Along with lawyers and accountants — and of course the entire illicit market — consultants are generally thought to dominate the category that is humans making money of weed right now. This week Marijuana Business Journal left little to the imagination in its three-part look at how the little-known firm HdL Cos — ostensibly an auditor — became dominant.
Marijuana Business Journal
- HdL Cos functions as a “one-stop shop” for municipalities still figuring out how to regulate the industry and the scale of what they’d like it to be. Simultaneously, it’s supported 1,200 businesses in their quest to go legal.
- “No one else has come close” to the company’s level of clout, according to California Cannabis Industry Association’s Ben Bradley. HdL Cos reportedly has worked with at least 62 California counties. The company’s relationships and reputation are powerful enough that it doesn’t advertise.
- “That level of influence from a private, for-profit company has also inspired distrust from many cannabis advocates and has led to a bogeyman-style reputation for HdL in some circles,” according to MJ Biz Daily. The series’ third installment illustrates best how this dynamic plays out, as it profiles lead consultant Tim Cromartie, who has worked pro- and anti-cannabis assignments side by side.
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- An L.A. City Council woman wants to establish an enforcement program or task force to keep pot out of the hands of children. And here we thought there was such a program: Legalization.
My News LA
