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The latest national election saw the legalization of recreational marijuana succeed in Oregon, Alaska, and D.C. Additionally, there are a total of 23 states that have made medical marijuana an option for residents. That’s pretty close to half the country. Is this real life? More legal marijuana means more legal marijuana jobs—and they need YOU. There are a variety of positions to fill, and if it has always been your dream to work with the sticky icky, there's no better time than the present. Browse our 15 legit ways for almost anyone to get going down a cannabis career path.
Brittany Driver is a freelancer writer based in Denver. She tweets at @brittanyblue.
Edibles Chef
Edibles companies are flooded with demand in this new legal market, and keeping up can be a struggle. Customers want tasty items with reliable dosing and a good chef should be able to handle that with ease. If you have cooking experience, getting into a 420 friendly kitchen is a great way to go. And if you have an adventurous nature or a flair for gourmet cuisine, this is your industry.
Glass Blower
As legal marijuana gains traction in states across the U.S., people will be buying more glass devices to smoke dank out of. Pipes on bongs on pipes on bongs. While it’s a very specific trade, glass blowing is an art—and often you can find a show or gallery of glass art in your town or one nearby. Mix creativity and a steady income, and try your hand at blowing glass pipes.
Trimmer
Trimming takes place after the marijuana harvest but before the finished product goes to market. The leaves are pruned from the buds, and the process can be time consuming depending on the amount of weight you’re moving. It doesn't require a lot of skill to do it, and the trade is relatively easy to pick up. This job is fit for those who don’t mind a little repetition and some sticky fingers.
Advocate
Being an advocate is tough, thankless work. You must force yourself to the front lines and demand your voice be heard loud and proud. Sometimes, advocates and activists are arrested. Many of them don’t get paid for their work. If that doesn’t faze you, then advocacy and activism might be your style. As marijuana reform inches its way onto the national agenda, advocacy work will be more important than ever.
Grower
You don’t have to be rich to grow weed. You will have the initial setup costs, sure, but beyond that and acquiring your seeds or clones, growing is really a labor of love. Patience is a virtue in this career, as is attention to detail and having the time in your schedule to properly care for the plants. Extra points if you already have a green thumb.
Financial Services
Numbers come easy to some people and lots of those people are bookkeepers and accountants. Businesses industry-wide need reliable numbers guys and gals to keep a watchful eye on their books, make sure bills are being paid, and debts are being collected. If tracking progress, analyzing profits and losses and presenting financial reports sounds like your type of work, the industry needs you. What's more, because weed is still considered a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency, many cannabis businesses are being forced to operate on a cash-only basis, making excellent accounting crucial.
Tour Guide
420 friendly tour operations range from having a chauffeur drive you around town while you smoke, to all-inclusive getaways with grow operation tours, glass blowing demonstrations, and a marijuana friendly art class. You’ve got to be a people person to fill these shoes, and a people pleaser as well. Tour guides essentially develop tourists’ ideas of what a legal weed world looks like.
Marketing
Have you noticed hearing “cannabis” more frequently over the past year? That’s marketing. Marijuana entrepreneurs are passionate about their business, but there is no mistaking that it is a business first and foremost. Marketing is an integral part of every successful brand. Creative, open-minded people are required to get that job done. It can be as simple as being the designated social media manager for a company or creating elaborate ways to appeal to the target audience.
Budtender
A budtender is just that—he or she tends to the buds. The weed isn’t just going to sell itself—well, the weed isn’t going to answer your questions or put itself in a little bottle for you to take home. Budtending is for those that are customer-service oriented and knowledgeable about the various products, services, and strains available at their given dispensary.
Sales
There are vape pen companies, edibles companies, and even soda companies that are moving into new territory daily. As laws pass that legalize pot for medical and recreational purposes, there will be even more room in the sales force of these companies. Sales staff travel to new cities and different states to build relationships with dispensary owners and gain clients far and wide. This is a job for goal-driven workhorses.
Event Planner
This job is about partying, definitely, but it’s also about being business-minded, financially literate, and up-to-date with the legalities concerning marijuana use in your state. Even legal weed has strict boundaries as far as where you can smoke it and a marijuana event planner must be keenly tuned into the ever-changing rules. Attention to detail, love of serving others, and a desire to get everything just right required for this job.
Photographer
There are tons of outlets for pot photogs, and legal weed just makes it that much easier for you to use your real name and get credit where credit is due. High Times, Skunk Magazine, Leafly, Mass Roots—these are just a few places that you can shine if you are a professional photographer who loves to take beautiful photos of weed. You must have an exceptional camera with lenses that can get those tight trichome shots, though.
Cannabis Club Owner
This is a much needed addition the the weed scene in America. The person who starts a real marijuana smoking or vape lounge in the United States is almost guaranteed to get arrested, right? But breaking boundaries takes guts, and only a person strong enough to risk arrest for what they believe in should attempt to open a cannabis club. This is not for the weak of heart, intellect, or tolerance because, as the proprietor of a weed lounge, you’re sure to take your fair share of tokes.
Courier
There is a strong and growing demand for marijuana delivery. Sometimes you just want the weedman to come to you. Courier services address such issues by sending delivery men to dispense a customer's purchase in the comfort of their home. If you like meeting new people, maintaining long-term relationships with clients, and potentially riding your bike like hell, try applying for a pot delivery service in your area (legalities pending).
Writer
If you like weed and you like writing, writing about weed is probably the best thing you can think of doing. Do you like to sit at your desk constructing verbal wordplay while smoking a joint? This dream is a reality for a growing number of freelancers as legal weed creates new avenues to review, report on, and feature the growing marijuana business.