It might be helpful to note that a major reason for armed guards could be the inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws. When one doesn't allow law abiding citizens to participate in a seemingly reasonable manner, I don't think it is any surprise that criminals and other societal outcasts tend to fill the void....
(As an aside, even with the change to federal regulations earlier this year, it is unclear that it even affects and allows California dispensaries to legally deposit money as they are not state regulated, which I believe was a stipulation, but someone more informed might be able to correct me.)
> ...inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws...
I agree. This contradiction (partly legal, partly not) discouraged typical law-abiding citizens from entering the MMJ business.
I think there was also a tax angle, in that you had a hard time reporting the MMJ income as taxable, but if you didn't, you were evading taxes.
The operator of a dispensary up the street from me was pinched by the feds boarding a private plane with a suitcase containing about $60K in cash. (It's not like it was a flight to Mexico, it was all within CA.)
So, like it or not, because of the way we have regularized MJ, that's the type of incumbent "businesspeople" we have.
(As an aside, even with the change to federal regulations earlier this year, it is unclear that it even affects and allows California dispensaries to legally deposit money as they are not state regulated, which I believe was a stipulation, but someone more informed might be able to correct me.)