“Don’t lie to your investors, and don’t be taken in by investments that don’t make sense. That’s the moral of this story…”

This topic is something that I never thought would resonate with me. While the content of this article interests me it also makes my blood pressure rise and my breath shorten.

In the beginning, the part of my life that was dedicated to cultivating marijuana was pretty isolating.   Not many people knew that I was a grower. Partially for safety, but also for judgement. I worked to pay the bills, and growing for my patients was something I enjoyed. It most certainly wasn’t a viable business. Then things began to change. Legislation was passed, recreational marijuana was on the ballot. The law passed, and there was echoing concern over what that would mean for the medical program, what that would mean for patients, and exactly where grower’s would stand in the new market.

Being so isolated it took time to connect with others, to discuss the changes and to understand what the right path was.  Everyone had differing ideas, most wanting to continue to operate as usual. For me, however, it became clear that I had to make a decision: cultivating marijuana was becoming a business, and I needed to grow with it or die.

The more people I met, the more I realized I was unequipped for this industry and became open to the idea of working with others.  The more people I met, the more I saw the benefit in partnership. I met people wanting to invest in me, people who wanted to share their land, and their resources with me to garden. It was too good to be true at first, and you know what they say about that.

I was never taught business, or investment. I was a student of humanities. When someone confidently entered my world with big business words like OpEx, ROI, Sweat Equity, Capital Call, I naively nodded and trusted that they must know what they are talking about. That this person was the partner I needed to handle the business aspects of the new market while I could continue doing what I loved: gardening.

I’m going to omit the details now. While rigorous specificity is the one of the things I appreciate in a story I can’t rehash everything here. I will say that intuition is real. Once the excitement and the high of having found what I had thought I wanted, things began to deteriorate. Things that were promised were rarely follow up on. I saw signs that previous partners were not treated or compensated properly. Previous employees stayed for short amounts of time and what I later learned left because they were not paid, or compensated what they were promised.

Once I realized what was happening, it was too late for me to back out.  No contract was signed. Not for lack of trying on my part, but because I was avoided or told that if I were to bring up our agreement or ask for clarification of my compensation that my partnership interest would have to be “reevaluated,” meaning diminished.  I was punished for standing up for myself. I was constantly reminded that I was replaceable, my contributions were meager, and I was lucky for this opportunity. My money was spent on this person’s individual home improvements, whimsical project ideas, and when I couldn’t afford to spend anymore on “operations” I was offered a predatory 20% interest short- term loan. And that wasn’t an annual percentage rate, that was an interest on capital.

While I’m sure there are two sides to this story there are somethings I know: I was manipulated, I was taken advantage of, and because of greed and short-sightedness what could have been a good partnership turned into a catastrophic disaster. I will admit that while however awful this partnership was, I’m glad I experienced it. Lesson most certainly learned.

What I can suggest: Make a contract. Really understand who you are investing in, or with. Understand who is investing in you. Understand each partner’s role and responsibilities. Ask questions, do your research. Always make sure you are protected. Hire a lawyer to help you understand any contract you are signing, it’s well worth the money.

If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.

Source: Marijuana Stock Fraud and Outsider Negligence | Canna Law Blog™