(Image Credit: IMAGN) Jamie Norton, left, and Joshua Saunook transport harvested marijuana on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s farm in Cherokee, August 8, 2024.
Los Angeles, California – California’s cannabis industry may be booming, but according to a new report, many of the workers powering that growth are struggling under unsafe conditions, stolen wages, and widespread inequality.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from the UCLA Labor Center and the Cannabis Worker Collab surveyed over 1,100 cannabis workers across the state and conducted dozens of in-depth interviews. The report, High Stakes: The State of the California Cannabis Workforce, paints a troubling picture of what it’s like behind the scenes in one of California’s most rapidly growing industries.
Despite being a relatively new sector, the cannabis workforce is already showing signs of deeply entrenched labor issues. The report reveals that 85% of workers believe the industry lacks sufficient health and safety protections. Delivery workers report that their employers push them to drive faster than is safe, and cultivation workers often deal with back and neck pain, skin blisters, and eye strain from repetitive tasks and chemical exposure. Violence and theft are also an everyday threat—nearly one in three respondents reported experiencing robberies or burglaries at work.
Even with legal status, many workers are still exposed to conditions shaped by the legacy of prohibition. Some 15% of licensed workers said they had experienced violent police raids, a figure not far off from workers in the unlicensed market. Social dynamics within the workplace mirror larger societal problems, too: more than a quarter of women report that their coworkers have sexually harassed them, and many workers reported racial and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, often coming from management or customers.
Wage theft was another widespread issue. More than 60% of workers said they’d experienced some form of it—whether it was delayed pay, being forced to work off the clock, or other violations. Though average hourly wages in cannabis exceed those in retail or delivery—median pay clocks in at $19.50—many workers still struggle to cover basic needs. Almost half of women and the vast majority of gender-nonconforming workers reported food insecurity in the last year.
Still, the report points to some signs of progress. Unionized workers in the cannabis industry reported better outcomes across the board, including higher wages, more frequent raises, and better access to health insurance. Roughly 20% of surveyed workers were union members—significantly higher than the average in California’s retail and agricultural sectors.
The report concludes with recommendations to improve worker conditions, including better training programs, stronger labor protections, and expanded union access. With an estimated 78,000 jobs in the legal cannabis sector alone, the researchers argue that centering workers is essential if the industry is to realize its potential as a source of equity, sustainability, and long-term economic growth in California.
