Following important cannabis news articles every day can be a real burn-out, we know. That’s why the Emerald rolls up a chronicle of the headiest news hits, and passes them to you at the end of each week. We Bring You: The Dime.
Leafly Jobs Report Shows Cannabis Industry Adds More Than 100,000 Jobs
This week, Leafly released its sixth annual jobs report. In it, they found that the industry has provided 428,059 jobs nationwide. According to the data, there are now more industry jobs than fighters. This includes both plant-touching jobs, like cultivation, and non-planting-touching jobs — like cannabis media or consulting. Compared to last year — which showed the industry employed 321,000 people — this marks a, “33% increase in jobs in a single year. And it marks the fifth year in a row of annual jobs growth greater than 27%,” Leafly explained. The report also provided insight into individual state markets. For example, data finds that California’s legal market far employees the most with more than 83,000 jobs. But states like Michigan also supported 31,000 jobs; Colorado supported another 38,000+.
Recent Polls Shows Support for Legal Weed in Florida is High
A new University of Florida poll, which asked voters’ thoughts on a number of political issues, shows that 76% of Florida voters are in favor of legal recreational cannabis. That’s up 12% since 2019. Only 20% opposed the idea, a university press release explains. While a majority of older Floridians support adult-use legalization, support was also high among younger voters. For example, “[…] legalization is strongly supported across all age groups, including 63% of voters 65 and up,” states a Florida Politics report. Additionally, Marijuana Moment, added, “[…] Democrats were more favorable of possession legalization (76 percent) compared to Republicans (64 percent). Among people with no party affiliation, 90 percent back ending cannabis prohibition,” the publication further explained.
South Dakota Inches Closer to Legal Recreational Weed
On Wednesday, February 23rd, the South Dakota Senate approved a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis, reports the Associated Press. Officials narrowly approved it by one vote. Now, it heads to the state’s House of Representatives, where its fate remains unclear, Marijuana Business Daily stated. The proposal comes after state voters approved a bill to legalize recreational weed in 2020. But, “Republican Gov. Kristi Noem challenged its constitutionality and the state Supreme Court [nullified it] last year,” the Associated Press further reported.
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