Planet 13, a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator, is continuing to expand its Nevada footprint.

The company announced that it has received approvals to operate its 22,000-square-foot Nevada cultivation expansion and that the first harvest is underway–ahead of the originally planned timeline of Q4 2022, according to a press release.

RELATED: The Dispensary Disruptor

Larry Scheffler, co-CEO of Planet 13, said the expansion will help support the development of the company’s product lines.

“We are thrilled to be able to expand our supply of premium quality flower for our popular Medizin, TRENDI, and Leaf & Vine flower lines. The expanded cultivation will also support our TRENDI vape and concentrates and HaHa edibles which are among the top selling brands in their respective categories in Nevada,” he said. “I commend the team for their work [in] getting this project done ahead of schedule, enabling us to increase vertical integration, share of shelf at both the SuperStore and in the wholesale market, and ultimately profitability.”

Vangst, a cannabis industry recruitment business, issued a new report this month that draws something of a flow chart for the growing employment base in the cannabis industry. These new employees up and down the cannabis supply chain must be coming from some other line of work, right?

The top sector from which cannabis employees arrive is retail, according to the report, and the dispensary environment offers a neat translation of that customer-service skill set. But that’s not the only lateral move that brings folks into the industry. 

Other “feeder industries” cited by Vangst include food services, manufacturing, health care, marketing, construction and hospitality. Considering that the U.S. cannabis space now supports 430,000 jobs and counting (according to Leafly’s 2022 numbers), the Vangst report adds some context to the inflow of workers. 

The backdrop of this data is what many have termed “the Great Resignation,” which took the credit for at least some of the 47 million Americans who quit their jobs in 2021. That figure is important, because Vangst notes that 33% of cannabis employees have been in the industry for less than a year.

“As cannabis companies professionalize, they’re hiring for more and more traditional roles that don’t necessarily require knowledge of the cannabis plant or its history,” the report states. “They’re also increasingly able to match or beat traditional sector pay.”

RELATED: 2022 Best Cannabis Companies To Work For – Cultivation 

RELATED: 2022 Best Cannabis Companies To Work For - Dispensary 

What that rapid churn into the industry means is that on-the-job training can become more nuanced, more tailored to individual companies’ needs. Vangst suggests that employers might look for a softer set of job qualifications, such as “adaptability,” “grit,” “solution-oriented thinking” and “mission-driven work ethic.” Those traits can be drawn out in the interview process or during the probationary training periods that many dispensaries or cultivation businesses use to introduce new hires to the work.

The same goes for employers themselves. Adaptability is vital, because employee turnover remains fairly high in these early years of cannabis. 

“Despite being an extremely fractured market due to federal prohibition, the industry is rapidly becoming more professional,” the report states. “Venture capitalists, stockholders, and funds want returns; large multistate operators, or MSOs, are optimizing the retail experience, forcing local independents to do the same to stay competitive; consolidation is happening at a large scale.”

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. (AWH), a multistate, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, announced an array of programs and initiatives to support cannabis expungement efforts. The announcements include increased donations through the Ascend Foundation to address the impact of the war on drugs, donations to equity organizations around the country and coordinated expungement clinics to provide opportunity in the communities most harmed by the consequences of historical and current U.S. drug policy.

Special Expungement Events

AWH will host a week of events across the U.S. that offers expungement and other legal services to formerly incarcerated individuals. Not only will the clinics assist in expungement and record sealing, but they will also help attendees access other critical resources, such as housing, mental health support, legal services and more. AWH's expungement events will kick off with a clinic this October in Montclair, N.J. Additional events will soon be announced for the fall via Instagram @ascendholdings. For more information and event details, visit https://www.awholdings.com/expungement-clinics.

