Arkansas Medical Marijuana Industry to Produce 1,000s of Jobs

F.A.S.T. Laboratories is a one-man medical marijuana testing lab that expects to bring on as many as seven new employees. The lab will also be doing some equipment purchasing:upwards of $1 million. Company vehicles also need to be purchased. Owner Kyle Felling is just one small corner of the new Arkansas medical marijuana industry.

Arkansas will have in-state cultivation and dispensaries, and that is where many of the jobs will be concentrated, according to Arkansas Online. There are also other services that are expected to open to assist the medical marijuana industry. Storm Nolan of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association expects between 500 and 600 jobs to become available.

Felling said, “It’s for medical use. Typically, the people will be immune-compromised in some way or they’ve got some ailment going on, so you’ve got to make sure it’s safe for people to consumer. That’s where the laboratory comes in and my company comes in.”

Nolan said, “That’s not a small number, and as demand continues to ramp up, I see that number growing all the time. A lot of it hinges on how well we do educating physicians and patients.”

David Couch, who sponsored the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, expects there to be 1,500 or more jobs available in the medical marijuana industry as it grows. Ancillary businesses, like F.A.S.T. Laboratories, all play vital roles in the success of the state’s program.

Couch said, “There’s inventory tracking systems. Somebody’s going to sell that, monitor that. All the lights have to be sold and installed. There’s construction. It’s going to cost a couple million dollars just to build out a facility. You’re going to employ carpenters – construction people. Then you’re going to need security along with production and testing.”

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release updated jobs classification systems data on September 6. This data will include marijuana industry jobs.

Arkansas residents can expect medical marijuana to be available in the summer of 2018.

The industry still has to get its specialty services setup, which includes enforcement, insuring the businesses, lobbying, inspections, banking options, and every other aspect of the new industry.

Arkansas law requires that dispensaries and cultivation facilities be owned by a resident of Arkansas, but the businesses supporting these main businesses don’t have to be owned/operated by a resident.

Felling said, “I would hope that Arkansas businesses will rise to the occasion. I’ll put it that way. A lot of people don’t want to see Colorado businesses coming here, California businesses coming here, and it’s not because they can’t do good work. It’s because people would like to see Arkansans helping Arkansans out.”

Regarding F.A.S.T. Laboratories’ place in the industry, Felling said, “We’ll help improve the quality of material that’s provided to customers.”

Felling still needs to hire a chemist, lab techs, samplers and drivers. At cultivation facilities, some expect the employment count to be between 45 and 60 per location. The state is expecting 20,000 – 40,000 patients in the medical marijuana program.