Position Title
Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist
- Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Developing and implementing an outreach program to improve cannabis worker safety and health in California
Cannabis is the unspoken highest valued agricultural product in California, with about a quarter of million workers in the United States. The quasi-legal status of cannabis industry, the increasing number of workers, and the lack of research in the field of cannabis workers safety and health magnify the importance of conducting studies to detect the hazards of the industry and developing health and safety training programs to ensure the protection of workers.
We conducted an assessment to explore the safety and health hazards working in the cannabis industry in California. Available sources such as websites, guidelines, reports, and publications related to cannabis worker’s safety and health were reviewed. Also, we visited several indoor and outdoor farms, processing plants, extraction units, and dispensaries at different locations in California and explored the potential hazards of working in this industry.