dispensary financing
FDIC-insured banks can’t bank you. The SBA can’t fund a state-licensed dispensary. Your local equipment leasing company won’t write a contract on a vault system or a dispensary POS network. I work with two cannabis-specialty lenders who provide dispensary financing for build-out, security and vault systems, point-of-sale equipment, owner-occupied retail real estate, and the working capital that keeps a cash-heavy retail cannabis business running. One application, two real lenders, no wasted weeks pitching banks that were never going to say yes.
FDIC banks can’t fund retail cannabis. SBA can’t fund retail cannabis. I can.
Retail cannabis runs into the same federal wall every plant-touching operator hits, plus a few extra hurdles unique to the storefront business. Here is who can’t fund your dispensary and who can.
FDIC-Insured Banks
Federal deposit insurance creates federal compliance obligations. Almost no FDIC-insured bank will write a dispensary loan, and many won’t even hold dispensary deposits, which is why so many retail cannabis operators run on cash. This is why dispensary financing exists entirely outside the FDIC banking system.
The SBA
The SBA is a federal agency, and federal law prohibits SBA-guaranteed loans from funding any business that touches the cannabis plant, including state-licensed retail dispensaries. SBA programs that work for liquor stores and convenience retail do not exist for cannabis retail.
Cannabis-Specialty Lenders
A small group of non-bank lenders has built underwriting and capital structures specifically for licensed cannabis operators, and they are the foundation of the dispensary financing I arrange. They understand retail cannabis cash-flow, the state regulatory frameworks, and what a dispensary build-out actually costs. That is the whole point of working with me on a dispensary deal.
Dispensary financing operates inside a framework defined by federal regulation, state oversight, and industry advocacy
The gap between retail cannabis operators and FDIC banks isn’t an opinion or a marketing line. It is a documented regulatory environment, and a real industry has grown up around it. Here are three authoritative sources that shape the dispensary financing landscape: the federal agency that classifies cannabis, the national industry trade association advocating for retail cannabis operators, and the coalition of state regulators that licenses and oversees the dispensary markets my lenders fund in.
Controlled Substances Act · Drug Scheduling
The DEA classifies cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance. This is the federal classification that closes nearly every conventional financing door and creates the gap dispensary financing fills.
View DEA scheduling → National Cannabis Industry AssociationThe Largest U.S. Cannabis Trade Association
NCIA is the oldest and largest national trade association serving licensed cannabis businesses, including thousands of state-licensed retail dispensaries. If you operate a dispensary, this is the primary advocacy and education body shaping the policy environment your dispensary financing exists inside.
Visit NCIA → Cannabis Regulators Association · CANNRAThe National Coalition of State Cannabis Regulators
CANNRA brings together cannabis regulators from 40+ states and territories to share best practices and regulatory frameworks. Because my dispensary financing lenders fund licensed states only, the state regulatory body in your state is the gatekeeper for your eligibility. CANNRA is the umbrella organization for that landscape.
Visit CANNRA →Six ways I fund a licensed retail dispensary
Dispensary financing is its own product set, not a bank product with a different label. Here is what the two cannabis-specialty lenders I work with actually fund for retail cannabis operators.
Dispensary Real Estate
Purchase or refinance owner-occupied dispensary buildings. Retail cannabis real estate is zoning-locked and location-critical, which makes dispensary financing for real estate a specialty product. My lenders underwrite the asset on its retail cannabis use, not as generic strip-mall retail.
Dispensary Working Capital
Operating capital for licensed retail cannabis. This is the highest-volume dispensary financing request I see: cover payroll, restock inventory across the shelf, fund a state license renewal, and bridge the cash-deposit cycle that comes with running a heavily-regulated mostly-cash retail business.
Dispensary Line of Credit
Revolving dispensary financing for licensed operators. Draw what you need when you need it, repay, draw again. Built for the cash-flow swing of a retail cannabis business that takes deposits at the register but cannot wire from the vault same-day.
