In 5 years I expect 90% of the states in the US to have a medical marijuana program, in 10 years I think we will see 75% of the states have a recreational cannabis program as well as a medical marijuana program on a federal level.
HempStaff is poised to be a leader in Dispensary Education, as we teach even recreational markets need to know the about the cannabis products they sell as everyone is looking for some type of medical relief from cannabis, even if it is to sleep or relieve stress, so education about cannabis will need to be done for all those working in dispensaries, recreational or medical.
With the number of jobs that will be available in 10 years in this industry, it will need reliable recruiters, like HempStaff, to help new cannabis companies recruit and maintain their workforce, we have already seen huge increase in salaries on the East Coast to lure away those in current markets, and we expect this to continue - as new markets come on quicker than current employees can get to that 3-5 year āmanagerā level.
Hey Bryan, Iām not sure if you intended this question for me, but Iāll mention that because nearly all experienced cannabis growers are self-taught and lack formal horticultural education and experience farming other crops or cannabis on a large scale, they often run into big costly problems when trying to scale-up their operation. Even the best growers need to dig into some formal horticultural science education and experience farming and pest management on a large scale before running a $2million facility.
Itās a little bit of both the fault of the owner and the states, many owners in states that have been around a while, like CO and WA are busy and are not used to the value of education - since it was not around when they started this business years ago - many figure they have been doing it for 5 years and do not need any more education. Also, in WA and CO they have added many more things to this training not related to cannabis, like standard OSHA and Safety rules, which has expanded the class to 20 hours and much more cost. This also has detoured owners from having their employees take 1/2 week off and pay $2000 for each employee to take this optional training, especially in CO. In WA, the only way a budtender can even speak to a medical patient is to have taken this course - so at least a few in each dispensary have no choice but to attend this course.
We have considered online training in the past, but decided against it. A big part of our training is the networking with other students, hearing other students questions which may not thought of and being able to speak to the trainer face to face. We feel we could not provide the same valued training without the above features - as we feel this is part of what sets us apart from other training courses.
I have a silly question that Iām asking quite seriouslyā¦ but do you ever have employers request drug testing still for any of these positions in the cannabis industry? Lot of stuff that can be in the blood stream that isnāt cannabis, was curious how often (if ever) that still comes into play?
As a MMJ patient in AZ, I love the dispensaries, but Iāve found that most of the bud-tenders arenāt privy on treating MMJ more like medicine. Itās more āthis one is fire!ā rather than, āWith your herniated disc, you should look into a strain with 50/50 CBD to THC ratioā, etc. Iām happy HempStaff provides a medicinal approach to training dispensary staff. Not only on cannabinoids and terpenes, but when, where, and how to apply for specific ailments.
Do you see this as a main value proposition for your training? Do other training companies touch more on the legalities and not focus on this? Why arenāt your trainees at my dispensary in AZ?! (just kidding on that last one)
That is a great point. Well if you are ever interested, we could include your training videos on our online educational video platform we are launching soon. Also, there will be an online community component for your students to network with one another. If you are interested, you can send me a message to discuss further. We are looking for initial partners to roll out courses with, so you could be the first in the dispensary educational training sector.
Not a silly question at all! Yes, there are employers that drug test, some even for THC, though that is rare in most states. However, Maryland REQUIRES it. If you do not have a medical marijuana card in Maryland, you can not test positive for THC and work in a dispensary.
I have not taken other trainings, so I can not say exactly what they focus on. However, our training does focus on the patient and matching their needs with the proper cannabis product. We do not want our budtenders trying every product and recommending it that way, as every person is different. We want them to read the testing labels and know the products to determine how it will work for a specific ailment. Unfortunately, this is a still a big difference in East Coast vs West Coast Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, especially in states like WA, OR, CO and AZ. We are starting to see the change in NV and CA, so hopefully it is coming your way soon! We did train a few dozen dispensary agents in AZ previously, but we tend to train where the most openings are for our students, so we have not been in AZ for some time unfortunately as it is a somewhat saturated job market.
Well alright everyone, that puts us past the hour here! Thank you to James @HempStaff for taking the time today to answer questions and this was most informative! Really appreciate the education these brings out about products and services and it truly helps the community! Thanks again James and to all of you that participated!
Feel free to tag @HempStaff beyond the AMA with any questions about their services!
Hey Todd thanks for answering. Thatās actually a good insight and thought, and exactly the issue that I am predicting. The majority of people (myself included) in Canada donāt have much of, if any commercial growing experience. So how do we find the best people who are serious about growing a quality product vs. People who just want to āgrow weedā.
I was just waking up when I posted my question so I was half asleep. So I wrote the wrong name. @HempStaff, do you have any thoughts about this?
What we have seen new companies do in new US states is seek out a Master Grower, who has 3-5 years experience running a facility their size in another legal state. Then see if, for the right salary, they are looking willing to relocate - salaries of $120-150K for these positions are not unheard of. The international relocation does make it more tricky, and maybe more expensive, but we think this is the way most companies will go. This way they have someone who can lead and train the others below them on the proper way to grow in these environments, it would be much more expensive to make a mistake.
Thanks for answering @HempStaff. I really do appreciate it.
That was our thought process and it feels good to have that validated. Being a new industry, I feel bringing somebody in from out of country would be a good idea, weather from the USA or even Amsterdam. While not an easy process itās not impossible and I want to ensure quality over everything.
Thanks again for your time! This has all been very educational throughout!
Hey I know this is super late, but hopefully is still helpfulā¦
We have found that looking for people with an agriculture/plant biology related education goes a long way. Most people didnāt work hard to receive a degree just to grow cannabis. Their interests are usually broader but well directed, including things like the science, business, and social aspects of growing cannabis. Still, thereās so much you cant learn in school.
If you can find someone that has been growing other crops on a large scale for years they will likely adapt well to cannabis.
Of course we also have room for those that did not receive a formal education, or have a new found interest in our industry. Once you have your lead staff in place, others can start of with the āgrunt workā and learn how to grow large scale from the managers/supervisors. Itās tough for some to swallow, but I think we are headed towards a standard similar to every other industryā¦you donāt need to have formal experience to get into it, but you have to be willing to work hard to move up the ladder.
