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Who’s Really Making Money Here?

Who’s Really Making Money Here?

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Lately, we have been thinking about how many people are dependent on the legal cannabis market to make a living. However many that may be, it all starts with the grower, the farmer, and the cultivator. If no plants are grown, there is nothing to sell. As obvious as this sounds, it is most often forgotten in the so-called Green Rush to profit. So, for this whole legalization thing to work, above all, the farmer must be nurtured and cared for just as the plants must be fed and watered.

The more we delved into the subject, the more astounded we became at the unbelievable number of people who are actually involved in getting the flower from farm to consumer or from farm to manufacturer to consumer. The cannabis economy is as extensive and intertwined with every aspect of daily life as is the auto industry. And, of course, no cannabis moves without wheels.

Basically, there are several tracks that, though seemingly independent, are totally interconnected. The various “touch the plant” cannabis businesses and their employees, from grower to retailer, is one track. Another track peripheral to that includes all the people that the license applicant must employ to get the license in the first place. A third track is comprised of business consultants, as well as attorneys, who do the legal work of drawing up by-laws and contracts. Then there are third-party companies handling payroll and accounting for the cannabis business. Then there are all the government agencies and their newly-hired employees who regulate the industry, whose salaries come out of the high level of taxation imposed on cannabis.

In addition, we must take into account all those ancillary businesses which make products and equipment necessary for cultivation, processing, manufacture, labeling, packaging, testing, and retail displays.

If we follow the chain of custody, we can get an idea of the hundreds of people who are directly and indirectly involved in — and earn their living even partially from — the cannabis industry. But, spoiler alert, we are about to get very wonky with numbers. Nevertheless, it is all just simple arithmetic, so try and stay with us.

Now, before there is a chain of custody before the seeds are even cracked in the springtime or the clone cuttings are taken, and long before the first harvest, numerous people are at work for the cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, lab testers, event producers, and retailers, helping them to get their numerous permits and licenses. And they need to get paid, too. 

These people are consultants and contractors, accountants and attorneys, geologists, foresters, soil engineers, biologists, compliance officers, and payroll administrators. In addition, for the physical compliance upgrades, there are carpenters, plumbers, electricians, excavators, draftsmen, designers, and even architects and engineers.

Some of these individuals or companies specialize in cannabis business; others do not. Some only take a small fee, while others make most of their income by providing essential services to the cultivators who are trying to get legal for the first time. If we count just one person from most of the above-listed categories, there are a minimum of 16 preliminary professional and tradespeople a farmer typically must engage with during the process of setting up a business and obtaining the various state and county licenses and permits. 

And approximately that same number of people goes for each of the seven types of businesses through the chain of custody. That means sixteen preliminary consultants, contractors, attorneys, designers, etc., each for cultivation, manufacture, processing and packaging, testing, distribution, event production, and retail business. Now, we are already up to 112 workers (16 x 7) who never even come near the plant; they just enable the business to get going.

This number does not include the number of people engaged in the management of peripheral businesses. Each one of these businesses also has a CEO, an accountant, bookkeeper, attorneys, compliance officer, office manager, and security personnel. This means there are at least eight (8) management employees for sixteen businesses for each of seven types of cannabis business. In other words, that is 896 (8 x 16 x 7) people for whom a slice of their income is derived from cannabis. This is added to the 112 people actually doing the work for the cannabis business which hired them, for a grand total of 1,008 (112 + 896) people peripheral to a given cannabis business who nonetheless are dependent on it.

To this number of preliminary peripheral occupations making their living from cannabis must be added all of the government workers, at the city, county, and state levels, who review applications, inspect cultivation sites, answer phones, interface with the public, and enforce the laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations that other additional government staff have written at the behest of the legislature or the people’s referendums. 

The taxes on cannabis commerce, combined with permit and license fees, as well as all the fines and penalties imposed on those who are found to be out of compliance, pays for all their government salaries. Ironically, they are, in that sense, our employees, whom we have to pay, and who make us follow the rules that they have imposed upon us. Rules we have had little to no input in crafting and which are much more restrictive than the rules for practically any other industry. And that money is taken off the top. No tax deductions are allowed (though state tax deductions may be allowed this year).

