Labor

The number of full-time marijuana jobs in the U.S. rose by nearly 5 percent during the past year, according to the latest annual industry report on employment in the cannabis sector. That’s a turnaround from the roughly 2 percent decline between 2022 and 2023, but otherwise it marks the slowest year-over-year growth going back to 2017. All told, legal cannabis in the nation supports more than 440,000 full-time equivalent jobs, says the new report from Colorado-based marijuana staffing company Vangst and the… Read more.

A cannabis company specializing in crafting pre-rolled joints has initiated a campaign to fill what they dub the "ultimate stoner dream job," seeking a content creator who will be compensated for "getting paid to smoke weed." DaySavers, a new direct-to-consumer brand under Custom Cones USA, declared on Monday their pursuit for this role. This full-time cannabis position entails managing social media content and event marketing, offering a salary of $70,420 and perks such as cannabis product testing and fully covered travel expenses… Read more.

The Navy has revised its approach regarding recruits arriving at boot camp with traces of marijuana in their system at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois. Rear Adm. James Waters, the director of the Navy's military personnel plans and policy division, disclosed to reporters on Thursday that the service now has the discretion to grant waivers for recruits initially testing positive for THC, the primary psychoactive element in marijuana. Waters emphasized that recruits who admit to marijuana use undergo evaluations to… Read more.

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said that a state rule requiring law enforcement recruits to have abstained from cannabis use for at least three years before they can be hired hurts the state’s police recruitment opportunities, according to a News4 report. Chief Jones, who is also the head of the Fraternal Order of Police and a Montgomery County Council Member, asked the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission in a letter last year to revise the regulations. Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative… Read more.

For several states across the U.S., the new year means new marijuana laws taking effect—touching on policies that range from employment protections to packaging requirements. As of Monday, cannabis legislation affecting at least five states will take effect, the product of a busy 2023 legislative season that saw major changes to marijuana laws throughout the country. Advocates are already gearing up for a fresh push to expand on reform achievements in 2024, but consumers, regulators and stakeholders should also be mindful of… Read more.

Budtenders at Strawberry Fields in Columbus, Ohio last week voted to join Teamsters Local 413, becoming the first in the state to join the union. In a statement Tony Jones, Teamsters International vice president at large and president of Local 413, said “This is the first of many proprietors” the union will be organizing in the state, “especially now that recreational cannabis is legal.” Estlin Hiller, a budtender at Strawberry Fields, called the vote “a huge moment for the Teamsters, Ohio, the labor movement, the… Read more.

Budtenders and inventory clerks Home State Dispensary in Kansas City, Missouri voted on Tuesday to join the Teamsters Local 955, making them the first cannabis workers in the Kansas City metro area to unionize and the first to join the Local 955. In a statement, Jerry Wood, Local 955 president, noted that cannabis sales in Missouri are on track to gross over $1 billion in revenue this year. Madison Ford, a budtender at Home State, said the workers “are standing… Read more.

Alaska Airlines is suing a mechanics union in federal court over a recent arbitration decision that reversed the 2022 firing of a technician who tested positive for THC. The company alleges the arbitration board that rendered the decision earlier this month “acted in excess of its authority by dispensing its own brand of industrial justice.” The five-page complaint, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, says the board reinstated the worker, Gregory Chappell, “based on… Read more.

Workers at Green Thumb Industries in Reno, Nevada last week voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 711.   In a statement, Green Thumb worker Derrick Miles said he and his colleagues “look forward to bargaining a fair contract.”  Last year, about 60 cannabis workers at the Green Thumb-owned RISE dispensary in Henderson voted to join the UFCW Local 711. In March, a complaint was filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accusing Green Thumb of violations related to labor law… Read more.

People working in the climate sector would be protected from being fired for testing positive for marijuana if they’re based in a legal state under a newly refiled bill from more than 40 congressional Democrats. The legislation, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), is titled the Climate Resilience Workforce Act. The bill itself covers substantial ground on climate policy, proposing to provide grants to support climate resilience jobs, fund existing workforce development programs and create a White House Office of Climate… Read more.

