Cannabis job fair in Cathedral City continues Saturday
The first cannabis job fair in the Coachella Valley opened its doors to applicants Friday.
“Very excited — I’d be more excited if they’d hire me,” Randall Jaso said.
Dozens of people turned out to apply and be interviewed for positions cultivating and manufacturing pot.
As applications piled up, job candidates said they were excited about the prospects of legally growing and selling pot.
“I look forward to it,” Jaso said. “It’s a challenge, it’s something different and the laws have changed. So I’m going with the law. And a job is a job.”
“It’s opening doors. It’s been illegal for so many years so it’s so good to be part of something new — like a pioneer,” Derek Lopez said.
The company hiring, Coastal Harvest, has about 30 new positions with pay ranging from $11 per hour to up to $50,000 per year.
Mike Kelly, owner of Coastal Harvest, said the community’s high interest was unexpected, even though many of the jobs he has available require no previous experience working with weed.
“We have trimmers, junior growers, fillers, packagers, transportation, and then some lab technician opportunities,” Kelly said.
The cannabis Coastal Harvest produces comes in several different types — some of it grown in Cathedral City — and the label lets you know the taste and scent, the sensation you’re going to feel, and when to use it.
While the new employees have to be sober at work, we asked if they’d be drug tested on the job.
“I doubt it,” Kelly said. “I don’t really think that would be applicable in this situation.”
And as the marijuana industry expands into Cathedral City and the greater Coachella Valley — Kelly said he’s looking forward to fostering deeper partnerships with the community.
“Cannabis has always had kind of a negative stigma,” Kelly said. “Now we’re finally in Cathedral City, we’re finally seeing support from city coucil, which has been great, and the other business owners has been tremendous.”
“If you would have told me two years ago, ‘Hey — you’re going to be a part of a job fair working closely with the community, I would have said ‘No way.’ So it’s unbelievable. It’s great — this is what we’ve always wanted.”
The cannabis job fair continues Saturday from 9am until 1pm.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
