How Many Americans Work In The Legal Cannabis Industry In 2024?
This article was originally published on Cannabis.net and appears here with permission.
The marijuana industry now employs over 440,000 Americans and the plant is still Federally illegal.
The Legal Cannabis Industry Employs 440,000 People Full-Time
If you’ve been thinking about shifting careers to the legal cannabis industry, consider this a sign.
Working in the United States cannabis industry has proven to be lucrative, with a growing list of opportunities to advance your career. And there’s no need to worry even if cannabis is still illegal in the eyes of federal law; employees of the cannabis industry can still avail of excellent job benefits and be protected from harassment and discrimination. Of course, this depends on the type of company you’re working at.
As more states legalize marijuana, the opportunities continue to rapidly expand. A new report by Vangst and Whitney Economics has also just shown that 23,000 new jobs were added by the legal cannabis industry last year alone. This means that the industry has seen a 5.4% increase in jobs year-on-year.
As of 2024, the research found that there are now 440,445 full-time employees in the legal cannabis industry. According to Vangst and Whitney, it’s a “sign that the business climate has begun to stabilize somewhat nationally after the turmoil of the past two years.”
“Nationwide, annual cannabis sales increased to $28.8 billion in 2023, a 10.3% rise over 2022’s sales. That figure includes all state-regulated medical and adult-use sales, but does not include hemp-derived products or cannabis jobs in the illicit market. That’s good news for an industry that has endured strong headwinds” reads the report.
The report also made notable mention of positive trends in the industry, most particularly when it came to sales increases and job creation. They do note, however, that the 5.4% increase wasn’t evenly distributed because successful cannabis markets …