Careers In The Marijuana Industry

It’s high time you looked at jobs in the weed business.

By Mark Swartz

Formerly conducted mainly in dark alleys or posh penthouses, the business of marijuana has gone mainstream. Canada’s legalized weed is creating a bumper crop of cannabis jobs.

There are hydroponic and grow-op opportunities; marketing, sales and regulatory careers; IT and lab tech positions; dispensary and operations openings; and much more.

No more lurking on street corners as a recreational herb distributor; the industry’s gone legit. Take a whiff of some career prospects.

Cannabis jobs: growing and harvesting

There’s been a bounce in demand for Horticulturalists and Botanists. The former focus on bud seeding, transplanting, pest control and harvesting. Botanists are into cloning and gene hybridization.

Hydroponics Technicians build and fix indoor soil-free systems for cultivating weed. Must be on call for lights, irrigation pump and ventilation vexations.

Trimmers (manicurists) snip cannabis to rid unwanted bits. Running with scissors and sheers is part of the job. So’s doing data entry to record weights and volumes.

Note the workplace can be like a noisy and at times sweaty greenhouse – without the windows. Gotta love a warning in one employer’s ad: “Employees must have knowledge of how to manage their own personal safety under these conditions.” Yowza.

Cannabis jobs: processing raw product

Unlike homegrown stuff, commercial ganja has to be appropriately processed. Only the best for Canada’s discerning pot-heads!

Quality Control Testers analyze the hell out of a raw and finished product. Better bone up on chromatographic techniques like HPLC-DAD and GC-FID. Don’t want to confuse your THC and CBD levels.

Extraction Operators use equipment to squeeze out oil concentrates. These go into tinctures for vaping and drops for tonguing. The liquid’s also a stimulating additive to brownies and gummies.

Operations staff oversee extraction and QC, plus measuring, packaging, warehousing and equipment maintenance. Day and nighttime shifts available.

Cannabis jobs: keeping it legal

Know your elbow from your arse in Regulatory Affairs? Legal cannabis companies are strictly ruled and monitored by government agencies. Someone’s gotta communicate, educate and uphold the regulations for all departments.

Compliance Officers advise on creating systems to eliminate regulatory gaps. They apply for and maintain the necessary license registrations. Then liaise with government officials. Pharmaceutical work history’s a bonus.

In-House Counsel (lawyers who work as a company’s employee) go further. Helping push the limits of what the business can do to expand markets and market expansively.

Cannabis jobs: retail dispensary roles

Marijuana’s only buyable from places the government OK’s. Depending on the province that could be licensed outlets, or government-run stores and websites.

The outlets and stores offer typical retail jobs, e.g. cashiers, shelve stockers and managers. Plus something unique to these shops: salespeople who act as ganja guides.

Think of them as sommeliers who recommend bud blends rather than wines. Looking for a mellow body buzz? How about a head-on-head rush? May we suggest a lovely sativa or indica mix. The best part of cannabis jobs is gaining the first-hand experience with the offerings.