The number of trained professionals who understand this industry, know how to drive revenue, control costs, and understand the metrics that matter has never been higher.
In 2026, people will realize how big the cannabis industry actually is. And how nuanced. If the rise of hemp showed us anything, it’s that cannabis has become available in more places than ever before, sold over the counter at 10s of thousands of retailers.
The legal industry that exists in state-regulated medical and recreational markets is big in itself:
- Over half a million people work in cannabis
- Almost every major city has legal dispensaries
- Cannabis careers are more mainstream than ever
Is it going well? Is it not going well? Well, again, it’s nuanced, and it depends on who you are talking to. Some publicly traded multi-state operators (MSOs) are doing okay, while others that operate in the same state marketplaces are being sold for pieces.
What is making or breaking it for different companies? It’s hard to say because there is a lot of nuance in this big industry that remains fractured on a state-by-state basis. But, currently, private MSOs are the biggest job creators in the industry, and the industry continues to rapidly grow.
My overarching prediction is simple: I think in 2026, people in the mainstream of America will finally realize just how big the cannabis space is and accept it as a sector and career opportunity. And that realization will bring a legitimacy that ripples through the industry.
8 cannabis industry forecasts and insights
1. New York leads the charge
New York was the biggest growth market in 2025. In the third quarter, New York sales passed a monthly total that translates to a $2.5 billion annual run rate. Not bad, considering that two years ago the figure was $200 million annually.
So, 10x over two years, the legal market in New York has grown. Expect it to double again in the next 18 months, which is going to lead to more jobs in New York.
New York is attracting talent from the West Coast and the Midwest to move there for opportunity, because of its rapid expansion. When we go to New York, there are a lot of homegrown New York cannabis operators, but a lot of the talent that’s being imported to run some of these companies is from outside of New York, who have learned the playbook for how to execute in a competitive adult-use market.
New York is stealing your people: cannabis talent wars heat up
Growth in New York is also driving additional capital into the industry. Outside of a handful of debt providers, family office capital is a major source of growth funding for private companies. With so much wealth concentrated in the New York area, family offices are increasingly looking to cannabis as a viable investment, bringing fresh capital into the industry.
With the opportunities in New York and the number of licenses getting off the ground, family office investments will continue to grow. And once these investors get a taste of it, who’s to say they won’t put money into New Jersey, throughout the Northeast, and eventually the entire country? That’s the New York effect.
2. Existing markets that will outshine expectations
Minnesota’s adult-use market will finally ramp up after some slow rollouts. Look for a lot more happening as 2026 gets rolling.
Ohio is continuing to open up retail. Ohio should add another 50% more retail doors in the adult-use market this year in Ohio. That’ll lead to a lot of jobs.
New Jersey and Maryland are still getting new licenses, which is leading to job growth in those markets. Virginia seems to be ready to ramp up its AU program!
3. Investment in Automation
Cannabis production (aka weed factories around the country) has historically been very labor-intensive. Indoor cannabis cultivation and the process of turning flower into products within manufacturing facilities require lots of hourly workers, from machine operators to trimmers to packaging technicians.
We’re seeing a big push in 2026 toward investment in automation to make the cannabis manufacturing process less labor-intensive. This is creating a rise in skill sets we haven’t seen before in cannabis manufacturing, like automation and engineering roles.
Companies are looking for people who program and troubleshoot industrial controls to do things like:
- Automate the collection of data received from various building automation and OEM products.
- Are trained mechanical engineers who can automate various manufacturing/packaging lines as well as
- Troubleshoot and design advanced environmental controls.
4. 2026 is the year of digital marketing
In 2025, we talked about how marketing jobs are back and how this industry has figured out what marketing is —it’s more operations-focused than creative. Now, 2026 is officially the year of digital marketing for cannabis.
What changed? Hemp and Farm Bill-compliant brands showed the way. They demonstrated how to do digital and social marketing that plant-touching cannabis companies claimed they couldn’t get away with. The direct-to-consumer hemp brands paved the path.
We’re already seeing retailers drive traffic through creative landing pages from social posts, not only on Meta properties but also on Reddit and TikTok. Terms like LTV (Lifetime Value), CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), and ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) are becoming part of the cannabis company vocabulary.
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5. States remain a battleground
As I’m writing this article at the end of December 2025, rescheduling seems imminent through executive order. This would be a positive sentiment boost for the industry, for sure. But even with a positive federal shift, some states are still going to be a battleground in terms of state versus federal.
States have already decided to take responsibility for regulating their markets, so don’t expect states and the federal government to align anytime soon.
States will continue to be the most important battleground that affects the lives of consumers and patients because any federal changes will take years to actually apply to state-licensed recreational and medical programs.
6. Key hires will be transformative
There’s been a serious deepening of the labor pool in cannabis over the last several years. Bigger public companies have been operating with fiscal discipline and rigorous execution since 2021, driving efficiency and controlling costs.
The number of trained professionals who understand this industry, know how to drive revenue, control costs, and understand the metrics that matter has never been higher. Private companies are realizing how transformative the right hires can be.
Look at states like Ohio, Missouri, and New Jersey. Operators opening more doors and going through consolidation now have more senior-level, specialized roles than ever before; for example, rollables manager, vice president of retail planning, head of digital marketing.
They’re bringing in people who understand this industry and can help them continue to operate and execute. We’re seeing this firsthand at Flowerhire because we sit right in the middle of it.
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7. Collective bargaining: Coming to a store near you
Unions and collective bargaining aren’t new to cannabis; they’ve been part of the industry for almost a decade. But now, with more jobs available in state-licensed businesses than ever before, across more states and cities, organized labor is focusing on cannabis.
Why? Cannabis companies are often unorganized, less resourced, and sometimes haven’t invested in HR functions or leadership training. Many operators simply haven’t had the chance to build out leadership development or a robust HR infrastructure. This makes cannabis companies prime targets for organizing activity, and Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien agrees.
Expect more of this in 2026. Collective bargaining and unions aren’t going away, especially in states like New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts that require labor peace agreements. Amazon and cannabis are the two biggest areas of focus for organized labor right now.
8. Better benefits
In the last 10 years, cannabis employees have gone from being paid in cash with no benefits to receiving direct deposit with health benefits similar to those in other industries.
Now, cannabis companies can offer retirement plans, 401(k)s, and other traditional benefits. It’s becoming much easier and more common. In fact, the only thing preventing a cannabis company from offering a 401(k) now is a lack of desire or imagination.
If you’re interested in getting insurance, wealth management, or employee benefits services, check out these companies that sponsored the Cannabis HR Leadership Summit: Intellicents, Symphony Risk Solutions, Lockton, Leading Retirement Solutions, and NFP
Long-term savings options are a crucial benefit for attracting high-quality talent who think long-term.
The fact that in 2026, there’s widespread access to traditional benefits like retirement plans is something that makes us happy.
Ready to grow your team in 2026? We are!
There’s nothing that gets us higher and brings us more joy than growing cannabis teams.
We care deeply about finding people who will make a serious impact on your specific goals. The FlowerHire team is the most interconnected team in cannabis. Get in touch with a cannabis recruiter today!
