Legal marijuana jobs booming, study finds

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill


BY REID WILSON - 02/17/21 02:10 PM EST

The legal marijuana industry is growing faster than almost any other business in the United States as more states approve marijuana for recreational and medicinal use.

A new report from the industry analyst company Leafly and Whitney Economics shows the legal marijuana industry added 77,000 new jobs in 2020. Nationally, the industry supports about 321,000 jobs, a 32-percent increase over the previous year — at a time when the broader economy shrank by 3.5 percent.

That figure represents jobs in only 37 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical consumption.

“At a time when workers across many sectors were being laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic last year, it seems that the cannabis industry was actually adding jobs — and in a big way,” said Tom Angell, editor and publisher of the Marijuana Moment newsletter.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/539242-legal-marijuana-jobs-booming-study-finds

[Warpy]

1. Here in NM, they're arguing about which bill to pass

I wish they'd pass something, the state needs the revenue and I could use the pain control.

[Midnight Writer]

2. I chatted with a bud tender in Illinois. She is very happy with her pay.

I reckon if you have somebody handling your expensive product, it would be a good idea to pay them well.

[The Wizard]

7. The profit margin

for growing what is essentially a weed is enormous.

[dhill926]

3. here where I live in SoCal,

the workers are all very young. So good for them, if this is a decent paying job.

[BigmanPigman]

4. The staff at my local dispensary

told me that when the state increases taxes (which is done a lot!) the staff doesn't get any increase in pay.

[Warpy]

5. I'm not a bit surprised.

An article was in science news yesterday giving it an incredibly high rating for pain relief for women with endometriosis.

Just think, a weed that most people can use with few side effects, is not addictive, doesn't promote dependency, doesn't create increasing tolerance, and works on pain.

It doesn't work for everybody, of course. However, I can see a future with combination pills of cannabinoids and extremely low dose opioids giving the same level of relief as strong opioids with fewer side effects and less dependency.

I hope I'm right.

[shanti]

6. And hemp?

I've always envisioned a time when the fields lining I-5 thru the CA central valley, are green with hemp. Such a GREEN crop with so many uses.

[Warpy]

8. I'm an investor in both pot and hemp

and I agree wholeheartedly. Banning industrial hemp because Harry Anslinger hated Mexicans was one of the stupidest things this country has ever done, and that's saying a lot.

I don't honestly give a rip if my investment pays off. I do hope pot is rescheduled and one of the most useful plants Mother Earth has given us will no longer be demonized by a bunch of self righteous bigots.

I especially want to see more research into cannabinoids. The human body has cannabinoid receptors for some reason.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

9. The amount of jobs in this industry is at an all time high nt

[Akoto]

10. My pain mgmt and psych decided this week to put me on medical marijuana...

Just have to go through the process of getting the card here in FL, which is pretty straightforward, and then visit the dispensary.

I'm honestly a little encouraged to have something new to try after over a decade of pills for my disability/chronic pain. They felt that, yeah, I had an inadequate QOL on the meds after this long and time to add something new (which just might help me reduce or go off of some of the old stuff).

I'm all for the folks who work in the industry doing well. Everything I hear from the doctors speaks well of the dispensary workers being caring and highly knowledgeable. What surprised me the most is that it's legal here in FL, where it's like the Thunderdome getting my meds. Hoping it works for me!