To grow for a living, you need a front man (or woman). Someone who has a legitimate income, pays their taxes, etc. You then contribute by paying for the cash-related stuff like groceries, gas, drugstore and hardware store trips, purchasing whatever electronics or appliances the place needs, and so on, while they take care of the non-cash related stuff.
The next thing you need is a retailer, and you act as the wholesaler. You only deal with one person, ever, and let him buy from you at half street price or thereabouts. You don't make as much money, but your risk is confined to one person, and one deal per crop. His customers never know who you are, or if they do, they don't know you're the supplier. No deals and no foot traffic wherever you are growing. If you're careful about selecting your retailer, and you have a front man, then you're golden.
As far as retirement and/or insurance goes, you can still take care of all that, but it depends on how much money your front man makes. If he makes a goodly amount, then he can probably launder $500/month or so for you, maybe more. Like, you buy him an iPhone with cash, and he writes you a check for that amount. You can receive up to $100k/year in gifts, tax-free. You can make about $500/month cash deposits too, but don't put enough money in any savings accounts to earn more than around $450 in annual interest, combined.
Hmm, I seem to know a lot about this.