I don’t know how many people your friend is trying to supply, or how commercial his operation, or what a drug dealer calls “a lot of work”, but I have been around pot growing and it was easy and is the kind of activity people will love to do when it is legal, beer making is more complicated and few people want to do it, or keep doing it after trying it.
There is a reason that a few illegals can raise vast pot crops in the forests.
People need to quit pretending that pot plants are some complicated plant totally different than the routine gardening that is common to millions, including our old grandmothers and grandfathers.
The legal limit in CO is 6 or 7 plants per person and I think it’s 3 people in his household (though 1 isn’t partaking, but she still counts for the household limit). And it’s more work than he’s willing to do for money. Having seen the process on TV I wouldn’t do it. Way too much looking at small stuff. People won’t love to do it. A large quantity of medical growers bail on it after one harvest.
Beer making is EASY. Especially now. Just order a kit from Amazon, boil some water, pour it in, wait. I know at least a dozen home brewers. I know 1 home grower, and he doesn’t want to do it anymore.
Pot plants aren’t complicated. Harvesting is. It’s not like routine gardening.