The United States’ cannabis industry has taken off in a big way, and this is just the beginning. Job growth is a direct effect of the rise of the legal cannabis industry and the nation is poised to reap some serious economic growth.

According to New Frontier Data, as many as 630,000 people will be employed by the U.S. cannabis industry by the year 2025. That’s triple the amount of the 200,000 people currently raking in in the cash thanks to the cannabis industry.

Employees aren’t necessarily cannabis consumers. Many haven’t even touched the plant until they are trimming buds to be sold inside dispensaries. Advocates believe that cannabis jobs in the U.S. could improve the nationwide employment rate, which was declared to be at an all-time record-low this year.

It’s not just industry-related jobs that depend on legal cannabis but also, roles in various other sectors. So, ask yourself, would you work in the cannabis industry?

Cannabis job in the U.S. available in a growing number of states

As of July 12, 2018, recreational cannabis is legal in nine states and medical cannabis is legal in 30 states.

With more than half of all 50 U.S. states offering cannabis employment, it’s not really surprising that America’s cannabis industry is leaving a major economic footprint.

Dispensaries are opening their doors statewide, whilst farmers are cultivating plants and hiring contractors to aid them with the all-important harvesting of crops. Cannabis jobs aren’t just limited to budtending, cultivation and weed-trimming, however.

Several online job boards feature jobs that involve both recreational and/or medicinal cannabis. America’s cannabis industry employs master extractors, edibles chefs, quality control inspectors, cannabis product packagers, cannabis couriers… the list goes on.

Now, let’s consider the effect that cannabis jobs are having on other sectors. Some people living in weed-friendly states are appreciative of the cannabis industry since it is increasing local demand for various goods and services. Based on data gathered by Arcview/BDS, direct and indirect jobs accounted for over 170,000 cannabis industry-related jobs in the U.S last year. Without the industry, things could have been very different.

Federal crackdown on cannabis jobs in the U.S. is unlikely

Despite the clear success of America’s cannabis industry, it’s crucial to consider the potential pitfalls. Many cannabis business owners will be thinking about the possibility of a federal crackdown happening at some point in the future. If this were to happen, cannabis business owners would watch the empire’s they have built crumble before their very eyes.  

Dale Gieringer is the director of cannabis advocacy group California NORML. He doesn’t seem to be too worried about a federal crackdown on U.S. cannabis jobs, saying that it would be a “huge project” for the federal government to undertake.

“It’s not going to happen,” said Gieringer. “They would have thousands of arrests that they would have to make.”

Only time will tell whether or not there is a federal crackdown on the cannabis industry. Until then, it’s good to know that employment rates are steadily increasing, the economy is benefiting and the medical market is booming.