Employment in cannabis pre-2020 could be seen as more of a job, whereas now, people see the industry as a true career investment.

This year was a rollercoaster ride for the cannabis industry, which had its fair share of highs and lows. There were legalization breakthroughs, while various cannabis companies enforced massive layoffs.

However, there were also those that did quite a bit of hiring.

As we head into a new year—amidst a global pandemic, no less— hundreds of thousands of American citizens are unemployed nationwide. But legal cannabis businesses, from seed-to-sale, ancillary to multi-state operators, are still hiring in droves. The industry is poised to be the largest creator of jobs over the next decade, driving a workforce mobilization not seen since World War II.

Operating on the frontlines of this hiring blitz, we see opportunities and trends continue to crop up. Here is a countdown of five jobs that will be of the utmost importance in 2021.

With medical marijuana laws established in over half of the 50 states, and several in the midst of implementing adult use, some experts argue cannabis is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. Certainly there will continue to be thousands of new cannabis-related jobs available, but who will snag them and how?

Danielle Barber, a wellness consultant for 10 years at Harborside Health Center in Oakland, offers this advice to aspiring cannabis professionals:

The wonderful thing about this industry is that while the cannabis plant is the most important part, it isn’t the only part.

Although employment in cannabis manufacturing started to slide in March and continued shrinking through June as some of Canada’s largest producers announced layoffs, not all the official data is downbeat.

Both business and culture surrounding legal cannabis have certainly seen a lot of attention over the last few years.

With cannabis rapidly becoming legalized in more U.S. states, we are seeing that culture reach a much broader audience.

But, is that culture representative of Black and racially diverse industry professionals?

Cannabis marketing and advertising are becoming more mainstream and cannabis companies are taking full advantage of how many people they are reaching.

s legal cannabis markets continue to expand rapidly across the globe, Canada is uniquely positioned to develop international safety guidelines for the emerging industry.

On Tuesday, safety science consultant firm UL said it has teamed up with the Standards Council of Canada to host a workshop to address the safety, security and sustainability of the global legal weed industry.

The workshop will kick off in November and cover three distinct areas: