The U.S. regulated medical and adult-use cannabis industry employs roughly 243,700 people, according to Leafly’s new cannabis jobs report. That’s a 15% year-over-year increase, making legal marijuana the fastest-growing industry in America.
A common forensic drug testing method could easily mistake the presence of CBD for THC. The stakes are high, considering that even in states that have legalized marijuana, it remains legal for employers, child protective services, public housing authorities and other entities to test for THC.
That’s what a U.S. Court of Appeals determined in a case involving a security guard and a Colorado Cannabis company.
However, as noted in the article, many Colorado companies are exceeding federal requirements, and the legislature passed a sunset bill earlier this year that included a provision dictating companies comply with federal labor rules.
The cannabis recruitment firm Vangst has a summary of the benefits offered by cannabis companies nationwide:
There are now more than 211,000 cannabis jobs across the United States (296,000 if indirect jobs are included). More than 64,000 of those jobs were added in 2018. That’s enough people to fill Chicago’s Soldier Field, with 3,000 more tailgating outside.
The number of “plant-touching” jobs is expected to pass 500,000 by 2022 and employ 630,000 people by 2025, according to New Frontier Data, a cannabis market research and data analysis firm.
These jobs don’t take into account industries that rely on the cannabis economy, including financial, legal, real estate, construction and other professional services. And because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, employment data agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics don’t track jobs related to the cannabis industry.
More and more employers are dropping cannabis from pre-employment testing. And not just because it’s legal in many states. As The New York Times reports:
“Some employers have already changed their policies on pre-employment drug screening, and not just to address the dissonance in punishing someone for using a legal substance. With unemployment so low, companies are finding that testing for marijuana adds an unnecessary barrier in hiring top talent.”
… but trying to come up with specific numbers is difficult because those jobs don’t show up in government employment data. This leaves American workers in the dark about high wages and job opportunities in the marijuana industry, experts say.
“It is unlawful for any employer in this State to fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee because the prospective employee submitted to a screening test and the results of the screening test indicate the presence of marijuana,” states the law, signed by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on June 5.
This is from a report by CNN, which also cites the New York City Council passing a similar bill two months ago. As legalization continues throughout the country, will other states follow suit? Time will tell, although there are some exceptions to this policy.
The law does not apply to firefighters, EMTs, employees who operate a motor vehicle, or those who, in the determination of the employer, could adversely affect others’ safety. That’s probably for the best.