Dispensary Equipment Financing
Security and vault systems, surveillance, point-of-sale networks, display cases, scales, weighing and labeling equipment, packaging, and back-of-house infrastructure. Asset-collateralized dispensary financing for the equipment retail cannabis operators actually buy.
Dispensary Build-Out Financing
Whether you’re opening your first state-licensed dispensary or building out a second location, the build-out is where the bills stack up before revenue starts. Dispensary financing for build-out covers tenant improvements, security infrastructure, fixtures, and the capital it takes to get to your grand opening.
Dispensary Acquisition Financing
Buying an existing licensed dispensary or buying out a partner is one of the most active deal types in retail cannabis. Dispensary financing for acquisitions requires lenders who can underwrite the existing operating history, the license transfer, and the combined entity.
Not a dispensary? Tap your cannabis business type
If you operate somewhere else in the cannabis supply chain, the products, qualifying picture, and lender story are different. These are the sibling pages in my cannabis cluster.
Cannabis Business Financing · Hub
The overview page covering retail, cultivation, wholesale, and cannabis real estate. Start here if you’re not sure which vertical you fit, or if you operate across multiple cannabis verticals.
See the cannabis hub →Cannabis Cultivation Financing · Growers
Indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor cultivation. Grow-facility build-out, lighting, HVAC, irrigation, extraction equipment, and the harvest-to-sale cash gap.
See cultivation financing →Cannabis Wholesale Financing · Distribution
Inventory financing, invoice factoring on dispensary receivables, working capital for licensed cannabis wholesalers and distributors selling on net terms.
See wholesale financing →Cannabis Real Estate Financing
Owner-occupied cannabis facilities: cultivation buildings, dispensary properties, processing labs. Special-purpose real estate that conventional lenders walk away from.
See cannabis real estate →Six dispensary financing situations I fund
Dispensary financing isn’t just for the operator already open. The deals that close are often the ones nobody else is thinking about: the manager buying out the owner, the operator opening a second state-licensed location, the new license-holder facing the build-out bill. Find your situation below.
Manager / Employee Buyout
You’ve run the dispensary for years. The owner is ready to exit and wants you to take it over. Dispensary financing for succession deals is real, even when banks won’t touch it. Tell me the deal.
Discuss a buyout →Expansion / Second Location
You’re profitable in one licensed dispensary and ready to open the next. Dispensary financing for a second location requires lenders who underwrite your existing retail operating history as the collateral, not just the new building. I have them.
Fund the expansion →Competitor Acquisition
A competing licensed dispensary is for sale and you want to consolidate. Cannabis acquisition financing is a specialty. The lender has to underwrite both retail operations, the license transfer, and the combined entity. Bring me the deal.
Fund an acquisition →New License Holder · Build-Out
You won the dispensary license lottery or the merit-based application, and now you’re staring at a build-out bill before you’ve sold a single gram. Pre-revenue dispensary financing is harder than operating-dispensary financing, but my lenders consider strong license positions and collateral. Worth a call.
Fund the build-out →Refinance Existing Dispensary Debt
You took expensive bridge debt or high-rate working capital to get the dispensary open, and now you’re profitable and stuck in a rate that bleeds margin. Dispensary refinance is one of the most common deals I look at. Tell me what you owe and to whom.
Refinance my debt →Investor Funding A Dispensary
You’re not the operator, you’re the capital. You want to back a licensed dispensary with debt instead of equity. I work both sides of investor-funded dispensary deals when the operator-and-investor structure is clean. Call to discuss.
Structure investor capital →A licensed dispensary owner went to seven banks before calling me.
