Yolo County Cannabis Job Fair Recruiting Budding Talent

YOLO COUNTY (CBS13) — Job seekers rushed to Davis on Wednesday for Yolo County's cannabis job fair.

Dozens of vendors and cultivators were at the event recruiting.

"I love cannabis, I think it's a great plant, I think it's got beautiful medical qualities," said Devon Kelly.

Kelly couldn't be more excited about his future in the cannabis industry. The 23-year old Georgia native moved to California three years ago to capitalize on the green rush.

"I've worked on personal grows and extraction sites, I've made edibles before and I've done trimming," Kelly said.

But in this ever-budding industry, it's tough to translate that experience on paper. The taboo of cultivating cannabis is slowly starting to fade, with new laws allowing the recreational use of marijuana becoming more freely accepted.

Lorne Silverstein with the Yolo Cannabis Coalition says the green rush is an opportunity for the county to generate more jobs and bring stability to families, and the economy.

"If we can help in that and provide jobs and give back through taxation and through fees, what an amazing opportunity to show that this industry is real," said Silverstein.

Wednesday's job fair brought hundreds of job seekers and dozens of vendors looking for trimmers, cultivators and even accountants and attorneys.

"We're certainly following the growth of the industry."

Laurie Pederson works for the California Aggie, the campus newspaper for UC Davis. She's offering her advertising services to cannabis startups who are now looking for advertising opportunities.

"It provides just another avenue, a platform for these vendors to be able to reach that community," Pederson said.

In a post-prohibition era where rules and regulations are tight, the cannabis industry is just beginning to grow here in Yolo County.

"We're gonna continue to put this more out in front as not something that's behind the scenes, but something that's open and that's here," added Silverstein.

Silverstein estimates about five to ten-thousand jobs could be generated around Yolo County within the cannabis industry.