City officials in Anchorage, Alaska are considering exempting some city employees from penalties for cannabis use, Must Read Alaska reports. Instead of termination, employees who test positive for cannabis will be offered counseling and addiction treatment.   According to the proposed ordinance text, the purpose of the ordinance “is to repeal and replace the Municipality of Anchorage’s drug testing policy, specifically shifting from a punitive policy to a health-centered approach.”   “It also substantially changes the policy regarding the testing of marijuana for municipal employees. With… Read more.

Ultra Cannabis, a recreational dispensary headquartered in Michigan, is demonstrating its solidarity with the committed members and suppliers of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union during the ongoing strike against prominent automakers. In a gesture of support, Ultra Cannabis has unveiled an exclusive 25% discount for all UAW members and supplier associates who provide a valid union ID. The UAW strike, which commenced on September 15, 2023, has garnered widespread national interest, particularly among Ford Motor Co. employees. General Motors… Read more.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last week voted 30-14 to advance a measure that would allow cannabis consumers to qualify for security clearances and become federal employees, GovExec reports. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md) and Nancy Mace (R-SC), would end the practice of denying security clearances for federal employees who admit to past cannabis use. The proposal would also allow applicants who have been previously denied a federal job or security clearance in 2008 or later to seek reconsideration of that decision. … Read more.

Workers at a Phoenix, Arizona cannabis dispensary went on strike last week after the company, Curaleaf Midtown, failed to negotiate a contract despite the workers voting to join the UFCW Local 99 in June 2022, FOX 10 Phoenix reports. The strike marks the first time cannabis industry employees have gone on strike in Arizona.  The workers are demanding better pay and benefits, better working conditions, and safety. They are also demanding that Curaleaf Midtown reinstate a recently fired worker and start advancing union contract negotiations. According… Read more.

The chairman of a key House committee is proposing to significantly scale back a bipartisan bill on marijuana-related protections for federal workers that’s scheduled for a vote in his panel this week. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act—sponsored by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)—on Wednesday. But ahead of that meeting, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) says he will be filing an… Read more.

California lawmakers have sent the governor a bill that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use. One day after the Assembly passed an amended version of the Senate bill, the originating chamber on Thursday signed off on those changes in a vote of 30-8. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). When employers ask applicants about past marijuana use, it “not only dissuades candidates from applying for these positions but also leads to… Read more.

The regulated marijuana industry is grappling with significant challenges, particularly in the cannabis labor market. Recent headlines reveal that many employers, from large multistate operators to small cannabis businesses and related ancillary companies, have been compelled to reduce their workforce. Perhaps most notably, the past year marked the first contraction in the number of cannabis-related jobs in the United States since regulated marijuana markets were established. This unsettling development was detailed in a February 2023 report by Vangst, a Denver-based recruitment firm specializing… Read more.

Workers at three Rise dispensaries in Illinois have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement. Rise is a subsidiary of multi-state operator Green Thumb Industries (GTI), and the contract covers workers at two locations in Joliet and one in Niles. The agreement marks the end of what the Teamsters Local 777 described as a “protracted fight” with GTI that included a 13-day work stoppage that ended in May. Jim Glimco, Local 777 president, said the “fight should be a lesson to cannabis companies… Read more.

According to state regulators on Monday, a dozen cannabis businesses in California, including the collapsed distribution giant Herbl, are facing the possibility of license revocation. As first reported by MJ BIZ, these businesses had previously signed agreements with a labor union that has now been deemed illegitimate. Under California law, marijuana businesses must enter into a labor peace agreement with a legitimate and "bona fide" labor organization to obtain a state license. However, critics argue that some cannabis businesses nationwide are… Read more.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to lift a ban on hiring most state employees who fail pre-employment drug tests for cannabis, MLive reports. Drug screening for cannabis will remain the protocol for state-employed health workers, police, Department of Corrections Officers, and others employed in safety-sensitive positions.   Nearly 350 applicants have failed drug tests for cannabis and have been denied employment since legalization five years ago, according to the Civil Service Commission.  The change also ends current policies banning applicants who… Read more.

