I'm developing several articles about cannabis industry hiring in states where medical marijuana was recently legalized. I'd like to get comments about various marijuana processing jobs from employers and employees in states like Washington and Colorado where the industry has been operating for awhile. (I have requests for several different jobs in the industry, so please respond to the appropriate request.)
EMPLOYERS: What did you do to attract applicants, given that cannabis is still a Schedule 1 drug at the federal level? How did you address that concern? Given that people with the most experience in processing cannabis were also more likely to have arrested or incarcerated for drug crimes pre-legalization, did you target them or try to attract new people and train them? What job titles are included under "processing"? What processing positions are easiest to fill, and why? What are hardest? What are the best-paying jobs in the processing field? How important is experience when applying for a cannabis job? What are your workplace cannabis-use rules?
EMPLOYEES: Please tell me more about your job processing cannabis. What's your job title? What's the salary range for the kind of work you do? What skills or experience makes you great at your job? Do you worry about cannabis' status as a Schedule 1 drug? What would you recommend to someone interested in getting hired for the same position? What's the best part about your job? What's the worst part? What's the most surprising thing about working in the legal cannabis industry?
Requirements:
Must be an employer or employee in the legal cannabis industry in the U.S. with at least 1 year of experience hiring or working in the industry. Please reply with complete comments ready to drop into an article (the more detailed, the better) and a brief bio. Let me know if you'd prefer to be anonymous or if I should just use your first name only. I may edit for length, spelling and/or grammar. I'm happy to include a link to your company website if I use your comments. Thanks in advance!