Want a job as a cannabis sommelier smoking weed all day? Read this job advertisement!

There are just so many exciting jobs to discover when working in the cannabis industry.

Recently, a German medical cannabis company – Cannamedical – just announced that it is recruiting a new employee interested in a quality assurance role. The job requirements are similar to those of a sommelier, but this time it’s about cannabis instead of wine. Cannamedical distributes cannabis to pharmacies across Germany and the vacancy is for someone who can “smell, feel and smoke” their products.

“We are looking for someone to continuously monitor the standards of our growers in the sourcing countries of Australia, Canada, Portugal, Macedonia and Denmark,” CEO David Henn told Bild. “Here in Germany, he should also check the quality of the material delivered,” he adds.

There’s a catch

Surely the job is of interest to cannabis enthusiasts around the world. However, there is a catch – the person must be an existing medical cannabis patient in Germany and one who has a license to legally smoke marijuana.

For anyone lucky enough to be hired, Cannamedical is willing to pay up to $142,000 annually. Cologne-based Cannamedical would also like the lucky applicant to help develop their portfolio. “Cannabis strains must be evaluated against established criteria, and the product portfolio requires constant quality controls,” they said. “The sommelier also assists the company with the selection and purchase of medical cannabis strains, as well as supply chain management,” reads the advertisement in Hanf-Magazin.

Cannamedical has also just signed a second agreement with Little Green Pharma, a Danish company, to exclusively supply SMS, a cannabis strain. This allows SMS to be delivered to Cannamedical for them to sell in Germany as long as they meet the minimum volume for every 6 months.

Founded in 2016, Cannamedical is one of the marijuana wholesalers that work with cannabis producers around the world.

Current situation of the German marijuana market

Germany has legalized medical marijuana since 2017, although patients must be licensed and meet certain requirements. It was recognized globally that if Germany legalized recreational marijuana, it would have one of the largest markets in the world for adult use given the sheer size and number of the European country and the fact that it has the largest economy on the entire continent were.

But it wasn’t until October 2022 that the federal government unveiled its plans to legalize recreational marijuana. According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, their plans would then offer “complete” cultivation within Germany in order not to react to exports. International producers would feel the blow, as many overseas cannabis companies hoped to capitalize on Germany’s largest economy.

“We are currently planning the complete cultivation in Germany,” said Lauterbach during a press conference last year. “That’s the current direction.” He then shared the 12-page plan.

Since then, the health minister has been lobbying the European Union for the green light to implement their plan, which they hope German lawmakers will approve.

In Lauterbach’s plan, he proposed legalizing the recreational marijuana market in Germany. At the time of writing, Canada is the only country in the world that allows the sale of THC products to anyone across the country as long as they are of the appropriate age. Even non-residents can buy weed within Canada.

A current problem is that all adult-use cannabis will need to be produced domestically should Lauterbach’s plan go through. There will likely be problems with supply shortages, even as growers across the country do their best to provide needed supplies. But, as is the nature of politics, plans are likely to continue to change and evolve before they are implemented.

In 2021 alone, around four million residents of Lauterbach were able to consume marijuana, and a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds used it. He also thinks it is important that young people are protected from accessing black market cannabis, one of the main issues he is tackling in his proposed plan.

Berlin is studying the effects of marijuana use in countries where it’s already legal and expects the results later this year. But the European Union insists there are some health risks involved, citing a study by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction that found 80,000 people in the region had to register for rehabilitation for cannabis use in 2020. Almost half of these people have encountered problems with cannabis use for the first time.

In addition, many international companies have already signed contracts with Germany. Recently, High Tide, a Canadian cannabis company, just signed a deal with Sanity Group, a German life and health sciences company. Tilray, another Canadian cannabis company, is said to be the largest cannabis company in Germany right now. Other big international players in Germany are Aurora Cannabis, Khiron and Canopy Growth.

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