A hiring boom in the marijuana industry is luring workers from retail and restaurant jobs

The number of people working in the legal marijuana industry has risen dramatically during the pandemic. In fact, there are now more marijuana workers in the United States than there are dentists or paramedics, writes The Washington Post. Many of those jobs are being filled by people who used to work in restaurants or in retail. That could be in part because marijuana dispensaries were allowed to stay open as essential businesses during the initial wave of shutdowns, when many other businesses had to close. But workers also told The Washington Post that they were making the switch—and in some instances taking a pay cut to do so—because it is generally a less stressful business. For many hospitality workers burned out by long hours in an increasingly stressful industry, marijuana work has been a positive career change. And marijuana business owners may feel pressure to provide better paying jobs and address worker complaints out of a desire to help legitimize the industry.

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