Cannabis Industry
Not many people know that I spent the last 7-years working in the California cannabis industry as a veteran budtender. I started as a receptionist and was promoted during the Prop 215 days and continued to work through the passing of Prop 64 and well into the new era of recreational marijuana in California. It was a unique experience to work in this growing California industry, to say the least. I was forced into early retirement in September and I think it was for the best. Honestly, I am beyond happy to be rid of that bud-tending job. Being a budtender is cool and trendy for many reasons, you get to literally consume the product and give the customer feedback, and you get the scoop on new strains and newest cannabis gadgets. I mean, who wouldn’t want that job!? But being a budtender in a fairly new and taboo industry also has many downsides.
One of the downsides of working in the Cannabis industry is the lack of female representation in the workplace and management. The Cannabis industry is very much male-dominated, according to an Article published by Kimberley Redmond in April 2023, only 22% of canna businesses are women-owned, 44% of women hold cultivations jobs, and 47% of women hold retail-level jobs in the industry. It was also noted in the article that the gender gap would not be closing anytime soon. I worked with 12 male budtenders and only 6 women budtenders in 2020 and that number only dwindled as time went on. One of my pet peeves on the job was the constant questions I got from customers asking, “Do you even smoke?” to which I would respond, “Is it because I am a girl?” I was not the only woman at my job to be hounded by that shady question.
Another downside was the passing of Prop 64 in 2018. This absolutely changed the culture and the way the Cannabis industry operated. It ruined small farms’ chances to grow in the industry and made way for big companies to ultimately monopolize the recreational sector before it even got off the ground. Legalization brought with it many rules and regulations, one being the mandatory testing of all legal cannabis for more than 100 contaminants, including pesticides and heavy metals. While the mandatory THC tests provided a sense of security in what people were consuming, the mandatory testing also skewed the idea of what “good” weed is. I was so tired of hearing, “Let me get the highest THC.” while working at my retail cannabis job. Once California made it mandatory to have the THC percentage labeled on the products, people started to seek only high-testing cannabis and forgot that no one knew what the THC percentage was prior to 2018. Cultivators are now praying their batches of weed test over 30% THC to be able to effectively move in the California market. Take it from a 7-year budtending vet, THC percentage is just a number and honestly, a horrible way to gauge the overall quality of Cannabis.
The last downside of the industry is the average pay. The average starting wage of a budtender in California is minimum wage, $15.50. Most of the Cannabis corporations are greedy and the owners truly do not care about the staff-level employees who are working hard to sell their products. This is evident in the lack of promotions, raises, and funding. Prior to legalization in 2018, employees at my company were making $3 above minimum wage. That changed with legalization and the higher taxes that fell on the companies. In 2019 I recall getting a 26-cent raise. In 2020 most of my co-workers and I received a notice that raises were postponed, even after a hike in sales during the pandemic. In the same year, I was told that the front desk would get a new suitable chair to replace the raggedy one. To this day that chair is still there and no, the multi-million dollar company never sent a new one.
I think the California industry has some regulations to tweak and still a very long way to go to achieve real change in the gender gap and misinformation of THC percentage. I am glad to be out and away from the industry and free from the shackles of the company that I worked for. I only hope that this industry can improve and be more for the people and overall wellness.
- An ex-veteran budtender
