# Want to work with weed? Heres the straight dope on marijuana jobs



## burnin1 (Jun 13, 2016)

From thecannibist.com

*Want to work with weed? Heres the straight dope on marijuana jobs*

*Insiders share their stories from the 'fastest-growing industry in America'; marijuana isnt included in mainstream jobs reports, but another report says pot outsold Girl Scout cookies in 2015 *







Published: Jun 13, 2016

By *Brooke Edwards Staggs*, _The Orange County Register_

SANTA ANA, Calif.  Some have messy buns and sleeve tattoos. Some have salon cuts and $2,000 suits.

Some are joining blue-collar unions, getting health benefits as they grow and sell a plant theyve long loved. Some say they never touch it, but theyre standing guard outside shops and fiercely lobbying legislators in Sacramento to ensure that others can.

As public support and legalization of cannabis spreads, those whove quietly worked in Californias medical marijuana industry are slowly emerging from the shadows. And professionals who never would have considered joining the industry a couple of years ago are leaving behind traditional careers in law, real estate and finance as they flock to what they see as the next big boom.

The fastest-growing industry in America is marijuana, period, said Jake Bhattacharya, who recently quit his information technology job to open a cannabis testing lab in Upland.






With medical marijuana legal in 25 states and recreational use allowed in four, pot outsold Girl Scout Cookies in 2015, according to a report from Marijuana Business Daily, a 5-year-old news website covering the industry.
Pot retail sales are expected to hit $4 billion this year, and Marijuana Business Daily is projecting that number could nearly triple by 2020.

The actual size of the industry may already be much larger, too, since California hasnt tracked its massive medical marijuana market in the 20 years since its been legal. And it could skyrocket if voters here and a handful of other states approve recreational use Nov. 8.

The lack of reliable data coupled with the niche aspect of the industry is why cannabis  and the connected marijuana jobs  isnt included in mainstream economic and jobs reports, according to Christopher Thornberg, director of the Center for Economic Forecasting and Development at UC Riverside.

Its still too fly-by-night, Thornberg said.

Californias Employment Development Department doesnt track the diverse daisy chain of cannabis jobs either. And several recruitment firms said they dont deal with the industry.

Job seekers and employers instead turn to Craigslist or specialized sites. Theres a recent post on WeedHire.com for a $75,000-a-year account manager at GFarmaLabs, which makes marijuana products in Anaheim, and one on 420careers.com for growers and trimmers at Buds & Roses dispensary in Los Angeles.






Working in the industry isnt without complications.

It remains illegal at the federal level, which limits access to financial services and causes lingering concerns over raids by federal authorities.

Californias market is also emerging from two decades of nearly nonexistent regulation and intense battles with local governments who were less than welcoming to potrepreneurs. That legacy means newly licensed shops often still rely on growers and manufacturers in the gray market, and they struggle to survive alongside unlicensed operators who arent paying the same hefty taxes.

Then theres the glaring disapproval that comes from shrinking (per the polls) but vocal pockets of the public. Fear of backlash from conservative family members or future business associates kept a number of cannabis workers from speaking on the record for this story.

Lets face it, of course there is a stigma, said Juliet Murphy, a career coach who runs Juliet Murphy Career Development in Tustin.

Murphy expects that it would raise eyebrows for more traditional employers to see a weed industry job on someones résumé. However, Murphy sees it as less of an issue going forward as the industry becomes more mainstream and as millennials continue to transform the workforce.

There are still a lot of kinks that are being worked out. But I think this presents an opportunity for a lot of jobs, provided that people do it right, Murphy said. I think in the next 5 to 10 years, its going to be huge.






*Considering a career in cannabis?*

Heres some advice from Julie LaCroix, a career counselor based in Newport Beach, and Juliet Murphy, an executive career coach in Tustin.

 Educate yourself on the legislation and regulations that impact the industry and stay up to date on changes.

 Join a professional association such as the National Cannabis Industry Association or Women Grow.

 Treat it as a legitimate industry. For managers, that might mean using traditional employment sites to recruit. For workers, that means being professional.

 Dont get in it for the money. As with any job, there has to be a passion there, either for medical marijuana itself or for the particular career youre pursuing in the industry.

 Focus on developing skills and relationships and providing value to your employer rather than simply knowing the product and market. These will transfer if the volatile industry flips or if you decide to move away from marijuana down the road.

 Be aware of the stigma, and how working in the industry might impact your status in the larger workforce. If status is something you value, that might be problematic due to the stigma that still exists over the marijuana industry.

