Canada's Cannabis College

Niagara College in Ontario, Canada will begin offering post-secondary certificates in commercial marijuana production starting in the fall of 2018. Niagara College claims to be the first to launch this type of graduate program. Global News reported that:

It will be open to those with a diploma or degree in agribusiness, agricultural science, environmental science/resource studies, horticulture or natural sciences, or an acceptable combination of education and experience.

The college’s president, Dan Patterson, says the program is meant to address a growing labour market need in the wake of legislative changes in Canada and abroad.

The one-year program will be run by Niagara College's School of Environment and Horticulture and students will learn about the biological, regulatory, and operational aspects of licensed commercial marijuana production. In deciding to implement the program, Patterson cited an emerging need in the market and Niagara College's ability to respond to that need, while at the same time equipping its skilled agricultural students with valuable experience that will benefit the students in a rapidly evolving market. 

Niagara College's new program may serve as an example for schools in the US, which may be missing the boat to pioneer programs in marijuana at the college and university level. Although schools like the University of California San Diego, the University of Mississippi, the University of Colorado, and Louisiana State University are involved with the research of marijuana, it doesn't appear that any universities in the US have programs that teach how to successfully and legally (under state law) produce or distribute the drug. 

 

--Taylor Wood