For educational purposes only, without supporting the illegal cannabis business, it’s important to understand why fronting—extending cannabis on credit—is often bad business, & dangerous particularly in informal settings.

When you front, you are essentially trusting someone to pay you after they’ve received the product, which immediately introduces risk. If you don’t know the person well, even if they’ve built trust by paying on time previously, you are vulnerable to deceit. A common tactic is for someone to gain trust by making a few timely payments before asking for a front. Once they have the product in hand, they may never pay you back, leaving you with a financial loss.

This is particularly risky in the cannabis trade, where transactions are often unregulated. You lack legal recourse if someone decides to disappear or take advantage of your trust. Moreover, fronting products encourages a mindset where customers feel they don’t need to uphold their end of the deal immediately, further increasing the chance of dishonesty or irresponsible behavior.

The only time fronting should be considered is when dealing with someone you know intimately, like a close friend or family member, where there is a deep foundation of trust. Even then, it’s important to be cautious. Without a longstanding relationship, offering fronts can be seen as an easy opportunity for theft, as there’s no upfront commitment required from the buyer.

Ultimately, this is just one of many reasons why fronting is bad business in general, but especially so in the cannabis world, whether legal or illegal. The best practice is to only do business where trust is rock-solid, and payment is guaranteed before any product exchanges hands.