Budding job market: Arizona among top states for marijuana employment, study says

With nearly 21,000 people working in marijuana dispensaries or affiliated businesses, Arizona ranks No. 4 nationally for jobs in the cannabis industry, according to a report released Tuesday by Leafly.

The report was based on employment in 2020, before Arizona launched adult-use marijuana sales in January, so those figures are sure to rise as dispensaries around the state ramp up to meet the new demand from sales to any adult over age 21, not just medical-marijuana patients.

Arizona had more than $1 billion in medical-marijuana sales last year, with about 5,600 new jobs created just last year, according to estimates in the report.