Everyone wants to work at a cannabis dispensary, until they do. It seems like the chillest job, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Pot epitomizes joy, relaxation, creativity, freedom, all things the working world despises. Weed is fun, so why should selling it be any different? But the move from consumer to industry worker is hardly countercultural. Behind the cannabis club’s laidback façade lurk the same trappings and humiliation rituals found in most shitty jobs.
This is about facts versus reputation, reality versus expectations, and how the perfect person for a cannabis job might not be who you think.
Why I’m fit to tell this story
This Broke-Ass editor is a five-year veteran of the cannabis industries of Oregon and California. I worked at two cannabis dispensaries during my five years in Portland, and three since returning to San Francisco. My entrance dovetailed with the transition from medicinal-only to recreational use. I watched retail settings replace clinical, worked through the advent of the weed boutique, and saw dispensaries all but abandon their medical-use patients.
When I started working in the cannabis industry in Oregon, we filled these drams with eighths we weight ourselves. California law requires cannabis items to come pre-packaged. Creative commons.
Unfortunately, that surge of recreational use made opening a dispensary appealing to the worst kind of person: small business owners.
The owner is often the store’s worst enemy
Every bartender and server reading this is nodding already. All too often, the owner is the store’s worst enemy. They make uninformed decisions and terrible business calls, bothering customers and pushing the wrong products, insistent on a vision. They interfere with managers who, in the absence of order, have fashioned their own, only now the owner wants to change things. People spend more time at work than with loved ones, just to catch heat from someone who can’t even operate the register.
The vast majority of dispensary owners have no business owning a cannabis dispensary. Some don’t even smoke. All they see is a money-making machine. Everything else comes second, you included. Here is some of what I received in return for babysitting some rich rando‘s pet project. My schedule came out two days before it went into effect, but if I had a doctor’s appointment, I must request time off at least two weeks in advance. They scheduled me when I couldn’t work, as if asking about my availability were a formality. At three of the five shops I worked at, I made minimum wage. Only one was transparent about what they did with my tips once the jar left the sales floor. The rest were suspiciously secretive, making me all but certain they were skimming. When I asked to see how they pooled and disbursed tips, they said I was just “lucky” to be there. To the owner, you are only as good as your most recent sale.
Beware the job that holds your employment against you. If you really feel lucky to have a certain job, that feeling should come from within. A smart business owner creates desirable conditions where employees will choose to stay; that’s loyalty. Unable or unwilling to entice employees, bad business owners rule by fear.
Customers aren’t always who you think
The stereotypical dispensary-goer is a twenty-something male burnout who can’t keep his eyes open, and there’s some truth to that. But the same hippie can hold a tax-free medical marijuana card for a debilitating disease we can’t perceive. People lie to say that, “Everybody smokes pot,” and that’s true. You learn that cannabis users have no single look; anyone from any background can find weed helpful.
Re-Leaf was a cannabis dispensary South of Market that has since permanently closed. South of Market once contained many dispensaries because few schools are located there and California law forbids dispensaries from operating within a certain distance from them. Creative commons.
On the other hand, it is astounding how comfortable the public got with this privilege (and fast!). People have largely forgotten what a novelty this is. My father went to federal prison for moving and selling pounds of weed across greater Wichita in the 90s. Now, even with the sanctity of the law in deep existential crisis, weed is somehow still federally illegal. And yet I am awe-struck by the number of high-and-mighty soccer moms who forget they’re buying drugs.
They generally frown on getting high at work (but may be just fine with other illegalities)
Most dispensaries I worked at abide by the industry’s many strict laws. In California and Oregon, every move of an item containing THC is required to be traceable. Like an Olympian carrying the torch, someone at every stage of production is responsible for documenting the transfer. This is called “seed to sale,” a standardized process outlined by METRC (pronounced “metric”). METRC stands for Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance. Stray from their procedures and you risk getting shut down by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC).
What raises eyebrows at the DCC (who likes to send plainclothes inspectors without notice) are discrepancies. Sales to nobody (all sales must be attached to registered profiles). Any products sold incorrectly on purpose (one $27 SKU for another $27 SKU). Too many inconsistencies with inventory/not enough transactions to account for them. Something innocuous such as a lack of employee photo ID badges can incur the store a hefty fine. Most shops toe the line while others flirt with it, but I’ve known some that wipe their asses with it. It seems unwise to take chances if the penalty is getting fined out of business.
Imagine losing your income because your employer’s irresponsibility got the store shut down. It happens. The cannabis industry is rife with untold worker’s rights violations. It’s one reason your best allies (or potential saboteurs) at a dispensary aren’t your managers, but your coworkers.
Even the best coworkers can’t fix a broken dispensary
One might reasonably assume that plentiful cannabis expertise and a friendly demeanor are key to getting hired at a dispensary. In my experience, those qualities cease to be helpful beyond the interview stage. Once hired, you see how disproportionate the customer service-to-store upkeep ratio is. Store upkeep is part of the job and not daunting when structured. Given what you’ve read so far, does it sound like dispensaries are good at implementing/adhering to a structure? Mostly no (that requires preset roles with tasks limited to one purview). It’s best if you leave your strong personality at home.
This line outside a cannabis dispensary in Montevideo stretches down the block. Many dispensaries observe low occupancy limits (usually a 1:1 ratio of staff to customers) as a safety precaution. Creative commons.
Working at a dispensary can be fun, just rarely what it’s cracked up to be. If you land someplace that proves itself an exception to this rule, treasure it. Meanwhile, consider your boundaries and how much of yourself you would sacrifice to someone else’s dream. Can you stoke, defer to, and tip-toe around a storeowner’s fragile ego? Do you swear to operate by their standards, no matter how wasteful, immoral, impractical or illegal? Will you pine for approval from a capitalist pig you resent when their back is turned, who wouldn’t bother attending your funeral if you died en route to work? If somehow you said ‘Yes’ to any of those questions, please get psychological help—or apply to your nearest pot shop.