 But dont let fear of that stigma stop you if youre passionate about this industry. Many other industries  from alcohol to mortgage banks  also carry some stigmas. But people manage to move in and out of these industries every day.

 Realize that industry experience is a bonus, but bringing the right skill set is more important. So even if youve never worked in marijuana, your experience as an account manager or security guard can apply.

*Here are stories from a diverse group of five locals willing to speak publicly*  some for the first time  about what its like to work in Southern Californias legal marijuana industry:

*Meet a budtender**:*

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-718961-urbanski-first.html






*Meet a technology developer:*

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-718963-norris-industry.html






*Meet a public relations specialist:*

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/simard-718962-industry-dinenberg.html






*Meet a lab technician:*

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/industry-718960-bhattacharya-labs.html







*Meet a delivery coordinator**: *

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-718959-siegel-industry.html






Sky Siegel of Costa Mesa uses an iPad to coordinate medical cannabis deliveries for a dispensary out of the South Bay. 

This story was first published on OCRegister.com

http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/06/13/marijuana-jobs-inside-dope/56096/


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## Keef (Jun 15, 2016)

Nice post Burning 1--- Never have smoked a legal joint in my life !-- Tell me more about this grey area sounds like my kind of place !---U can sell weed and not pay taxes ? ---How hard U think it'll be for me to get one of them CO2 hash oil machines to Texas ? ---  I got a simple plan grow it --extract it --Fill e-cig cartridges and wholesale them far away !-- Or just supply a couple street dealers !-- Be nice to be legal but they gonna want $100,000 for this license and $100,000 for that permit !--- Ain't fair to the small operator and I refuse to obey an unjust law !-- So I guess they'll still be chasing me after prohibition ends !


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## Keef (Oct 19, 2019)

I don't think U belong here !


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## Keef (Oct 19, 2019)

U got a badge number ?-- U looked up this site and signed up just to post that ?-- Why are U here ?


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## stinkyattic (Oct 19, 2019)

Edit: Deleted by author due to concerns over content, plus my own embedded quote of original spam post that was removed by mod staff.
Cheers, guys. ; )


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## Keef (Oct 20, 2019)

Betsy Devos ?-- She's hot !-- I wonder if she would spank me if I was bad ?-- I'm always bad !


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## JGVermont1965 (Oct 21, 2019)

Wow, kind of harsh on the new guy aren't you?
Maybe he was just trying to get a point across about there being plenty of work aside from the marijuana industry and you can still catch a long bid for growing and or selling marijuana.
And for at least 50 years I have been using the term "guys" when referring to a group of people unless it's ALL female and for anyone to be upset over this guy starting a statement by saying "Guys" is asinine and intolerant and has no place in marijuana forums.
These forums seem to be going downhill lately, I've just been ghosting around without signing in and I'm seeing quite a number of nasty little comments and insults for harmless things.
I thought these forums were for helping each other out and making friends through our love of a common thing. At least that's what they used to be. Hopefully they will be again someday.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 21, 2019)

JG, this was straight up SPAM.  I have deleted it as spam.  I always feel that spammers deserve at least a bit of derision.


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## Lesso (Oct 21, 2019)

Maybe even slight abuse.....


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## Keef (Oct 21, 2019)

Does this mean I'm not gonna get a spanking ?-- but I was bad !


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## stinkyattic (Oct 21, 2019)

Hey JG I feel badly if you missed the deleted post and found my reply overly harsh, but let me put some background into it.
The guy appears to have joined the site with no more intent than posting a link to a sketchy for -profit "vocational system" (ironically these are feeling the ugly side of lawsuits lately which makes his choice of spam venue even funnier), and managed to do it in a way that was pretty darn insulting to a group of intelligent adults, many or most of whom are already all too aware of the stigma and dangers of growing weed,  even with the limited medical protections some states offer. Years of living with the fear of incarceration over growing a safe and useful plant isn't something easily forgotten. I think by the time we've come out of the shadows enough to even form a community at all, the last thing anyone needs is an e-marketer trying to shame us . You wouldn't join a competition bbq forum to yell at the locals about the evils of meat, or a DV survivors group to scold the participants for getting divorced. I think flaming the trolls a bit is warranted! I'd hardly be offended if the mods removed my post; I may remove it myself since the offensive material is embedded. 
The guys bit ...ehhh I call my girlfriends guys too! But trolls are trolls, and fair game in my book.

Sorry Keef you might have to take a rain check on your wishes... haha goof ball! : P


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