A leader of one of the country’s largest labor unions is calling on the Biden administration to enact a complete end to federal marijuana prohibition—and couple that reform with specific policies that address the harms of the drug war, protect cannabis workers and prevent monopolization in the industry. In a letter obtained by Marijuana Moment, the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) urged Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary… Read more.

Online cannabis platform Leafly recently removed two in-depth articles investigating the death of cannabis worker Lorna McMurrey, 27, who passed away after collapsing during her shift at a Trulieve cannabis factory in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Mike Crawford, the host of The Young Jurks podcast in Massachusetts, which broke the news of McMurrey’s death, first posted about the articles’ removal last week on LinkedIn. Leafly, which closed down its newsroom in March after reporting financial difficulties, offered no explanation for why the stories were pulled,… Read more.

There’s no denying that cannabis is a booming industry in New Mexico. But a new report from the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions reveals the impact on the job market. As of the end of 2022, more than 4,600 workers had joined the cannabis wave in New Mexico, the report notes. Most of those (88.3%) worked in dispensaries. Dispensaries made up the vast majority of cannabis-related businesses in the state. There are over 100 retail dispensers to every 10 cannabis manufacturers and… Read more.

A strong majority of licensed truck drivers in the U.S. say that federal marijuana laws need to change, and most say that current cannabis testing policies for drivers are steering people away from the transportation sector amid a driver shortage, according to a new report. With an estimated 65,000-driver deficit in the country, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) carried out an analysis of driver marijuana testing policies that also included revealing survey data from drivers who say that the… Read more.

A new front in the conflict between cannabis businesses and labor unions is forming as the cannabis industry keeps growing and gaining legal recognition in more states. A surge of labor-management disputes within the developing business is being heralded by recent triumphs for cannabis unions in achieving collective bargaining rights and better working conditions. These developments give light on how the cannabis industry is changing and how a complicated relationship between employers, workers, and organized labor is emerging as a result of… Read more.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission earlier this month proposed a rule change that would drop pre-employment drug testing for cannabis. The proposal would not change the requirements for safety-sensitive jobs, such as state police or commercial vehicle drivers.   “If approved, they would not impact current testing Adult-use cannabis has been legal in Michigan since 2018. The rules requiring cannabis testing as a pre-employment requirement in Michigan were implemented in 1998, according to an official communication from State Personnel Director John Gnodtke. The… Read more.

According to a recent analysis, the year 2022 witnessed the highest level of positive marijuana urine tests after workplace accidents in 25 years. According to an analysis by Quest Diagnostics released last Thursday, the percentage of the general U.S. workforce who tested positive for marijuana in their urine after having an accident at work rose to 7.3% in 2017. It was 6.7% in 2021, a tad less.  Remember, these are only tests done after a worker had an accident, if you didn't have… Read more.

Organized labor in the marijuana industry continues to achieve significant wage increases, as evidenced by the recent development of five PharmaCann adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Chicago. The unionized workers at these dispensaries have successfully negotiated a substantial 20% wage hike over three years. The recent wage increase is another noteworthy victory for organized labor, as it adds to the mounting pressure unions place on major cannabis industry operators throughout the country. According to Crain's Chicago Business, PharmaCann's Verilife dispensaries witnessed a significant development last… Read more.

Cannabis companies operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment, and labor disputes can have a significant impact on business operations, leading to lost revenue, reputational damage and even regulatory sanctions. Labor peace agreements establish a period when a workers’ union agrees not to strike, picket or otherwise disrupt an employer’s business operations, and the employer agrees not to engage in any actions that would undermine the union’s ability to organize the workforce. Such agreements can help to promote stability,… Read more.

Some companies to slow their hiring strategies. Legalization of recreational cannabis in Missouri led to a surge in job growth within the industry, but the trend could be slowing as labor needs are met. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the number of active licenses to work in the sector catapulted from 9,800 in October to more than 14,000 in March, after voters approved recreational marijuana use through a constitutional amendment last November. While the rapid expansion has boosted the state’s economy,… Read more.