Cannabis legalization is a hot topic in our nation. More people in our country are supporting recreational and medical cannabis than ever before. States have grown tired of waiting on the federal government to do the right thing. They have taken cannabis legalization into their own hands. It wasn’t long ago recreational cannabis was only a dream in America. It was illegal to purchase it, smoke it, or have anything to do with it, for that matter.
If you were to get busted with weed, you pretty much were in more trouble than if you got busted with cocaine, pills, or other dangerous substances. Cannabis has been demonized by the United States federal government for too long. Thanks to the information era, people are able to share the truth about cannabis with others. Reefer Madness and its anti-cannabis propaganda have been exposed for the lies that they are. Even the New York Academy of Medicine in 1944 knew that cannabis prohibition was based on a foundation of racism and lies.
Today cannabis prohibition is approaching an end. In a total flip of the script, there is now a budding legal cannabis sector that employs hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. When it comes to cannabis legalization and the jobs it promotes, one California town has witnessed just what cannabis can cultivate.
Sacramento is a Cannabis Cultivation Mecca
Sacramento, California, has seen great success within the cannabis industry. Cannabis businesses in Sacramento are cultivating more than cannabis; they’re cultivating the foundation for financial success. That’s right, the cannabis industry in Sacramento is packed full of lit jobs. In a recent study, Sacramento took the spot of the 9th largest employer of cannabis-based jobs with almost 8,000 cannabis workers.
Some people like David Zehnder, a Managing Principal with the consulting firm “Economics & Planning Systems,” find that to be surprising. Mr. Zehnder told the media, “It’s a remarkable turn of events. In a city dominated by the state government and its 25,000 workers, legalizing cannabis has created a growing stream of companies and employees.”
It’s not really all that remarkable. People are tired of high-stress government jobs that restrict their personal and private life. When many cannabis jobs pay as much or more than government jobs, some people will toss the benefits package out the window for their own personal freedom. Some people have absolutely no interest in working with the government. After years of people being screwed over by the government, it shouldn’t come as a surprise more people are looking for jobs in the legal cannabis space.
The study showing that Sacramento ranked number 9 in cannabis jobs also showed some other interesting aspects of cannabis legalization in the area. Home value did not decrease overall in areas close to cannabis businesses. I’m not sure if people have really checked into this one or not, but when there is legal cannabis, the cost of everything in the area seems to get high too! In another blow to the opposition, illegal cannabis did not increase crime either.
Crime didn’t go up, home values didn’t go down, and nearly 8,000 people have found employment in the legal cannabis sector. Those are some pretty impressive stats. According to information online, California has seen an estimated 83,000 jobs created as a result of cannabis legalization. Some people might downplay this because California has an estimated 17 million workers.
Cannabis cultivation jobs make up the largest portion of the nearly 8,000 cannabis workers in Sacramento. 2021 in Sacramento, it’s estimated that there were 4,224 employees in cannabis cultivation, 457 jobs in manufacturing, 709 in retail dispensaries, 1,216 in delivery services, and 1,363 in distribution.
Cannabis Cultivates Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs Across the US
A report online says there are an estimated 428,000 plus full-time cannabis jobs available in the US. This number factors in job positions such as budtenders, dispensary owners, cultivation positions, manufacturers, and other cannabis-specific jobs. What it doesn’t factor in is the amount of non-cannabis-specific jobs the legal cannabis industry creates.
In order to successfully build a medical or recreational cannabis cultivation site, construction workers, electricians, engineers, plumbers, and more are needed. Electrical work, HVAC work, and plumbing are high-demand jobs in the cannabis sector. These are all required in order to grow cannabis successfully. Indoor growing facilities require a lot of electricity. This means a professional is required to set up and approve the job. The same applies to other aspects of cannabis cultivation.
Legal cannabis businesses also employ painters who paint the buildings, accountants that help keep records and books, lawyers, lots of lawyers, security teams, and many more fields of work that are not cannabis-specific. Cannabis tourism increases stay at local establishments as well as eateries, storefronts, and tourist attractions. If more people are attending these places, more jobs are available. Cannabis legalization is like tossing a rock in the middle of a calm body of water. The ripples will reach out, touching everywhere, and there will be more of them than you could imagine.
Legal cannabis sales are smoking hot. You might say they are lit! According to information online, legal cannabis sales are predicted to reach an estimated $33 billion dollars by the end of this year; in comparison, that’s up 32% from 2021. By as soon as 2026, some predictions estimate the legal cannabis industry could be worth as much as $52 billion dollars in the US.
In many places that have legalized cannabis, the areas have seen improvements in their infrastructure as well as education, law enforcement, and other public resources. Cannabis cultivates all kinds of things. Cannabis cultivates jobs, cultivates a higher quality of living, cultivates financial security, and cultivates the foundation for future generational wealth. When the feds allow cannabis banking, you will see even more growth in the rapidly budding legal cannabis sector. Maybe then cannabis could cultivate a million jobs or more! How would you feel about working in a position that catered to businesses serving consumers of retail or medical cannabis?
Disclaimer: The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained in this article is for informational purposes only. No material from this article is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
