constantly in fear the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would break down their door at any moment and arrest them.

The particular business continued to operate and grow as the Los Angeles medical marijuana market grew, and they transformed into to a large-scale cultivation cooperative and delivery service with nearly 30,000 patients. This year, the company is on track to earn $5 million in gross revenue, which is a long way from selling gummy bears. This year, they are expanding the business even more and are doing so with a new telemedicine program.

What is interesting is how they grew from a small operation to a large medical cannabis business. Soon after they started making the gummy bears, they were being sold in 60 dispensaries, and this all happened within two months. They then realized they could deliver it themselves and cut out the need to lose profit to the to the dispensaries, so they bought a single delivery truck. Today they have more than 50 truck drivers with multiple routes designed around an efficient routing system.

However, if you are planning to open a delivery or distribution service for medical cannabis in the Los Angeles area, you should speak with an experienced attorney to make sure you are not running the risk of violating the law. Making sure your business is legal at the beginning of the process will often save you a lot of money and anxiety later, should something go wrong.

Eventually, they noticed other companies were starting to spend a lot of money to develop high quality medical cannabis edibles including gummy bears, and it was becoming more difficult to compete. Rather than fighting these companies, they shifted focus to delivery entirely and are now delivering the edibles made by other companies. They already had advanced logistics systems in place and were better position to lead the delivery market than the production of edibles.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:
SpeedWeed’s New Telemedicine Appointments Offer Marijuana Prescriptions Without Leaving Home, December 6, 2015, Forbes, by Julie Weed
More Blog Entries:
Study: Teen Marijuana Use Not Linked to Health Trouble, Aug. 4, 2015, Los Angeles Marijuana Lawyer Blog