I Tried To Work in Cannabis
By: Greg Baker
Tags: Edibles, Work, Cannabis, Cannabis Edibles, Cannabis Industry

Neither of us wanted each other…..

This year, I took on a consulting job that involved developing products and setting up manufacturing to produce cannabis-infused edible products in the recreational market. I’m a chef by trade and hadn’t really thought about cannabis in about 25 years, so this wasn’t really in my wheelhouse. But I’m always up for a challenge and love the opportunity to learn new things.

My contract included designing an entire manufacturing facility, with strict adherence to safety regulations, protocols, and standards applicable to the food manufacturing process and governmental compliance regarding what one can and cannot do with weed. I also learned how to cook with cannabis and design edible products to differentiate this company in a new market. Then, I had to wrap all of this up in an easily comprehended bow and present it in an application package that spanned several hundred pages. I had three weeks to accomplish all of this.

I crashed my way through an infused-product and edibles certification. I designed a full line of natural, fruit-based candies and syrups. I designed high-end bean-to-bar infused chocolates, and I created cannabis seltzers. These are easy projects in a restaurant or bakery setting, but there are multiple additional elements and requirements to consider in a wholesale manufacturing environment.

So, I wrote HACCP plans, learned and applied Safe Quality Foods (SQF) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, and I got to where I can quote state cannabis regulations, chapter and verse. I even took Six Sigma Green Belt training to manage and improve manufacturing efficiencies. All of this is a lengthy way of saying that this chef can now make candies and drinks in a cleanroom setting and not have a second thought.

The company submitted the application on time, completed, and well done. And then it sat. The award date for licenses to make infused products was July 1 of this year, and as of mid-December, not a single applicant has received one. While waiting for the original award date, I’d completed my R&D work, and the products were ready to roll out. But I’d met the end of my contract, and there was no moving forward without a license.

My primary source of income comes from being a restaurant and bar consultant, and the phone has not precisely been ringing off the hook in an industry that has been crotch-stomped by the pandemic. And there I sat without a job for the first time in decades. So, I thought to myself, why not try to continue in the industry that I’d just deep-dived into and found utterly fascinating? Here’s what I found out.

The industry doesn’t pay for shit.

For a multi-billion-dollar industry, the pay scale is surprisingly low. I’ve got over 35 years of food experience and knowledge behind me. I also have about 25 years of management experience. That’s worth something, even if it is a shift in industries. I found most management or director jobs in the edibles arena top out at my low-end salary requirements.

I scan entry-level cannabis jobs frequently. It doesn’t matter which state or the cost-of-living considerations for that state; an infused product tech, packaging tech, greenhouse worker, flower trimmer, or dispensary worker all pay about the same. Twelve to thirteen dollars an hour seems to be the going rate. Walmart has a base rate of eleven, and most entry-level cooking jobs start at thirteen in my area. Neither of these has the strict regulatory compliance and background check requirements of the cannabis industry, so it’s difficult to justify the employee overhead with compensation less than what is considered a living wage. There are always cannabis jobs available, and this could be a significant factor in why — turnover from lack of reward.

Most edibles are intellectually lazy.

This one kills me. Most edibles processes start from what’s called “distillate.” The distillate is the end product of extracting resins from the cannabis trim and flower and distilling that extract to arrive at a 90% pure THC “syrup,” for lack of a better description. The distillation process removes all of the plants’ terpenes so that the distillate doesn’t “taste like weed.” Terpenes are flavor and scent compounds found in the cannabis plant. These are the same compounds found in essential oils. Lemony? That’s limonene. Lavender? That’s linalool. There are multiple therapeutic values to each terpene, such as anti-anxiety or anti-inflammatory properties. There are also great flavors and aromas to be found and worked with, but many manufacturers exclude the terpenes so that there is a neutral taste that won’t offend customers. As a chef, I know flavors and flavor combinations. There are countless ways to accent or contrast the terpene flavors and aroma that make them pleasant and also leave the therapeutic properties intact.

Some states ban fresh foods in edibles, claiming food safety issues, and some don’t. Florida prohibits the use of fresh fruits and the like, while Illinois allows it. For those states that don’t prohibit fresh foods, there is no reason not to use them, other than cost and consistency, both of which are controllable, should one want to put in the work. Most gummies are the same product and process: gelatin, various types of sugars or corn syrup, cannabis extract, preserving agents, and flavored oil. Gelatin comes from dead animals, so it’s worth pointing out that using it in a product automatically excludes vegetarians and vegans, who constitute18%-20% of the total potential cannabis market.

I’m inquisitive. It was both easy and cost-efficient to create a process that uses organic fruit juice concentrate, two types of sugars, a vegetable-based gelatin replacement, cannabis extract, and preserving agents. Real food that is also vegan and vegetarian friendly and carries a healthy profit margin only required mental effort and not following a cookie-cutter model. One would think that a profit-oriented business wouldn’t want to leave 18%-20% of its potential market on the floor, but that is the industry groupthink.

It is difficult for a new operator to break into the field.

Vertical integration is a large factor in cannabis land. As of 2019, 10 states required vertical integration in the medical cannabis field, while 17 states allowed it for medicinal or recreational use. Two states currently prohibit vertical integration in either market. Vertical integration is a model where one company owns everything in their supply chain; the greenhouses, the production facilities, and the retail dispensaries that sell to the customer. Getting into the business as a standalone grower, infuser, or dispensary is not a cheap proposition, but it pales compared to the multi-million-dollar investment of vertical control. That investment also creates significant barriers to entry into the market for BIPOC folks and establishes a culture dominated by rich, white dudes.

A Bitter Taste

After knocking on doors, stalking company presidents, and talking with government officials, I decided that I didn’t want to be a part of this, after all. In an industry with all of the pieces to be a disruptor, the significant players decided that the tried and true “build it fast, cheap and sell it for as much as possible” model was the way to go. It’s lazy. It lacks vision. It lacks compassion. It’s just big business as usual.