Every one of them said the same thing: “We don’t bank cannabis.” Two of them ended the call mid-sentence. The dispensary needed working capital to expand to a second state-licensed location across town, and they had real revenue, a clean compliance record, and four years of retail operating history. None of that mattered to an FDIC-insured bank. I matched them to one of my two cannabis-specialty lenders, the file was reviewed by people who actually understand dispensary financing underwriting, and the operator got a real term sheet instead of a polite goodbye. That is the difference between calling a bank and calling me. Don’t Beg the Bank! Get funded instead.
State inspection Tuesday. Vault wasn’t installed. Doors weren’t supposed to open without it.
The new dispensary was eleven days from grand opening. The build-out was 90% done. The lease was running, the staff was hired, and the state inspection was on the calendar for a Tuesday morning. What wasn’t installed yet: the commercial-grade vault, the surveillance network the state required, the dispensary POS system, and the cash recyclers behind every register. The vendor was ready to ship within a week, but needed payment before the truck left the dock. The owner’s bank wouldn’t underwrite cannabis equipment. No equipment leasing company would write a contract on dispensary security gear.
I matched the file to one of my two cannabis-specialty lenders and structured a $240,000 dispensary equipment financing package covering the vault, surveillance, POS, and cash-handling infrastructure. Funded in six business days. The equipment shipped on time, the state inspector signed off, and the dispensary opened on schedule. The owner is paying it down out of operating revenue, with the financed equipment as collateral. Dispensary equipment financing is the answer when the build-out is real but the bank isn’t.
What it takes to get dispensary financing
Dispensary financing is its own underwriting world. Here is the honest picture of what it takes to qualify, so neither of us wastes time on a deal that won’t fly.
What helps you qualify
- A valid retail cannabis license issued by your state regulatory authority
- Operating in a state where retail cannabis is legal and regulated
- Real retail operating history with documented revenue (12+ months preferred)
- Reasonable personal credit on the principals
- Owner-occupied dispensary real estate as collateral helps significantly
- Clean compliance record with state cannabis regulators
Straight talk on dispensary lending
- Dispensary financing costs more than conventional retail financing. The federal-illegality risk is priced in.
- I cannot fund unlicensed dispensary operators. Period.
- Terms vary by state. A dispensary deal in California prices differently than one in Oklahoma or Michigan.
- The two lenders I work with fund licensed states only. They will not touch federally illegal-only states.
- Specific rates, terms, and LTV are quoted per deal. Competitive industry rates, terms vary by state and deal.
- Pre-approval typically 3 to 5 business days depending on loan product, license verification, and state.
Apply For Dispensary Financing
I personally review every submission. Two cannabis-specialty lenders, one application. I never text, I call you back directly.
Dispensary operators need a broker who actually has cannabis lenders
I am Kevin Kermeen, a nationwide commercial loan advisor. Dispensary financing is a vertical I built lender relationships for because the gap is real. Most brokers will take a dispensary call, shop it nowhere productive, and string you along for weeks. I will tell you on the first call whether your dispensary deal fits one of my two cannabis-specialty lenders, and if it doesn’t, I will tell you that too. I personally review every dispensary financing application, I call you directly, and I never text.
Don’t Beg the Bank! Get funded instead.
Dispensary financing FAQ
Can I get an SBA loan for my dispensary?
No. The SBA is a federal agency, and federal law prohibits SBA-guaranteed loans from funding any business that touches the cannabis plant directly, including state-licensed retail dispensaries. I never quote SBA programs for dispensary financing because they do not exist for retail cannabis. My dispensary financing solutions come from non-bank, non-SBA capital sources built specifically for licensed cannabis retailers.
What states do you fund dispensaries in?
My two cannabis-specialty lenders provide dispensary financing to licensed retail cannabis operators in states where cannabis is legal and regulated. They do not fund dispensaries in states where cannabis is not licensed at the state level. Specific state coverage varies by lender and product, which I confirm on our first call once I know your state.
What does dispensary financing cost?
