Within just two years, the legal marijuana industry has become a big job creator in the USA. The leading publication, Leafly, reported that 211,000 people were working in the legal cannabis market in 2019. Writing opportunities in the industry have blossomed ever since! Writers can produce articles for leading marijuana blogs, create product reviews about the most sought-after strains, or launch new awareness campaigns for the booming global CBD market.

As a new industry, the cannabis market still suffers from bad publicity. However, as cannabis is increasingly legalized throughout various states (both for recreational and medical use), multiple companies, publications, and websites are looking for content to promote the cannabis plant and its multiple benefits. In this article, I’ll explain how I managed to write for leading cannabis publications in the hopes that I can inspire other writers to step into this lucrative, fascinating industry.

Learning About Cannabis
I’ve been a freelance writer for over eight years. In this cyclic industry, I’ve noticed the “trend effect” on writing topics. At first, I wrote about entrepreneurship,  marketing, technology, fashion, music, and arts…until I stumbled upon the tremendous opportunities offered by the cannabis industry. The legal marijuana market opened up with the 2018 farm bill that made cannabis legal for therapeutic use in various states. It is actually CBD (cannabis without the high effect) that is employed in multiple industries, from wellness to food and beverage.

When I first thought about writing for this market, I already had a strong writing portfolio, but none of my articles were targeted at cannabis. I knew pretty much nothing about legal marijuana and its associated hemp or CBD terminology. I knew I wouldn’t be able to land any writing gigs without a better reservoir of knowledge. I researched topics on the cannabis market, and produced an article for free that I published on Medium.

I used this article to respond to various CBD-related job offers I found on Craigslist and Google. Within just a few weeks, I received a large number of positive answers. In the beginning, the job requests I got were mostly dealing with strain reviews, which I had zero knowledge of since I was not living in the USA, and had no access to the market. So, I declined.

Gaining Access to Tremendous Opportunities
I found out over a year ago that AngelList and Google searches were referencing multiple cannabis websites and startups. I took the initiative to deepen my knowledge of the business, and visited a few CBD shops at the time in France to get a better understanding of the subject I wanted to write about. I watched YouTube videos, read leading cannabis publications, and joined an online course to learn about CBD, hemp oil, THC, and all this impressive jargon. I had more tools to contact established cannabis publications as a journalist, and landed regular, well-paid writing gigs for Cannabis Tech, Heaven Wellness, and Happy Yummy Fireworks.

I knew I could not write about strains since I didn’t consume CBD often at home. But, I was aware of the huge demand for online reporters and bloggers to help make cannabis “a hot and trendy industry” – away from the negative image it previously have. In fact, today, I don’t consider myself a cannabis writer but, broadly, a freelance writer who knows how to spot trends.

The days are brighter than ever to land a permanent job within a fascinating, fast-growing industry that goes beyond “cannabis.” We refer to the CBD industry as the newest global wellness market. And, if you just look at the jobs on Indeed.com within the CBD and cannabis market, you’ll be truly impressed at the number.