California Offers Government Cannabis Jobs in Preparation for January
Cannabis isn’t the only thing expected to grow in California with legal cannabis becoming available in 2018. The projected $7 billion industry is expected to cause an increase in the amount of government jobs available in the state. By combining the California’s medical cannabis and recreational programs, the state could very well create one of the country’s biggest legal cannabis economies.
The state will be hiring for what could possibly be hundreds of new government jobs to help control the rapidly growing cannabis industry. In addition to the various state government jobs, local governments around the state are expected to bring in thousands of other jobs.
Alex Traverso, chief of communications for California’s new Bureau of Cannabis Control, says that the need for jobs is extremely urgent, as the agency is expected to grow from roughly 20 members to over 100 by February 2018. The agency is currently searching for a new office location, as it outgrew its original office, and expects to have satellite locations located throughout the state.
This year’s California state budget included over $100 million to fund regulatory programs for recreational cannabis, including hiring the personnel to issue and review licenses, watch over environmental conditions, and enforce the rules and regulations that are being drafted. Planned hiring is expected cover a variety of state agencies, including the Public Health Department and the Water Resources Control Board. Additional hiring will be for the Food and Agricultural Department, which will handle licensing for cultivators.
Some of the work will be highly specialized and will involve the hiring of lawyers, engineers and environmental scientists. Pay rates vary per position, with some of scientist jobs paying over $100,000 per year.
