If you’ve got a passion for pot, California may just have a job for you.
Nearly 30 cannabis industry-related positions ranging from geologists and software engineers to policy and legal analysts have been posted to the California State Government website, most within the last week.
The current jobs are through the state’s three cannabis licensing authorities: The Bureau of Cannabis Control, CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing and the California Department of Public Health.
With still-evolving policies related to the adult use of marijuana, policy-makers are scrambling to hire staff to enforce new environmental, health and safety regulations set to begin Jan. 1, 2018. On that date, adults over the age of 21 will be able to use marijuana legally, without a medical recommendation.
Sadly for stoners ready to throw their hats into the ring, being a pot tester has nothing to do with getting high. Instead, some employees will be overseeing and lab-testing cannabis from producers and manufacturers to make sure it complies with strict health and safety codes. Possibly in a lab coat. Somewhere in the Central Valley.
Scientists are most needed, the front line on protecting natural resources, overseeing organic practices, pesticide use and making sure that safe manufacturing practices are followed. A number of these positions require extensive travel throughout the state.
The other high-need area is for CalCannabis IT Projects. Technology staff will deploy electronic solutions for licensing cultivators as well as the track-and-trace systems for cannabis as it moves through the distribution chain.
Salaries range from $3,493 to $10,394 per month, according to the website.
So the million-dollar question: Do you have to pass a drug test looking for THC?
The CalCareers website simply states: “It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.” Wait, cannabis isn’t illegal. So….
Think there’s something for you? Don’t dawdle, because filing deadlines ranging from 8/25/17 to 9/6/17. Jobs online at jobs.ca.gov. Search term: Cannabis.
