⚠️ Reader Discretion Advised: This one’s got smoke, truth, and maybe a few bruised egos. But if you’re still saying “me too” without receipts—consider this your wake-up call. 

Clarke’s brain (Hi, yes, this is what I'm thinking right now), mid-spicy blog drop: “Boy, am I about to catch a few sneak disses for this one—but hey, if it sparks real dialogue, bring it on. I welcome the perspectives, even the spicy ones. This industry grows when we stop whispering and start actually talking. So buckle up, buttercup. This one’s got some bite.” 

At Paragon Payroll, we’ve heard the whispers.
“Us too.”
“We serve cannabis too.”
“We can do that too.”

But here’s the thing—when everyone’s screaming “me too”, we’re not out here saying “only us.” That’s never been our vibe.

What we are saying is—if you’re also raising your hand and claiming to be cannabis committed, we’d just love to know how.

Because commitment isn’t a marketing line—it’s a lived practice. A choice you make in public and in the parts no one sees. And while we believe in rising together as an industry, “me too” only works when it’s backed by real, humble, daily effort.

Here at our house, we’re full of humility. We’re not perfect. We own where we’ve dropped the ball. We’re open about where we still want to grow.

But what we’ll never do is pretend—pretend to be committed when we’re not immersed. Pretend to lead when we haven’t listened. Pretend to serve cannabis while standing on the sidelines.

Because that kind of posing?
That’s what holds this industry back.

Elevating cannabis means being rooted in it. Not opportunistic. Not performative. And definitely not hiding behind the safety net of generalism.

If you’re in this with us—really in this—show us. We’d love to grow alongside you.

The Generalist Myth: Why “Also” Isn’t Enough

There’s a certain logic some competitors try to sell:
“Because we serve lots of industries, we’re well-equipped to handle cannabis too.”

But let’s flip that. Imagine walking into surgery and the person standing over you says:
“I’m not a specialist—I’m a generalist. But I’ve dabbled in this.”

Still feeling confident?

The reality is this: handling cannabis payroll requires full immersion. If you're not living it, breathing it, and advocating for it daily, you’re behind. It’s not a plug-and-play situation. Cannabis isn’t an industry you “also” serve. It’s one you prioritize—or don’t touch at all.

Commitment Can’t Be Claimed—It Has to Be Proved

At Paragon, our cannabis commitment isn’t some vague bullet point buried on a services page. It’s public, transparent, and deliberate. We’re vocal about where we stand and who we stand with. Because we’re not tourists in this space—we’ve set up camp.

We’re in the trenches with cannabis business owners facing compliance nightmares, IRS 280E headaches, banking restrictions, employee classification landmines—you name it. We know what works, what doesn’t, and what’s just performative lip service. And more importantly, we’re building better systems because of that deep involvement.

Here’s the Real Flex: Specialists Can Go General. Generalists? Not So Much.

Once you’ve handled what’s arguably one of the hardest industries to serve, you can handle anything. It’s like a brain surgeon moonlighting as a general practitioner—they’re more than qualified. But the reverse? That’s risky.

So when a generalist company tries to reverse-engineer their best practices for cannabis, we have to ask:
Where’s your firsthand experience?
Do you even know what to look for?
How do you solve problems you’ve never personally encountered?

The answer? You can’t. Not in a way that actually empowers cannabis operators. Not in a way that earns real trust.

One Size Fits All? Not In This Industry

Being a generalist means treating every business like they’re the same. Same workflows. Same risks. Same rules.

But cannabis isn’t “just another industry.” It’s under constant surveillance, rapid-fire regulation, and cultural transformation. To show up like it’s business as usual? That’s lazy. That’s outdated. And honestly—it’s offensive to the entrepreneurs out here fighting for legitimacy, equity, and longevity.

We could’ve chosen anything else. And believe me—on the hardest days? Believe you me... the thought does cross our mind.
(JK. We also have a sense of humor. Which, by the way, deserves its own blog—because seriously, why is everyone in this industry so uptight? And what’s with the gatekeeping? I digress...)

The point is: we knew good and well that diving into this industry was a risk.
But it was a risk worth taking—because it was the one that needed us the most.
The one that made us feel the most fulfilled. And truly, the one that let us give a damn and actually mean it.

And after this? I’m telling you, any other industry is a walk in the park.

So yeah—if you’re a restaurant, a manufacturer, a construction company, and you’re cool with the fact that cannabis is our heart and home?
Hey bae. We’ve got you too.

