I just started this job about a month ago. It’s my dream field, but for the moment I’m stuck in retail. I’m currently working at a dispensary for a big time company. You’d think corporations and weed wouldn’t mesh well together, and you’d be right.
Our specific store is extremely busy. We were one of the original locations, and started off as a strictly medical dispensary. Since recreational was legalized, the focus has been more on them. Not only are prices outrageous, but the recreational taxes are straight up highway robbery. To sum it all up, these weed corporations in my state are sitting on massive piles of money.
In addition to being busy, we are painfully understaffed. It was only my third day on the job when they threw me to the wolves by having me work the (VERY busy) lobby all by myself. Thankfully I already had experience from another dispo, but it made it crystal clear why they couldn’t hold on to new employees.
The entire time I have worked there, I have only gotten 3 TOTAL 15 MINUTE BREAKS, out of the hundreds of hours I’ve worked already. I’m always working full 8 hour shifts, and I’m even lucky if I get my lunch break on time. There were occasions when I was even sent home 30mins early because they didn’t give me my lunch. Mind you I can’t go 7+ hours without eating because my meds will make me sick if I don’t eat.
After only a month, it’s gotten to the point where I’ve been practically begging to be sent on breaks. Even when I do that, I get shrugged off with the same bullshit, “we are too busy right now, you can go later”, and my favorite “other people haven’t gone on their breaks yet, you have to wait”. Empty promises that rarely ever get fulfilled.
For the time being I just take frequent bathroom breaks to give myself at least a little time to cool off from the hundreds of customers I deal with everyday. I have horrible anxiety, so without breaks it’s very easy for me to breakdown.
I’m at my wits end already. I absolutely LOVE my coworkers, and being able to talk about weed all day, but this job is wearing me paper thin. I’m tired of them constantly making excuses to screw us out of our rights as workers. It’s not that easy to just find work at another dispensary either. I had to apply to over 10 different ones, and my current one was the only one to offer me a job after months of waiting.
I fucking hate the situation I’m in right now. I know the right thing to do is find a different job, but I shouldn’t have to leave somewhere I genuinely like all because these corporations have no problem abusing their employees. It’s not fucking fair, and I’m sick of it. Fuck corporations, they have no business in weed at all when they are partly responsible for it staying illegal for as long as it did.