Rochester, New York Public Library launches certification for cannabis workers

The Rochester Public Library in Rochester, New York, recognizes the tremendous potential for jobs in the state’s emerging new market. And while cannabis sales began in the state last December, Rochester’s first dedicated dispensary – Herbal lQ – opened just a month ago, on August 30, initially as a temporary pop-up location.

New pharmacies mean new job opportunities. The city administration plans to limit the number of pharmacies in the city to nine, which corresponds to one pharmacy for every 12,500 residents. Under the proposal, new cannabis companies would not be allowed to sell their products until January 1, 2025.

With a job boom looming in the city, the Rochester Public Library’s Business Insight Center will host “Get Weeding with the RPL,” a five-week workforce development course to prepare city residents for careers in New York State’s legal cannabis industry, according to one Monday press release from the city reads. The event will take place Saturdays from Sept. 30 to Oct. 28 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Bausch and Lomb Public Library building, 115 South Ave.

“As we prepare to operate legal cannabis dispensaries in our region, it is important to ensure we have a pool of qualified employees ready to work in these businesses as they open,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “The City of Rochester places great emphasis on our processes to ensure cannabis businesses thrive in our city, particularly for Black and brown people who have been most impacted by the War on Drugs. I would like to thank the Business Insight Center at the Rochester Public Library and our partners at the Cannabis Workforce Initiative and the Cannabis Employment and Education Development Unit for hosting these valuable training sessions to help our residents jump-start their careers in this new industry.”

Those who are able to complete the initial coursework will receive a certificate in “Cannabis Career Exploration and Worker Rights,” qualifying them as candidates to work as budtenders in legal dispensaries. Anyone who completes the five-week in-person event is then entitled to participate in an 8.5-hour virtual Responsible Vendor Training course.

“Get Weeding with the RPL” is hosted in collaboration with the NYS Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI) and the New York State Department of Labor’s Cannabis Employment and Education Development Unit (CEED).

There are many opportunities. According to the announcement, the in-person portion of the training will take place on five consecutive Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: September 30; and October 7, 14, 21 and 28. You must attend all sessions to receive the certificate.

“The cannabis industry offers exciting new career opportunities to communities across New York State,” said Roberta Reardon, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor. “The Department’s Cannabis Employment and Education Development (CEED) Division is here to help New Yorkers gain the skills they need to succeed in the broad range of careers emerging in this new economic engine. “

“We are pleased to partner with the Rochester Public Library to offer the Cannabis Career Exploration and Worker Rights Certificate program,” said Esta Bigler, co-chair of CWI. “It is critical to be out in the community and raise awareness of the diversity of cannabis jobs available. We want to emphasize the importance of communities negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition having access to the opportunities available and knowing they have rights in the workplace. These are real opportunities and we believe this type of training is key to helping people find their way to good jobs in this new industry.”

Sales of legal, regulated cannabis for adult use began Dec. 29, 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced last year. “Just nine months ago, we set the course to put New York’s adult-use cannabis market on the right track by prioritizing equity, and now we are achieving that goal,” said Governor Hochul. “The industry will continue to grow from here, creating inclusive opportunities in every corner of New York State, with proceeds flowing to our schools and revitalizing communities.”

As sales began, the state launched the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, designed to help the state achieve the goals of New York’s cannabis law by establishing an adult-use cannabis industry that corrects some of the inequities resulting from the disproportionate impact of cannabis prohibition.

WXXI reports that Herbal IQ-Rochester was the first dispensary to open, but in doing so the operators “had to overcome numerous legal hurdles that have prevented licensed dispensaries from opening.” One of the latest tests was a recent court order stopping the issuance of new licenses in the city due to a lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by four disabled veterans who argued that the state’s policy of prioritizing people previously convicted of a cannabis offense was unconstitutional.