Becoming a Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Caregiver

Becoming a medical marijuana caregiver is similar to starting any marijuana business. You will need customers (patients) and a product (medical marijuana). Finding and keeping both of these necessities requires time and/or money.

The State of Massachusetts requires all persons applying to be a medical marijuana caregivers to complete a criminal background check and submit all of the required paperwork. In order to begin cultivating medical marijuana, a caregiver must begin by having a qualifying patient designate them as their caregiver on the state application form.

Example of the costs:

– The Caregiver license fee is not yet determined
– The maximum number of patients a caregiver can cultivate for is not yet determined
– Background check fee paid to the state is not yet determined
– Lights, supplies, tables, and other equipment: $1,500+
– Monthly utilities: $200 – $1,000+
These are all general examples. Some caregivers spend as little as $1,500, while others spend as much as $50,000 in setting up their grow operations. All of this depends on:

– How experienced you are with building grow rooms
– How large and high-tech your grow space is going to be
– What cultivation medium you will use: soil, hydroponics, deep water culture, aeroponics, etc
– Your quality of growing equipment.
– Caregivers operating legally can make from $20,000 to $40,000+ per year.

More factual information will be provided as soon as Massachusetts creates the medical marijuana laws in May 2013.