Despite the Haze Club bust and their upcoming court appearance, Dagga Private Clubs are popping up all over South Africa. As usual, our advice is to keep it on the down low and not advertise the existence of your Club, whether existing or potential. With that being said, it’s also noticeable how most potential Dagga Private Club owners are determined to use their Club to create legitimate job opportunities for their internal community or members. The days of only employing a grower are over and the management of a Dagga Private Club requires attention from various angles. Let’s take a look at the obvious and less obvious job opportunities in a DPC.

Club Manager / Owner(s)

This is the first position to be filled in a Dagga Private Club. The owner(s) generally create the vision of the Club, decide how supply and demand will work in their Club and take the first steps towards establishing their Club. They eventually become responsible for the movement of Cannabis within the Club, the development of their internal (members) and external communities (contribution to a charitable cause), the day to day operations of the Club, appointment of employees, etc.

Secretary / Administrator

In order to effectively manage a Dagga Private Club, strict recordkeeping needs to take place to ensure the Club can prove that it does not partake in the unregulated market. This means that documents such as member and grower registers; harvest and distribution registers; member and grower agreements; and any relevant Standard Operating Procedures must be updated frequently. The secretary can also perform duties generally associated with their job description such as document processing, recording of meeting minutes and managing the Club Manager’s time.

Cultivation Manager

The Cultivation Manager is responsible for the planning of the supply and demand of the Club’s Cannabis and must be able to plan ahead. They are responsible for the timing of germination / cloning and ensuring that the process is managed effectively and according to the standards of the Club. This person will also be responsible for managing the cultivation team and recording their duties, which I’ll discuss next.

Cultivating Team

Should the Club decide to grow the Cannabis for their members as the Club (in other words, operate using the Grow Club Model), it will need to appoint various positions to fill the labour needs of the cultivation, harvesting and processing of Cannabis. All members of this team must be members of the Club, to ensure the closed-loop supply system remains in tact. These members will be responsible for the actual labour in the cultivation area: germinating seeds or taking and rooting clones, feeding of plants, pest and disease management, defoliation, etc; as well as the harvesting, drying, trimming and curing of the Cannabis plants. It’s therefore essential that these members are able to identify deficiencies, pests or diseases in the cultivation area and be able to act accordingly. All actions in the cultivation area by the cultivation team must be reported to the Cultivation Manager.

Member Orientation / Development Specialist

This position is responsible for orienting new members according to its internal community development commitment. Members should be oriented on their rights as Cannabis consumers, how to handle the police, responsible adult use practices and other information relating to Cannabis, such as strain information or medical studies involving Cannabis. The Member Development Specialist is responsible for ensuring that the Club’s members are satisfied with their membership experience, navigating any problems they may come across and enhancing the membership process. This position should preferably be employed by one of the Club’s directors, as it will require them to work with sensitive private information of members.

Budtender

If your Club has a physical location where members can collect their Cannabis, you’ll need someone to receive them, check their membership validity and once verified, educate the member on the strains available and their recommended uses. The position requires a person knowledgeable about Cannabis strains and willing to educate themselves on the strain’s information; and someone who is good with people, with the necessary communication and interpersonal skills.

Accountant

The Club needs to keep meticulous records about the flow of money in the Club. Depending on how and if your Club is registered as a non-profit company, you may need to keep full accounting records for your Club. Although most people can be trained on the day-to-day tasks for managing the accounting system, a professional will be needed to assist with audits and “translate” the Club’s financial actions into compliant, valid and auditable accounting records.

Club Driver

A Club driver can be employed to deliver a member’s Cannabis to their house, further protecting the member against the police. The driver could also be sent for purchasing or collecting of cultivation products such as nutrients, or perform various duties on the road to enable the Club’s Committee to remain present at the Club premises. This person needs to be trained extensively on their rights relating to Cannabis possession and must be prepared to face the police should he/she be approached or questioned.

Club Events Manager

This position would be responsible for planning and managing events hosted by the Club.  These can be any events that the Club decides to host for its members, such as workshops, flower or oil competitions or even a fundraising event for the Club’s chosen charity.

The Dagga Private Club “industry” is still in its infancy. There are many ways to operate according to the concept of a Dagga Private Club and each of those would have its own requirements. The above positions I discussed are merely the collective tip of the iceberg. One of the reasons we believe that Dagga Private Clubs will work is because of all the opportunities that come along with it. If the Club could create a stable income for even just 5 or 6 individuals, it’s already becoming a model that benefits the people – and that’s what we care about most!