The Dealer's Diary is where we share the work. Cannabis HR insights, retention math, compliance gaps, and the operational decisions that actually move the needle for cannabis dispensaries, cultivators, processors, and multi-state operators.
We write for the founder losing sleep over turnover. The GM weighing a PEO against fractional HR. The compliance lead who just got blindsided by a state inspector. The cultivator scaling from one license to three.
Every post is real work with real cannabis operators. The math is real. The advice is what we'd say in a discovery call, written down so you can read it before you call us.
Dealer's
Diary
This week in cannabis: a lighter industry-conference calendar makes room for community and wellness events, including two New Jersey activations, a Chicago wellness series worth sending your IL staff to, and Minnesota’s Canna Connect Brainerd. Here are the operator picks worth building your week around. Week 3 of Zen Den’s weekly events cadence. See last […]
July 27, 2026
This post discusses cannabis wrongful termination frameworks in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and California. It is informational only. Not legal advice. Cannabis employment law varies by state, by role, and by fact pattern. If you are facing an active claim, threat of a claim, or an imminent termination that could result in one, consult […]
July 24, 2026
This post is informational and reflects patterns we have seen across the 50+ cannabis operators we work with and the 6 cannabis M&A integrations we have led. It is not legal, tax, or licensing advice. Cannabis M&A carries state-specific licensing, badging, and successor-liability rules that vary and change often. Consult licensed cannabis counsel, a cannabis-specialized […]
July 13, 2026
Multi-state cannabis HR is the moment most operators discover that everything they built in state one breaks in state two. Badging works differently. Training rules shift. Wage thresholds reset. Leave laws change. Payroll filings multiply. Pay transparency rules appear out of nowhere. Most operators lose six months and several expensive mistakes on their second state […]
June 26, 2026
Most dispensary employee handbook documents we see were downloaded as templates somewhere around 2022, edited once, and never touched again. Those handbooks do not survive a state inspection. They do not survive a wrongful termination claim. And they definitely do not survive the actual day-to-day of running a cannabis retail floor. After working with more […]
June 23, 2026
Cannabis payroll is one of the most expensive things an operator can get wrong. Most vendors do not understand IRS Section 280E guidance. Some vanish when something breaks at month-end. Others bill for cannabis support and then deliver standard small-business service. After working with more than fifty cannabis operators across MA, NY, NJ, CO, CA, […]
June 18, 2026
Managed HR services for dispensaries is a category cannabis operators shop more often than they admit. Some are coming off a bad PEO experience. Others are scaling past the point where the founder can run HR out of an inbox. A few had a compliance scare and need help now. This guide covers what managed […]
June 12, 2026
Cannabis hiring in 2026 is harder than it has ever been. Furthermore, the labor pool is smaller than the operator base needs. Multi-state competition for skilled cultivators is intense. Budtender turnover routinely tops 60 percent annually. Meanwhile, the talent pool itself remains constrained by state licensing requirements, background check restrictions, and the simple reality that […]
May 26, 2026
Cannabis HR outsourcing has become a category most operators buy without fully understanding what they’re getting. Vendor pitches sound similar. Contract terms are not. Risks vary wildly. Specifically, what one provider calls a full service offering is sometimes 80% payroll with a thin HR overlay. Another provider in the same space delivers comprehensive people operations […]
