There are a shit ton of independent contractor all over this industry, anybody who used an outside company for a business plan could look at that as an independent contractor. Now think about people who are offering build-outs, that could potentially be a one time deal as well. Those groups advertise consulting, a very popular work for independent contractors.
Employ a gardener for standard wage, hell even minimum wage and the lbs they produce are considered a performance bonus...
Include this stipulation in their employee contract..
As long as there is some contractual agreement for at least a yr and not month to month, the department would be hard pressed to assume there is an independent contractor, esp if they are only associated with one outfit. People get fired left and right in this industry. If the bonuses are in question, then just make the employee agreement state the expected amount of product to be produced over a set period of time and base the salary on that. Include an SLA clause that states if they don't meet the designated mark, then they are only entitled to the correct percentage of the agreed upon salary.
I foresee many dispensaries using patients/caregivers for genetic consulting or "R&D", look at Arizona Organix... If dispensaries want to grow dank they will need to reach out to those who are proficient in this category unless the want to search for the legit breeders and pheno hunt on their borrowed registration certificate time. Oh yeah, the experience nesecary to maximize a plant potential. Finding quality strains is going to be outside the realm of many operators and is a job in itself.
Like hacker said growing large amounts of cannabis 7 days a week 365 days a year... For what, PHX PD salary?
This is a good thread, people spitballing ideas back and forth.