As I have repeatedly advised over the last 10 years, brokering wholesale cannabis is not legally protected. In a formal opinion issued yesterday which I have attached, MED states:
Facilitating or brokering a sale, therefore, is not one of the privileges granted to Licensed Transporters by the State Licensing Authority. Finally, only a person that is expressly authorized by the Medical Code, the Retail Code, and State Licensing Authority rules to sell marijuana, either directly to a consumer or patient or by transferring to another licensee, is permitted to do so. Further, a licensee who exercises privileges that are not granted by the State Licensing Authority for that license, may be suspended, fined or revoked for acting outside the scope of their licensed privileges. See §§ 44-11-601 and -901, and 44-12-601 and -901, C.R.S.
This opinion was issued in the context of a transporter’s inquiry, but you can see that MED also made sure to expand the opinion to anyone, not just transporters, who broker wholesale cannabis and cannabis products. Also, this “warning” should be understood to include the risk of criminal prosecution. Anyone who distributes cannabis, in any amount, without being licensed to do so commits a felony(s).
It is my view that there are no regulations that permit wholesale cannabis brokering since the activity necessarily involves profit sharing. However, based primarily on the prevalence of the activities in the industry, MED’s cannabis brokering opinion remains limited to transporter licenses. However, the MED is still investigating the matter and determining whether the opinion will be more broadly applied in the future. Until the MED says otherwise, you can still contract with brokers, although I would tread with caution until MED releases a formal opinion on the matter.