Getting Started in the Cannabis Industry
Today, the legal cannabis and hemp market is exploding. More than 67% of Americans are in favor of cannabis legalization and 32% of adults are considered consumers in states where adult recreational consumption is approved and available. A significant portion of the world has begun to introduce cannabis and CBD reform into their economies. Globally, world wide spending for cannabis is now predicted to reach $31.6 billion in 2022.
The cannabis industry is diverse and profound. There are so many options on how you can get involved. Even if you don’t have a green thumb or want to work in a dispensary, you can serve the industry in other ways (ancillary).
Over the past few years, ancillary jobs such as accounting, legal services, security, marketing, etc. have been cropping up. This is a billion-dollar industry- you can definitely find a place in it!
A brief history lesson
What’s the history behind cannabis legalization throughout the world and the US? Cannabis has been around for centuries, it was first discovered growing in 10,000 BC in the area that is now Mongolia. George Washington among several other US presidents grew hemp on his property. Here’s an overview of some of the MAJOR cannabis events:
- 10,000 BC – Cannabis grows in the area that is now Mongolia
- 1611 to 1800s – US Cultivation of Hemp
- 1842 – Clinical studies of cannabis find that it is an effective muscle relaxant and anti-convulsive through a study conducted by the Irish Physician, William O’Shaughnessy
- 1840s-1930’s – Cannabis is widely prescribed in the US.
- 1850 – Cannabis is added to U.S. Pharmacopeia
- 1860 – The Ohio State Medical Society conducts the first US government survey of cannabis medicine, reporting that the plant is helpful for pain, bronchitis, venereal disease, and postpartum depression.
- 1911 – First state to ban marijuana
- 1915 According to to William Osler, the former modern father of medicine, “[Cannabis] is the most satisfactory remedy” for migraines.”
- 1930’s – The US government begins regulating cannabis
- 1930 – Reefer Madness premiers and becomes a global sensation.
- 1930 – The Federal Bureau of Narcotics states marijuana is associated with psychosis and crime
- 1937 – Marijuana Tax Act passed
- 1964- Israel doctors isolate and synthesize tetrahydrocannabinol, THC
- 1970 – Richard Nixon Administration temporarily categorizes marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, Pending further presidential review. This temporary categorization remains in place today
- 1976 – The first legal medical patient sues the Federal government
- 1985- The FDA approves a synthetic THC based pharmaceutical.
- 1992- The endocannabinoid system is discovered.
- 1996 – California is the first state to legalize medical marijuana
- 1999 – The US files for a patent for cannabis
- 2003- The US government receives a patent for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids
- 2012 – Colorado & Washington legalize adult use of cannabis.
- 2014 – Alaska and Oregon legalize adult use of cannabis
- 2016 – A year in the history books for cannabis prohibition. Four states legalized adult use of cannabis (including CALIFORNIA!) and another 3 approved medical use. More than 30 states have legalized cannabis for medical and adult use.
- 2018- voters in three states approved major cannabis initiatives; Michigan legalized adult-use cannabis, and Missouri and Utah legalized medical cannabis.
- December 2018 – President Trump signs the 2018 Farm Bill, Legalizing Hemp in the United States.
- 2018 – Canada became the first G6 nation to legalize cannabis for adult and medical use
- 2020 – 11 states have legalized adult use of cannabis, and 33 states have medical cannabis programs