by Michelle Castillo | CNBC
Score one for the stoners: The pot industry is poised to be gigantic as more states embrace legalization. And, if you want to get in on the ground floor, several advocates say now is the right time to bet big on marijuana.
It’s important to note that the business is still illegal. Ryan Hurley, partner of Rose Law Group in Scottsdale, Arizona, admitted during a panel at the 2015 Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition in New York on Thursday that when clients ask him to protect them from going to jail, he can’t 100 percent guarantee it. While the federal government has recently turned a blind eye to companies who follow state regulations, Hurley said the policies could change after the 2016 election.
“This is still federally illegal,” he told CNBC. “I get a lot of people who come in and talk to me because I’m a lawyer. Can I set up some corporate structure to protect them? They can still go to jail for doing this. It’s the number one thing to keep in mind.” If you’re willing to take the risk, Hurley pointed out that while Washington and Colorado already have a heavy concentration of businesses, newly legalized states like Alaska and Oregon have more opportunities to get a license for a growing facility. He added Colorado is also notoriously hard for nonresidents to start marijuana-related businesses on its soil.
