ROCHESTER, N.Y. — With thousands of jobs on the horizon and billions expected in revenue, New York’s cannabis sector is poised for massive growth.

The Rochester Public Library is collaborating with the New York State Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI) for a five week cannabis workforce development training. 

“The Rochester Public Library is committed to economic development,” Rochester Public Library Business Insight Center supervisor Jennifer Byrnes said. “Participating in this training allows students to stand out from other applicants and increases the likelihood of them succeeding in this industry. Dispensary owners know that graduates of this program are ready to hit the ground running.”

“Our mission is to bring job opportunities to the people that are interested in working in the cannabis industry,” CWI instructor April Smith said. “That helps people identify their transferable skills and maybe find the next career on your cannabis journey.”

This comes after New York became the first state in the country to mandate and develop courses focused on cannabis product safety and responsibility.

“There’s a stigma still,” Smith said. “And the stigma is you’re either growing or selling and there isn’t a recognition that as an industry, there’s all sorts of different needs. You need all of that HR, you need that development, you need education, you need all these things. And understanding what it actually means to have an industry, just the word industry.”

Helping grow careers from the ground up, the industry has inspired several participants to discover a range of employment opportunities. 

“I’ve been in the cannabis industry for over 20 years,” Fresh Aire Canna Pros owner Michael Banos said. “I lived in California and Northern California, where we had distribution and processing. I was also awarded a processing license here in Rochester. It’s almost been negative for so many years, so it’s nice to see that changing and the tides shifting.”

“I know it’s going to be advertised soon,” budtender Rick Myrthil said. “I’m a voice actor. So that makes some connections to further education. The CWI people, they hate to see me at this point. I want to get more familiar with them to catch up.” 

The program continues its mission to equip individuals not only with a wealth of knowledge but also an understanding of the history of cannabis.

“To know people do 40 years in prison for little amounts,” Myrthi said. “It’s mind blowing now looking at how much the government’s capitalizing on it.”

As Black and brown communities were the most affected by the war on drugs, New York state lawmakers have prioritized equity focused initiatives, actively creating opportunity, especially for those harmed by past criminalization.

“We are involving a legacy market that typically didn’t have labor laws, that didn’t have workers rights responsibilities, or maybe OSHA, health and safety,” Smith said. “And so these are the things that we’re sharing with this industry’s workforce.”

While data shows a significant presence of social equity licensees in New York’s cannabis industry, there’s still progress to be made in terms of actual minority ownership and representation across the workforce, which fuels the CWI team’s excitement as they continue to pave the way for a growing industry and its endless opportunities.

“I am from Rochester, so personally I want to see our community grow and prosper from this,” Smith said. “So I’m excited to be a pioneer in the Western New York region and be able to bring this knowledge to people.”

The CWI training will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 31, June 7, June 14, June 21 and June 28. To register, visit tinyurl.com/cwi-registration and select the event “CWI Certificate at Rochester Central Library.”