All eyes are on Arizona as one of the country’s newest markets to legalize adult-use cannabis, especially when it comes to the impending potential for job creation. According to Leafly’s 2021 Jobs Report, Arizona ranks fourth nationally for number of cannabis industry jobs.
CannabizTeam CEO Liesl Bernard was interviewed by Ryan Randazzo for this story on cannabis jobs and employment in the cannabis industry in the state of Arizona. Liesl predicts Arizona will take over as the fastest-growing job market in the country this year.
“Arizona had more than $1 billion in medical-marijuana sales last year, with about 5,600 new jobs created just last year,” writes Randazzo. “Even with only its medical-marijuana program in place in 2020, today nearly 21,000 people in Arizona are working in dispensaries or affiliated businesses – a larger workforce than Washington and Oregon, both states that legalized marijuana years before Arizona.”
The article touches base with Curaleaf, a client of CannabizTeam which currently has eight medical dispensaries in Arizona with two more planned. Since January 2021, the company has hired 150 new employees to meet demand from adult-use sales and plans to hire another 100 throughout the year.
Liesl talks to Ryan about the need for cannabis companies to pull workers from outside sectors as they expand: “Companies are pulling from the retail sector, hiring science people for testing, and people with experience in consumer packaging and manufacturing. These are all hotbeds for finding talent as cannabis companies look to hire executives, marketing specialists, CFOs, etc.”
The article continues to discuss increasing salaries within the cannabis industry. Liesl provides examples of median salaries for popular cannabis careers including trimmers, budtenders, extraction technicians, sales managers, dispensary managers, social media managers, directors of cultivation and more.
To read Ryan Randazzo’s full article, visit: www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumers/2021/02/16/arizona-among-top-states-jobs-marijuana-leafly-study-says/6764159002.
CannabizTeam’s Cannabis Salary Guide breaks down changes in the cannabis market in 2020 and explores salary ranges for key roles in cannabis, CBD and hemp businesses. Click here to download the 2020 salary guide, and keep an eye out for our 2021 salary guide coming soon.
