One of the biggest problems with consuming marijuana for many American’s is the disapproval of their employer to its use. Even in legal marijuana states, few if any protections exist for employees that consume cannabis in their off time. Since the metabolites remain in your system for weeks and not hours, a drug test can pick up traces of cannabis in your system. Even legal medical marijuana patients under state laws that are usiing cannabis are subject to discrimination practices by employers.

When he returned from war in 2004, veteran Roberto Pickering was diagnosed as 100 percent disabled from posttraumatic stress disorder. "Who I am today, I'm a normal guy until you peel the onion back," he says. "It's taken me 13 years to get to this point. I'm no longer on prescription pills, no longer using alcohol. I taught myself nutrition, I'm now a full vegan, practicing Buddhist. I went full circle from a marine sniper." 

Cannabis played no small role in Pickering's recovery process. Now his goal is to help other vets suffering from trauma and other war injuries use cannabis to get better. For some vets, cannabis can serve not only as a medical treatment, but as a professional endeavor to get them back on their feet.

Nevada’s recreational marijuana industry is expected to bring $1.1 billion in revenue and up to 40,000 jobs over the next eight years, per a 2016 study from Las Vegas-based RCG Economics. While regulations are still being hashed out by the Legislature and Department of Taxation, marijuana businesses foresee potential employees flocking.

What employers look for

Four local marijuana business owners were surveyed, saying that while the new recreational industry will bring more jobs, demand for those openings at dispensaries, production facilities and testing labs is extremely high.

When the state of Ohio goes through the process of selecting the 24 growers who will cultivate cannabis for medicinal uses, the selectors will not know the identities of the applicants. The state wants to ensure there is no pressure, political or otherwise, in the granting of permits.

That’s how it should be, given the very lucrative nature of this flourishing industry nationwide.

In 2016, legal marijuana sales – for medicinal and recreational purposes – topped $6.7 billion, a 24 percent increase over 2015.

There are 26 states that allow the use of cannabis. Ohio joined the list in 2016 when Republican Gov. John R. Kasich signed into law a bill passed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly.

Top state lawmakers are trying to work out a system allowing Iowa residents to start buying medical marijuana oils and pills in Minnesota, a novel arrangement that could raise issues with the federal government.

Iowa could join more than two dozen states with medical marijuana programs under a bill awaiting Gov. Terry Branstad's signature. That legislation would expand a limited 2014 law, allowing more patients to buy the low-dose medication from in-state dispensaries by December 2018.

But in the meantime, Iowa residents could look to Minnesota. A provision of the bill specifically references that state as a potential source of medication and directs Iowa regulators to contract with Minnesota's two manufacturers of medical marijuana.

If you’re a recent college graduate, how do you go about finding a job in the cannabis industry, and what does it mean to work in a field that’s still technically federally illegal?

I asked myself those questions last year before I dove head-first into the industry. As a recent University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, I found that making the jump into cannabis was nerve-racking, especially if the state you’re coming from is still sour on legalization.

As Leafly reported earlier this year, America’s legal cannabis industry now supports more than 122,000 full-time jobs in 29 states and DC.

Expect legalization to create drastic changes in the way canna workplaces are regulated and product is produced. In the U.S. a legalizing marketplace may mean lower wages, but it will probably mean better working conditions. Across Europe, legalization is being seen as one way to crack down on slave labor as much as standardize product.

As cannabis becomes a legal commodity in both the U.S. and Canada, the production and distribution of the market becomes more structured. This means that the industry can start to produce higher volumes. However, by definition, this also means something else. The specialised workforces that have grown up around the industry are facing massive changes. Automation is making its presence felt.

The Canadian cannabis industry continues to be one of the hottest places to invest as the country prepares to become the first G-7 nation to legalize recreational cannabis.

The government’s stance on cannabis is one of the primary reasons behind our bullish view on this sub-sector of the cannabis industry. This political environment has led to an increase in the amount of money focused on the industry, the number of companies trying to capitalize on it, and the number of company developments.

This has been a busy week for Canadian cannabis stocks and we want to highlight seven important company developments.

Canopy Make Another Acquisition

Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work and some say more employees have failed drug tests in Colorado, since the state legalized marijuana in 2014.

Oilpatch CEOs fear their costs will rise when the federal government passes recently introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The issue of drug use is closely watched in the industry, where workers tend to be young and hazards include long commutes to and from remote drilling sites, wells that produce poisonous or explosive gas and exposure to heavy machinery. Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work.