There are as many canna-biz employees as there are dental hygienists.

The cannabis industry has been one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, and as it grows, it has been employing more and more Americans. The industry now employs between 165,000 and 230,000 full- and part-time workers, according to estimates published in the Marijuana Business Factbook 2017. By comparison, there are around 201,000 dental hygienists working in the U.S., about 238,000 telemarketers, and 169,000 massage therapists.

Coffee shops have baristas. Bars have bartenders. And marijuana retailers have "budtenders."

An estimated 30,000 Americans work in legal marijuana dispensaries, with a significant portion of those retail employees assisting customers at point of sale. Budtenders have an intimate knowledge of the products sold and can make recommendations based on customer preferences — whether they prefer smoking or vaping, for example, or whether they want to get high while partying or binge-watching TV.

The landscape has changed since Gov. John Kasich signed Ohio's medical marijuana law one year ago today.

Details of the new, tightly-controlled program began rolling out in November. The state began accepting applications for 24 grow licenses on Monday, and other businesses are preparing to apply for dispensary and processor licenses in a few months.  

A number of employers have expressed “grave concerns” about potential spillover effects of legal marijuana in the workplace, a labour lawyer said at a panel for employers on cannabis use Wednesday.

“There are a lot of employers across the country who are saying this is going to be a groundswell of change in the way employees conduct themselves in the workplace,” Darryl Hiscocks of Torys LLP advised a room of employers curious about the impact of marijuana legalization expected a year from now.

He believes murkiness over marijuana use in the workplace will become a legal battleground.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Occupational Safety and Health Association are teaming up to host a health-and-safety course for marijuana employees this summer, as the industry continues to grow and add more workers.

A licensed marijuana producer on the outskirts of Duncan is poised to become one of the Cowichan Valley’s largest employers once the expansion of its new facility is complete.

Harvest One Cannabis Inc. currently grows more than 4,000 marijuana plants in its 16,000 square-foot space.

“We currently have 15 people on staff here and are currently growing as we expand,” said Michael Rykes, United Greeneries production manager. “We hope to have probably about 50 new people on the new site.”

The United Greeneries productions site will break ground on a greenhouse operation in the near future.

Once construction is complete, up to 100 jobs will hit the market starting at $20 an hour.

Dive Brief:

• A Rhode Island Superior Court judge ruled against a local fabrics company after a woman alleged the business refused to hire her for an internship due to her use of medical marijuana, The Providence Journal reports. 

While President Trump continues to lean on traditional industry to bring jobs back to the United States — vowing to create somewhere in the vicinity of 25 million new jobs within the next 10 years — he has failed to consider how a nationwide cannabis industry could help accomplish his objective and bring some much need financial recovery back to a wounded blue collar workers.

Former Victoria police chief Frank Elsner, who resigned last week in the midst of a misconduct investigation, has launched a cannabis consulting business.

Elsner, who is facing six misconduct allegations, is the principal consultant for UMBRA Strategic Solutions, which will provide security consulting to marijuana businesses, according to a post on his Linked In profile.

A message signed by Elsner on the company’s website says: “After a great career in policing I started Umbra Strategic Solutions. I wanted to do something that I am passionate about while utilizing my knowledge, skills and abilities.”

Elsner writes that he has “come a long way” in his thinking about harm reduction, community wellness and the role police play.

Budtenders are half bartender, half pharmacist, offering recommendations for cannabis products to suit each customer.​

When she was 14, Sandra Andrade first learned about marijuana from her brother who had an outdoor garden. Today, the 36-year-old works at downtown L.A. dispensary Kushmart, where she helms the point-of-sale contact for those who want to purchase cannabis products. In weed industry terms, she's a budtender.