420 with CNW — Missouri Sees Uptick in Marijuana Jobs Shortly After Legalization Ballot
Despite its relative youth, America’s nascent cannabis industry has been one of the most prolific job creators in the country. As of January 2022, more than 420,000 people nationwide had full-time jobs in the state-legal cannabis industry. The industry has been among the fastest-growing sectors in the country in recent years, and it is predicted to be worth $47.5 billion by 2030 as more states launch their own markets and sales pick up.
Missouri, a traditionally conservative state, is enjoying some of the labor benefits of cannabis reform after it recently approved recreational cannabis sales. Only a few months after Missouri voters approved an adult-use cannabis measure at the November ballot, thousands of residents are already earning a living from the marijuana industry.
State officials began approving retail cannabis licenses for dispensaries in early January, and the first businesses met significant product demand from customers. Less than a month after the first licenses were approved, close to 200 dispensaries had sold around $103 million worth of cannabis products, with the majority (about $72 million) coming from recreational cannabis.
Individuals who want to work in Missouri’s cannabis industry have to secure agent ID badges from the state. The state Department of Health and Human Sciences says it approved 12,970 agent ID badges by the end of February. With the market in its infancy, experts predict that the job growth within Missouri’s cannabis industry will only go up.
Se7en Staffing & Employment Solutions CEO Christy Essex says that her company has noted an increase in labor needs across the industry that still hasn’t been met. Dispensaries are having trouble keeping their shelves filled, she said, and some companies are hiring temporary employees to cover short-term labor shortfalls.
Sloane Barbour, the CEO of cannabis technology company engin, says that Missouri’s impressive performance in its first month has made it a standout in America’s state-legal cannabis space. Cannabis is posed to become a multibillion dollar industry, and she believes Missouri has the potential to compete with juggernauts such as Massachusetts and Illinois. She noted that states with billion-dollar markets, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan, often employ around 30,000 to 50,000 employees in the marijuana industries.
As such, Barbour said, Missouri’s cannabis market still has plenty of potential for job growth, especially in the short-term as businesses begin hiring aggressively. This hiring spree may be slowed down if lawmakers advance a bill that would include fingerprinting as part of the background checks required before receiving an agent ID badge.
No such extensive procedures may be required if marijuana products intended for medical use were approved by the FDA in the way that companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) hope for. These companies are working to see chronic pain formulations from cannabis be approved as mainstream medicines.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
Despite its relative youth, America’s nascent cannabis industry has been one of the most prolific job creators in the country. As of January 2022, more than 420,000 people nationwide had full-time jobs in the state-legal cannabis industry. The industry has been among the fastest-growing sectors in the country in recent years, and it is predicted to be worth $47.5 billion by 2030 as more states launch their own markets and sales pick up.
Missouri, a traditionally conservative state, is enjoying some of the labor benefits of cannabis reform after it recently approved recreational cannabis sales. Only a few months after Missouri voters approved an adult-use cannabis measure at the November ballot, thousands of residents are already earning a living from the marijuana industry.
State officials began approving retail cannabis licenses for dispensaries in early January, and the first businesses met significant product demand from customers. Less than a month after the first licenses were approved, close to 200 dispensaries had sold around $103 million worth of cannabis products, with the majority (about $72 million) coming from recreational cannabis.
Individuals who want to work in Missouri’s cannabis industry have to secure agent ID badges from the state. The state Department of Health and Human Sciences says it approved 12,970 agent ID badges by the end of February. With the market in its infancy, experts predict that the job growth within Missouri’s cannabis industry will only go up.
Se7en Staffing & Employment Solutions CEO Christy Essex says that her company has noted an increase in labor needs across the industry that still hasn’t been met. Dispensaries are having trouble keeping their shelves filled, she said, and some companies are hiring temporary employees to cover short-term labor shortfalls.
Sloane Barbour, the CEO of cannabis technology company engin, says that Missouri’s impressive performance in its first month has made it a standout in America’s state-legal cannabis space. Cannabis is posed to become a multibillion dollar industry, and she believes Missouri has the potential to compete with juggernauts such as Massachusetts and Illinois. She noted that states with billion-dollar markets, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan, often employ around 30,000 to 50,000 employees in the marijuana industries.
As such, Barbour said, Missouri’s cannabis market still has plenty of potential for job growth, especially in the short-term as businesses begin hiring aggressively. This hiring spree may be slowed down if lawmakers advance a bill that would include fingerprinting as part of the background checks required before receiving an agent ID badge.
No such extensive procedures may be required if marijuana products intended for medical use were approved by the FDA in the way that companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) hope for. These companies are working to see chronic pain formulations from cannabis be approved as mainstream medicines.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