Prior to the formation of the Department of Cannabis Control on July 1, 2021, there were three separate agencies in California that controlled the primary rule-making, license-issuing, and enforcement powers. These were the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) housing the CalCannabis Branch; the Department of Consumer Affairs (CDCA) with the Bureau of Cannabis Control; and the Department of Public Health (CDPH) with the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch. Once combined into the DCC, the hundreds of employees who make these programs operable were transferred over.

In the chain of custody, the flower, on its journey from farm to consumer, directly encounters numerous State employees. From the farmer to the processor and distributor, manufacturer, testing labs, and retailers — all have some level of inspections or contact by government agencies. In addition, there are the people making the regulations in the DCC and a new task force charged with enforcement. For each person, the cannabis business deals with directly, there are approximately 300 people back in Sacramento who make up the Department of Cannabis Control. Their salaries come from the cannabis plant.

In addition, the Departments of Pesticides, Fish and Wildlife, Fees and Taxation, Employment Development, Fire Protection, and Environment — with its Water Resource and Water Quality Control Boards — all have new divisions and personnel dedicated to creating cannabis regulations, issuing permits, and enforcing the new laws. Even one farmer getting licensed for a single farm has to engage with at least two to three people directly and an unknown number of people in the background, from each department, commission, or board. For each of these, seven additional agencies whose approval is required for a license, three people is again a minimum number to encounter. This is 21 (7 x 3) people for each of the seven types of cannabis business, or 147 (21 x 7) government personnel charged with monitoring cannabis businesses. Here, too, are another 50 people per department who are support personnel or management. This gives us 350 (7 x 50) plus another 147 workers engaged with cannabis businesses, which equals 497 (350 + 147) workers within the seven agencies. Added to the previous 321 workers from the three umbrella departments, we arrive at a grand total of 818 (497 + 321) state government employees dedicated to cannabis. 

Don’t forget: This is just the math for the state agencies. At the county levels, there are also several departments that need to give their approval, as well as collect taxes and fees, and which must be paid so that these workers can take home a paycheck. An estimated 105 (5 x 7 business types x 3 state departments) county workers and probably about the same for each city that allows licensed cannabis businesses, so that’s a low estimate of 210 county and city government workers altogether.

Thus far, this totals 2,036 (1,008 + 818 + 210) people from private industry and government agencies taking a portion of their wages from cannabis — and these are only the ones who never touch the plant

Finally, after all the permits and licenses are acquired, and the business is established, the chain of custody commences with sprouting the seeds. Now we encounter all the people who touch the plant or touch the packaging and processing. 

This track starts with the people at the farm, such as cultivators and their helpers, harvesters, and the METRC track-and-trace program person, who is an independent contractor. For our small one-quarter acre farm, that means two people beyond the owners, though at times, during planting or harvest, extra hands are employed. Larger operations would, of course, have more employees. That makes five workers at the farm level.

At the processing and packaging plant, which has its own payroll, there is the intake manager plus trimmers, packagers, label attachers, and warehousing personnel, making at least eight workers involved in manicuring, preparing, and packaging the cannabis flowers for testing and subsequent delivery.

For the distributor, whose operations sometimes include the above processing and packaging of the plant, there is an inventory manager, packaging materials supply manager, delivery drivers, and a wholesale manager, so at least eight more employees. 

For the testing lab, there are sample pick-up drivers, and in the lab there are technicians who actually test the products, so call it four additional workers.

At the retailer, there are product buyers, inventory stock controllers, floor managers, and budtenders. Let’s say seven more people since there are different shifts of budtenders. 

Then there is the trim shake or sugar leaf that is sent to a manufacturer to make concentrates, edibles, extracts, topicals, etc., and there are more people who touch the plant or jar. This route for the trim or shake also entails a distributor for transport to the manufacturing site, and from there, back to the distributor to be tested, and then on to be delivered to the retailer. One would estimate seven employees at the factory or kitchen. These would include an intake manager, several people making the product and others packaging, as well as doing inventory control.

The minimum number of people who touch the flower, trim, shake, or packaging before it gets to the customer is at least 39 (5 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 7 + 7) people.

This number, however, does not include the people engaged in the management of cannabis businesses who do not touch the plant. Each one of these businesses also has an owner or CEO or both, an accountant, bookkeeper, attorney, compliance officer, office manager, security personnel, and so on. Many cannabis businesses have branding and marketing personnel, too. Call it about ten people per business entity, so with cultivation, processing, packaging, distribution, testing, event production, and retail, there are about another 70 (10 x 7) people who get their compensation courtesy of the cultivator without even seeing the flowers.

