A company is looking to hire a group of people to consume and review cannabis for $1,500 a month, and will even provide the products.
Flower and Freedom, a cannabis news and advocacy site, is looking to hire a team of three to five “Cannabis Effects Specialists” to participate in a 30-day study on the effects of consuming cannabis. Each team member will test “a few different theories” behind the pros and cons of cannabis use, such as how cannabis can affect things like mood, sleep, appetite and motivation. Flower and Freedom founder David Rhodes believes his new positions will help dispel some rumors and reinforce how cannabis can have a positive impact on health.
“Some people will call me crazy for paying people to smoke weed, and maybe I am. But I have seen the positive effects of cannabis firsthand and how it has improved my symptoms of Crohn’s Disease. If this study can convince even a handful of people that cannabis isn’t some evil drug that it was once portrayed as, I would consider it a success,” Rhodes said.
All applicants must be over the age of 21, must live in an area where recreational cannabis is legal. Legal recreational cannabis is currently available in 15 states as well as in Washington D.C. Applicants must also have no prior health conditions that would make it unsafe to fulfill the duties of the position. They must also be comfortable with video calls to recap their experiences and will also fill out verbal questionnaires. Each Cannabis Effects Specialist will receive $1,500 at the end of their testing period.
As cannabis legalization continues to spread across the United States, more jobs are opening in a developing industry. What initially sounds like a dream job is an actual position at many different cannabis companies. Flower and Freedom is far from the first company to offer a cannabis review-based position. A Los Angeles-based cannabis delivery service offered a paid summer internship to test and review cannabis products. Another company was offering over $40,000 a year to be a full-time remote vaporizer tester. Most of the cannabis review jobs require the reviewer to write about the products they test and film video reviews as well.
“We’re really at the precipice of something great in the cannabis industry. As legalization and cultural acceptance across the majority of the US continues to increase, we need to make sure everyone knows which products are safe, effective, and 100% useful,” said CBD Oracle Senior Editor Alisdair Mans Cornwell.
While cannabis product reviewer seems like a dream job, it’s a lot more work than one might think. Most of the positions require strong written and verbal skills in order to properly explain the ins and outs of a product, in addition to being comfortable on camera for video reviews for different social medias. Cannabis knowledge is also a big plus as the reviewer would be able to explain different parts of the product and the cannabis plant. Reviewers must also be able to consume cannabis every day, sometimes multiple times a day, which can have both a mental and physical toll on those not fully prepared for the role.
The amount of cannabis product review jobs also exemplifies a change in the workplace environment, with ‘drug-free workplaces’ becoming a thing of the past. California previously introduced a bill that would ban most pre-employment drug tests. Some employers would be exempt from the bill, such as those in construction or building trades, or those mandated by law to test for THC. In June, Amazon announced it would remove pre-employment drug tests for cannabis for positions not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
