Marijuana business is booming in Sacramento and so are the jobs that come with it

The cannabis industry in the city of Sacramento has become the ninth largest employer with nearly 8,000 workers four years after recreational marijuana was legalized, shows a report commissioned by city officials.

“It’s a remarkable turn of events” said David Zehnder, a managing principal with consulting firm Economics & Planning Systems and the study’s lead researcher.

In a city dominated by the state government and its 25,000 workers, Zehnder said legalized cannabis has created a growing stream of companies and employees.

The 7,970 employees employed in the cannabis industry was only surpassed by other government sectors, such as school and college employees, social service workers, transportation workers, along with temporary workers, hospital workers and full-service and fast-food restaurant workers.

In addition to creating jobs, the report asserts three other significant findings:

▪ Gross annual receipts have more than tripled since 2018, the first full year of legal sales.

▪ The industry has not created a spike in crime.

▪ Home values have not decreased overall in areas in close proximity to cannabis businesses.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the report confirms that Sacramento made the right decision in embracing the cannabis business after voters approved proposition 64 legalizing recreational marijuana in 2016.

“The city made a conscious decision to enter the cannabis business, the legal cannabis business, “ he said. “We’re generating around $20 million of tax revenue a year. And, yes, creating a lot of jobs. And I’m glad we did.”

[Read more at The Sacramento Bee]