Dispensary financing costs more than conventional retail commercial lending. Lenders price in the federal-illegality risk, the limited secondary market for cannabis assets, and the regulatory complexity unique to retail cannabis. I quote competitive industry rates for dispensary financing, and terms vary by state, license type, deal size, and collateral. I will give you real numbers once I know your deal.
Do you fund dispensary startups with no operating history?
Dispensary startup financing is significantly harder than operating-dispensary financing. My two lenders generally want to see documented retail revenue and at least 12 months of licensed operating history, though strong collateral (especially owner-occupied dispensary real estate) and exceptional credit can change that calculation. New license-holders with capital, build-out plans, and a clean state record sometimes qualify for build-out facilities. I will tell you honestly on the first call whether your dispensary startup fits.
Can you fund a dispensary build-out before we open?
Yes, this is one of the most common dispensary financing situations I see. New license-holders staring at a vault bill, a security buildout, a POS system, and tenant improvements before they’ve sold a gram. My two cannabis-specialty lenders look at build-out financing when the license is solid, the location is locked in, and the operator has skin in the game. Pre-revenue underwriting is harder than operating underwriting, but it is real for the right deal.
Can I get dispensary financing to buy out my boss or the current owner?
Yes, this is a real and increasingly common type of dispensary financing deal. Manager and employee buyouts of licensed retail cannabis operations are something my two cannabis-specialty lenders look at, especially when the buyer has documented operating history inside the dispensary, the seller is willing to provide a transition period, and the deal structure is clean. Bring me the deal terms (price, seller financing component if any, your operating history) and I will tell you on the first call whether it fits.
Can you fund a dispensary acquisition where I’m buying a competitor?
Yes. Dispensary competitor acquisitions are one of the harder dispensary financing deals because the lender has to underwrite two retail operations, the combined entity, and the regulatory implications of the license transfer. My two cannabis-specialty lenders do this work. Expect a longer underwriting timeline than a single-location deal, more documentation, and a deeper conversation about post-acquisition operating plan and license-transfer timing.
I’m trapped in expensive dispensary bridge debt. Can you refinance me out of it?
This is one of the most common dispensary financing requests I see. Operators take expensive bridge or high-rate working-capital debt to get the dispensary open, then get stuck paying it down at rates that bleed margin once they’re profitable. Dispensary refinance is real if your retail operating history justifies a better lender, the existing debt is in good standing, and the new deal makes financial sense for both sides. Tell me what you owe, who you owe it to, and what your dispensary revenue looks like.
What does it cost to work with you?
Nothing up front to me. I am paid a broker fee by the lender at closing, never added to your loan amount or rate.* Some partner lenders may require a commitment deposit when you accept their term sheet, which is separate from any fee to me and disclosed before you commit.
Dispensary financing from cannabis-specialty lenders. One application, real answers.
Federal law locked the banking system against retail cannabis. It did not lock the entire lending system. I provide dispensary financing through two cannabis-specialty lenders inside the gap. One application, two real lenders, a real answer.
Disclosures. Cannabis remains federally illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. Financing referenced on this page applies only to cannabis businesses operating in compliance with applicable state law in jurisdictions where cannabis is licensed and regulated. Nothing on this page is legal advice; consult cannabis counsel licensed in your state. Loan amounts, rates, terms, and funding speed reflect typical cannabis-specialty lender programs and are not guarantees; they vary by lender, state regulatory framework, license type, creditworthiness, collateral, and deal structure. Not all applicants are approved.* No upfront fees refers to fees payable to 75BizLoans.com; I am compensated by the lender at closing. Some partner lenders may require a commitment fee or deposit upon your acceptance of their term sheet; any such fee is the lender’s, is disclosed before you commit, and is separate from any compensation to me. Final eligibility, rate, term, and structure are determined by the lender. This is not a commitment to lend. 75BizLoans.com does not provide SBA loans, FDIC-insured bank products, or any federally-guaranteed financing for cannabis businesses because such financing does not exist for plant-touching cannabis operators under current federal law.