Anyways... back to the original original point—before I spiraled down a rabbit hole of other things we had to also get off our chest. I

If you can solve for cannabis, you can solve for anything.
But if you’ve only solved for the “anything,” you’re not ready for cannabis. Period.

Don’t Settle for a Tourist When You Need a Local Guide

When it comes to payroll and HR in the cannabis space, don’t trust a generalist with a Google Map. Trust the ones who built the road.

Paragon Payroll was born in cannabis.
Not to dabble. Not to chase a trend.
But to make it easier for this community to grow—and win.

So next time you hear “we do that too,” ask the real question:
Yeah, but do you live it?

Questions to Ask Before You Say “Me Too”:

• Have we made our cannabis priorities public?
  
  
• Do we have dedicated experts immersed in the nuances of cannabis?
  
  
• Are we actively involved in advocacy, education, or cannabis community spaces?
  
  
• How do we handle 280E, cash-only operations, or employee misclassification?
  
  
• Are we designing services for cannabis, or just repurposing generic ones?
  
  
• What are cannabis clients actually saying about our support?
  
  
• Are we charging a “green tax” just because they’re in the industry?

If your only justification for higher pricing is that the client operates in cannabis, you're not committed—you’re opportunistic. Commitment means bringing clarity, compliance, and care, not just capitalizing on stigma.

• Do we understand what it feels like to run payroll manually every week because banks keep backing out?
  
  
• Can we name the emotional toll business owners face when being denied basic banking services because of outdated stigma?
  
  
• Do we serve legacy operators with the same respect we give to multi-state enterprises?
  
  
• Are we willing to sit in discomfort and redesign systems to meet people where they are, not where we wish they were?
  
  
• Have we examined how race, criminalization, and systemic exclusion show up in the cannabis workforce—and how our services either challenge or reinforce that?
  
  
• Are we building tools that support formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs who were locked up for what’s now legal?
  
  
• Do we know how to speak to a cultivator in Humboldt, a dispensary manager in Detroit, and a delivery operator in New York—and actually be helpful to all of them?
  
  
• Are we accounting for the unique regulatory, sovereign, and jurisdictional challenges faced by Tribal cannabis operators—and do we approach these communities with cultural humility and respect?

And most importantly: Are we showing up with humility, consistency, and truth? Or just saying what sounds good?

Because the future of this industry deserves real ones.

Let’s Be Clear—This Isn’t About Calling You Out, It’s About Calling Us All In

The purpose of this isn’t to ridicule, point fingers, or ostracize. It’s to hold space—for all of us—to really commit to being real with ourselves so we can grow, transform, and actually hold ourselves and each other accountable.

This industry is already burdened with enough: deception, false promises, greed, legal barriers, and constant regulatory whiplash. We’re raising something fragile, beautiful, and still evolving. This baby of ours—the cannabis industry—is growing fast. The last thing we need is more division.

But that doesn’t mean we can stand on hills not rooted in real merit.

We owe it to each other to stand for something. To ask more of ourselves. To challenge our own assumptions and learn from our missteps. That’s not weakness—it’s the definition of leadership.

So let’s hold each other higher. Let’s all be better. Let’s grow forward. Let’s make space for discomfort, for listening, for change. Even when it’s not easy. Especially when it’s not easy.

This is about more than the obvious. It’s about depth. About daring to change the game by choosing honesty, excellence, and raw, unpolished transparency—even when we’re not where we want to be yet.

Because that’s what real disruption looks like.

And Let’s Not Forget…

This is an ecosystem. A whole rotation.
If you’re not passing the knowledge, the transparency, the lessons to your next homie, your client, your community…
You’re messing up the cipher.
You’re holding the joint too long.

And that?
Spoiler alert... That’s not the kind of disruption we were talking about. 😐

Looking for Tools to Deepen Your Cannabis Commitment?

We’re not here to gatekeep. In fact, we believe rising tides raise all ships. That’s why we’ve made our Cannabis Commitment public—and why we’re building a library of resources to help others walk the talk. Check out our Cannabis Commitment Guide, our 280E Survival FAQ, and our Cannabis Payroll Self-Audit Checklist to take a hard look at where you stand and where you can grow. Because doing better starts with knowing better.

And our personal favorite, the one where we call ourselves out… 

👉 We Fumbled the Rotation—But We Rolled It Better the Second Time: How Vulnerability Made Us a Stronger Cannabis Partner