While conversations surrounding diversity (or the lack of it) in the U.S. cannabis industry and its leaders are abundant, new data from Nevada’s Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) shines a light on this issue on the state’s specific industry, finding in a survey that the majority of the cannabis workforce is comprised of white people and men.
Of the 15,936 cannabis industry workers who completed the survey, the agency found that 52 percent of cannabis workers identified as white, 17 percent identified as Hispanic and 12 identified as Black. In addition, 55 percent of respondents identified themselves as men while 39 percent identified as women.
The survey looked at all levels of employment within the industry, surveying dispensary employees, cultivators, company owners, board members and other executives. A near majority, 49 percent, said they were affiliated with a cannabis dispensary or retail facility, while 42 percent said they were affiliated with a cannabis cultivation facility. The least amount of respondents in a single group for industry affiliation, 8 percent, reported they were associated with “another type” of cannabis establishment, like consultation, delivery driving and vendor services.
The CCB also noted that it received nearly a 100 percent response rate from industry leaders—defined as owners, officers or board members of cannabis businesses. There are more than 23,000 people in Nevada with an active agent card, allowing them to work in the cannabis industry.
The report notes that it is the first to explore this issue in the state, and prior to its release, “there has been no formal data available detaining the demographic makeup of Nevada’s cannabis industry. As such, this report establishes a baseline and will allow for a more comparative and comprehensive analysis of data and trends year over year within the industry,” it notes.
Every position segment (owners/managers, board of directors, executive board member, officer, employee) reported more than 50 percent of respondents identifying themselves as white, with consultants the sole segment falling under the halfway point at 48.5 percent.
In addition to asking about gender and race, the survey asked about age and the highest level of education respondents had completed.
Consultants had the largest number of respondents from age 18-24, at 20.27 percent. About 45 percent of industry workers in Nevada also indicated they are between 25 and 24 years of age—the largest group—followed by 35 to 44 (18 percent), 18 to 24 (15 percent), 45 to 54 (10 percent) and finally 55 to 64 seeing the lowest number of respondents at 5 percent.
For education, consultants, employees and officers were more likely to report that they had completed “some college coursework” and that their highest level of education completed was high school. Executive board members, people on the board of directors and owners and managers were more likely to report high education degrees, like a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate.
The Nevada CCB first began operating in July 2020 and notes in the report that there have been no open licensing rounds since. It notes that it will factor in “the diversity on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender or veteran status of the applicant or the persons who are proposed to be owners, officers or board members” when looking at applications.
The report also notes that the board will establish a pilot program to identify opportunities for emerging, small businesses that wish to participate in the state’s cannabis industry.
The report concludes with a closing statement from the board, “In executing the state’s first undertaking of a demographic analysis of Nevada’s cannabis industry, the CCB looks forward to continuing to collect and provide meaningful data on this industry for state legislators, stakeholders, and other interested parties.”
