I'm currently in the process of refinancing my home and planning to get a pre approval so I could start looking for my first rental property.

Should I try to make sure I am pre approved for a loan already to get out of it?

A pre-approval usually involves providing real information to the lender and having them issue a light approval, which is then subjected to the full underwriting process.Sometimes they are used synonymously, and sometimes pre-qualified doesn't actually mean anything at all. 

I typically use a 15 Business day inspection period and "This Contract is contingent upon Buyer's partners' inspection and approval at the sole discretion of Buyer's partners any time before the inspection period ends.

Where we are, the permit process for approval is 6 months alone, sounds like you are in a market where that process is MUCH faster (which helps a TON with holding time/costs/interest).How many of these have you done? 

Right now I'm pretty much focused on shopping around for the best mortgage (pre-approval) and a agent with an investing mindset.

Is there a dollar limit that they need your approval for?

Another angle is to recognize that real estate does follow a cycle and perhaps you might direct your free cashflow to paying down debt or building up reserves rather than chasing prices.

I'm a lending specialist in the area and am happy to assist with a pre-approval / loan questions if needed. 

But the short, I'm in the cannabis industry in Colorado and concerned big/local banks will deny me a loan. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/22/topics/801783-colorado-cannabis-industry-and-getting-approved