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50 Companies Look To Fill 500 Openings At Cannabis Job Fair In Denver

DENVER (CBS4) - A couple of hundred job seekers flocked to Denver's Mile High Station on Tuesday for one of the largest cannabis job fairs in the world.

The job fair attracted everyone from young folks in jeans and t-shirts to experienced professionals in suits.

The event started in the morning with a breakfast that was aimed at executives looking to enter the cannabis world, likely from a more mainstream industry. The actual career fair started at 9 a.m.

There were about 50 companies looking for workers to fill about 500 jobs. The positions ranged from bud-tenders in the stores to upper level management. The type of companies was also quite varied.

CBS4 spoke with the CEO of Amercanex, an online exchange that connects growers and distributors with edible companies and others that package and sell marijuana products. CEO Steve Janjic compared it to a site like eBay, but for the marijuana business.

"We're growing so quickly that we're looking to take a staff of nine to 10 to a staff of 50 to 60 over the course of the next year," Janjic said. "The market is growing so fast that literally it's almost like we need employees, but we just can't find them, so I think events like this are very important to us."

"I'm out here looking for a job in the cannabis industry, trying to quit my manual labor job in New York and pursue something I'm passionate about," job seeker Rudy Nazario.

MARIJUANA JOB FAIR
The cannabis job fair on Tuesday (credit: CBS)

Nazario said he would move to Colorado in a heartbeat if he can get a job in the cannabis field.

Industry analysts estimate about 12,000 people are employed in the cannabis industry in Colorado.

The job fair was scheduled to end at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

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