Michael Montgomery and David Downs writing for California Watch have opened up the finances of a well known dispensary, The Berkeley Patients Group. For growers and patients who complain that dispensaries are underpaying the farmer and overcharging the consumer, this article is a must read. Here is an excerpt, but I highly recommend reading the whole piece and mulling over the chart which appears larger at the source.

Two of the best years for Berkeley Patients Group were 2008 and 2009, when it recorded $17.4 million and $16.4 million, respectively, in total income from the distribution of marijuana buds, edible products infused with pot, as well as seeds, clones and other items (company discounts reduced the actual figures by $1.1 million in 2008 and $1.3 million in 2009). According to company documents, the cost for goods sold was about $10 million in 2008 and $9 million in 2009, leaving a gross profit margin close to 40 percent.

The biggest portion of the group’s operating expenses went to labor costs, which totaled $3.3 million in 2009, including more than $911,00 paid to co-directors Deborah Goldsberry, Etienne Fontan and Tim Schick.

Berkeley Patients Group’s former bookkeeper, Doug McVay, said salaries for top executives were increased by as much as 50 percent in 2009, and total compensation figures detailed in the documents reflected generous bonuses.