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Now, we have estimated or counted at least 109 (39 + 70) people employed by the companies that touch the plant. Compare this with the 2,036 people who don’t touch the plant but still take their cut before the cannabis business gets theirs. And we’re not even done yet.

Lastly, we must consider where the cannabis business owners and employees spend their money. Local businesses spend locally. Aside from spending at nearby supermarkets, gas stations, car dealers, clothing stores, etc., who supply life’s daily needs to the cannabis community, there are all the businesses that offer necessary supplies or agricultural services once the farmer is in production. These encompass soil testing labs, organic certifiers, nursery businesses, soil makers, fertilizer and compost makers, hay and straw producers, amendment producers, etc. And then, on top of all of them, there are all their workers.

Further, there are all the businesses that make solar panels, generators, pumps, pipes, greenhouses, sprayers, fencing, irrigation systems, tractors and accessories, rototillers, planter pots, hand tools, lighting equipment, dehumidifiers, fans, surveillance equipment, and water and air purifiers, which are necessary to a cannabis cultivation business. And again, all their workers.

In addition, manufacturers have their own special equipment needs for their different manufacturing processes, such as various kinds of extractors, freeze dryers, stoves, ovens, ventilation and purification systems, and who knows what else. The same is true for processors, packagers, distributors, and lab testers, who also purchase special equipment and machinery.

When cannabis businesses pay other businesses and agencies, they, in turn, use that money to pay other businesses. By now, we have lost count of all the people and businesses who are dependent on cannabis to make a living or a profit. This number is inestimable, but obviously, it’s less than infinity. 

However, when you add together all the people and companies who have to get paid before the farmer gets a share, it is no wonder that no one in the legal cannabis business in California can make a profit. Clearly, it is all the peripheral and ancillary services, consultants, contractors, and supply businesses that make whatever money is left over after taxes and fees.

Throw in the fact that there are not nearly enough licensed retail outlets to sell the product once it has reached the end of the custody chain, and you get the picture of why California’s cannabis situation is a fiasco — why everyone but the grower, the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer is making money. But without that flower, and a way to profitability for the cultivator, the whole edifice collapses. The roots run deep, and it takes a legion of laborers to keep the system going. 

That said, we can’t resist making the comparison with the number of people and costs involved in the chain of custody in the traditional illicit market. Of course, in the old days, there were no taxes and no fees, no lab testing, minimal packaging costs, and the farmer and their partners did all the work themselves. The only government departments were the sheriffs, the police, the district attorneys, the DEA, CAMP, and so on. The only lawyer an underground cannabis farmer needed was a defense attorney if someone got busted — and, to be fair, that was going to cost them big time. However, since people never wrote anything down, they only needed an accountant for personal income taxes. People would hire a local underground carpenter, electrician, or plumber for installation, but no permits or fees, no inspections. And the price of flower was over $3,000 a pound wholesale, climbing up to $5,000 briefly. Today, if the legal grower gets $900 a pound after expenses, they are lucky.

Trimming was done at home, by the pound, by trimmers who lived onsite and stayed up working into the wee hours of the night. Packaging involved turkey bags and contractor bags for growers, and sandwich bags for dealers. Transport was by the grower, or they paid a driver $100 a pound. In the really early days, buyers would meet farmers at remote spots in the mountains, bringing suitcases full of cash and take the whole crop. Later, aggregators would assemble 10-packs and 20-packs, paid in cash, either when it changed hands or shortly after

Yeah, a grower could make some good money in those days. But the number of jobs it created was minimal, sort of pre-industrial, compared to the economic bonanza for all those involved in the business today. That is, it’s a bonanza for everyone except the very people without whom none of this would be possible. If all the small farmers go out of business, what will happen to the thousands and thousands who live off of them? 

For more on Swami Select, visit their website here and follow them on Instagram

Nikki Lastreto and Swami Chaitanya are the founders of Swami Select brand of craft cannabis flowers. They consciously cultivate premium sungrown cannabis, using regenerative methods in living soil at their sanctuary in Mendocino County. As Flower Judges for The Emerald Cup since it began in 2004, they have sampled thousands of cultivars and are true Cannabis Connoisseurs. Nikki and Swami lived abroad for several years, especially in India. They infuse their cannabis, and their lives, with spiritual devotion and are dedicated to shaping the future of cannabis through political action and education.

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