Ascend Foundation

In addition, AWH has increased donations through its previously announced, Ascend Foundation, expanding the company's Corporate Social Responsibility to organizations around the country that support expungement efforts, economic empowerment and community engagement locally. The foundation is committed to the holistic wellness of communities and supports organizations that keep communities healthy—mentally, physically and financially. The foundation strives to uplift grassroots organizations that are led by the communities that they represent, with proven track records of their ability to deliver on their promises and resources. The foundation has recently donated more than $65,000 to several such organizations in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and more, funding a variety of efforts toward restorative justice. Those organizations are the following:

• Westside Justice Center
• Michigan Cannabis Freedom Coalition 
• Mass Cultivated
• Black Economic Council of Massachusetts 
• Urban League of Ohio
  

Partnership

AWH continues to contribute to nonprofit organizations that work to address the harms and injustices created by cannabis prohibition. Including contributions by Ascend customers, AWH recently surpassed $1.8 million in donations to the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to clemency, reentry programs and advocacy for individuals with cannabis convictions. AWH's contributions have helped the organization to expand its executive bench, hiring a diverse range of leaders that is representative of the community. Ascend is the largest contributor to LPP among the multistate operators; the company's support of LPP has specifically funded several impactful initiatives, including:

• The release of 21 constituents to date
• 60 constituents matched with pro bono attorneys, 41 cases currently being litigated
• Funding constituent commissary accounts for phone calls, stamps and emails
• $1 million in micro-grants, funding 10 semesters of tuition for constituents' children, 48 months of childcare for children with an incarcerated caretaker and a full year of housing for 16 returning citizens

Continued Commitment

These initiatives follow a long history of the company's commitment to criminal justice reform.

"Cannabis legalization is a unique issue in that if executed properly it can be used as a tool for economic growth in underserved communities," said Danielle Drummond, vice president of social equity at AWH. "Expungement clinics, legal assistance and mental health services are practical initiatives that can make an incredible impact in the lives of the formerly incarcerated. The Ascend Foundation is proud to support such a range of organizations making a difference in their communities as cannabis becomes an increasingly equitable space."

"It is critical that companies with the resources to uplift those harmed by cannabis prohibition take the opportunity to do so," said Frank Perullo, president and co-founder of AWH. "AWH prioritizes its responsibility to the cannabis community by not only supporting the Last Prisoner Project but also expanding the mission's reach to a local level through the Ascend Foundation. It is my hope that more and more MSOs will answer the call to foster and fund restorative justice in the industry we all love."

For more information on AWH's equity and inclusion initiatives, visit its website or view the company’s integrated Environmental, Social and Governance integrated Annual Report here.

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – TerrAscend Corp., a North American cannabis operator, announced that it has entered into an agreement with TRP—the cannabis holding and operating company with the exclusive rights to introduce the nation’s most coveted Cookies products to Pennsylvania. Strains from Cookies premium genetics will be made available at TerrAscend dispensaries across the commonwealth and Cookies stores owned and operated by TRP to open in the coming months. Under the terms of the multiyear agreement, TerrAscend will cultivate and manufacture Cookies products in the Keystone State.

In the coming weeks, TerrAscend will launch Cookies products at each of the company's “Apothecarium” and “Keystone Canna Remedies” dispensary retail chains across Pennsylvania.

"It's exciting to announce this agreement and continue to collaborate with Berner and his team on sharing these world-class products with patients in Pennsylvania," TerrAscend Executive Chairman Jason Wild said.

"Pennsylvania has always shown Cookie's love and we could not be more excited to expand our reach on the East Coast with our partner TerrAscend. We're excited to launch a fresh menu of California flavors in what has become a very strong and important market for cannabis in the U.S.," said Berner, co-founder and CEO of Cookies.

"TRP is excited to partner with TerrAscend to bring some of the most desirable genetics out there to the patients of the Pennsylvania, and are looking forward to providing patients with the full Cookies experience when we open our flagship stores in the commonwealth,” said Brandon Johnson, co-founder and CEO of TRP.

With this relationship in place, Cookies products will also be available to patients at TerrAscend's The Apothecarium and Keystone Canna Remedies dispensaries in Plymouth-Meeting, Lancaster, Thorndale, Bethlehem, Allentown and Stroudsburg.

For more information on store locations, visit apothecariumpa.com and keystonecannaremedies.com.