{"id":7633,"date":"2018-10-22T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7633"},"modified":"2020-05-05T15:58:36","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T19:58:36","slug":"what-canadas-legalization-of-cannabis-means-for-tech-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-canadas-legalization-of-cannabis-means-for-tech-jobs","title":{"rendered":"What Canada\u2019s Legalization of Cannabis Means for Tech Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legalization of Cannabis in Canada has planted the seed for an explosion of new jobs across many industries, and tech is certainly no exception.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deloitte <\/span>forecast<\/span><\/a> that legal cannabis could represent a $22.6 billion industry and add 150,000 jobs over the next several years, and with expectations that Canadians will spend as much as $7 billion on cannabis in 2019, it\u2019s not unreasonable to expect even more budding entrepreneurs and companies entering the market in search of opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

For job-seekers curious about the cannabis industry, the pastures have never been greener.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSaying that there\u2019s opportunity doesn\u2019t even scratch the surface,\u201d said <\/span>John Prentice<\/span>, president and CEO of <\/span>Ample Organics<\/span><\/a>, Canada\u2019s leading seed-to-sale software. \u201cWe\u2019re building a whole new industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And talented tech workers, certainly, will play a major role in that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, the cannabis industry is becoming very tech-heavy, because the companies are well-capitalized, they can invest in technology, and they\u2019re brand new \u2013 these facilities were just built and they\u2019ve got the latest and greatest in there,\u201d Prentice pointed out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor everything from using machine learning to figure out harvesting algorithms and better ways to produce the product, to the manufacturing cycle, through shipping the product out the door in an efficient way, and all the customer experience that comes after that \u2013 these are all blank canvases and a huge opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of the new tech jobs being created by this new, potentially massive industry.<\/p>\n

An eCommerce Enterprise Like No Other<\/b><\/h2>\n

In Ontario \u2013 the country\u2019s biggest province and largest cannabis market \u2013 marijuana sales are still locked behind a screen, limited to online transactions until April. In the rest of the country, online sales are also expected to represent a major and lucrative portion of cannabis purchases, as they have legally for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, <\/span>33,000 kilograms of cannabis were legally shipped<\/span><\/a> to 168,000 patients across the country. That number will of course rise dramatically now that customers around Canada can order product directly from government-run websites and, in some provinces, private online retailers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust about every role imaginable within ecommerce \u2013 from development to people handling customer service to the analysis side to product managers, all of these aspects \u2013 is applicable to that business,\u201d Prentice said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, there are large opportunities in:<\/span><\/p>\n