Majoring in Marijuana
HOW COLLEGES ARE EDUCATING THE BUDDING ENTREPRENEUR
By Michael Borden // Photos by Konstantin Stanmeyer
March 4, 2022
IT WAS FALL SEMESTER at Berkshire Community College (BCC), and the school’s fifteen hundred or so students were hustling across campus to their classes in nursing, business, engineering, and all of the 50 other career prep programs available at the two-year college. Twenty or so of those students were immersed in the finer points of the cannabis business as the second cohort to participate in BCC’s newest addition to the curriculum, its Cannabis Certification Program.
Yes, you can now major in weed at college, though it might be a good idea to find a better way of phrasing it to friends and loved ones. Here’s some help: Cannabis Certification Programs are serious academic business. Colleges and universities all over the country—at least in states where cannabis has been legalized—are rushing to supply the expertise that a $92 billion industry (and growing fast) will require as cannabis becomes a profession instead of a side hustle.
“This is no longer your father or grandfather’s cannabis business,” says Dr. Faye Reynolds, a professor of biology at BCC and the engine behind the school’s adoption of a curriculum for cannabis education. “Right now in the Berkshires alone, there are over 400 businesses licensed to cultivate and sell marijuana. That means jobs to be filled. A chemist working at a Cannabis Extraction Lab can make as much as $150,000 a year. They don’t give those jobs to stoners.”
To make sure of that, Reynolds pushed hard to develop a rigorous academic curriculum that includes foundational courses in business communication, biopsychology, and botany.
Not everyone, of course, is aiming to be a lab chemist. Some, like Maria Murillo, are just looking for a change and find the energy of this new, blossoming industry both exciting and gratifying.
“I came to the Berkshires to change my life,” says Murillo, a single mother who graduated from last year’s BCC Cannabis Certificate Program and now works at Farnsworth Fine Cannabis in Great Barrington. “I went from doing TV production for CNBC and MSNBC, to helping people change their lives with the judicious use of CBD.” Murillo notes the ongoing research about CBD and its possible uses for menopause, sleep issues, neurological problems, pain, inflammation, and even Parkinson’s Disease.
“We were the first class last year to go through the Certification Program. There were 16 of us of all ages, 22 to 69. We were kind of the guinea pigs in helping to put the syllabus together,” explains Murillo, who finds the camaraderie in this start-up industry similar to what it felt like in cable news when the whole thing was just beginning. “One of the best things about BCC’s program was the practicum we got to participate in at Berkshire Roots,” where class members spent six weeks at the company’s Pittsfield dispensary getting hands-on experience in retailing, cultivation and general operations. “I learned quite a lot—and not just the metric system,” she smiles.
What do hirers think? Some think Cannabis Certificate Programs are great. Others say it’s too soon to tell. “All things being equal, I’d choose the knowledgeable employee over one who hasn’t really made the effort to learn about the plant and the industry,” says Alexander Farnsworth, owner and CEO of Farnsworth Fine Cannabis. “A cannabis certification from a reputable institution helps keep standards high while also flagging the individual as a serious self-starter.”
Kathleen Proper, Chief HR Officer for Canna Provisions stores in Lee and Holyoke, is on a wait-and-see stance. “I’m encouraged that certificate programs are another step toward normalization,” says Proper. “That said, it’s still too early in the industry’s life cycle to tell how important—or effective—these programs will be for the industry.” Proper, a former senior consultant at a biotech company, hires and oversees 125 employees including the company’s cultivation operations in Sheffield. “Sometimes, we’ve found that you have to spend time un-educating certificate holders to bring them up to the level of the customer service we’re looking for.”
“A degree in cannabis doesn’t guarantee you a management job in two years,” explains Meg Sanders, Canna Provision’s Chief Executive Officer. “While more knowledge is better than less knowledge, each cannabis product comes to the table differently; sales are extremely product-specific. We spend a lot of time training our own staff about the products they’ll be recommending in keeping with our mission of creating an outstanding customer experience.”
Indeed. For the two months last year that they were closed for COVID, Sanders had her employees study cannabis—its fundamentals, history of legislations and business—online, which is another option for cannabis certification. “We used green-flower. com,” says Sanders. Green Flower bills itself as “the world’s most comprehensive on demand training platform, built specifically for cannabis professionals.” Berkshire Roots also recently announced that it has co-created a custom, team-training curriculum with Green Flower.
The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy also offers online cannabis education, and Medgar Evers College recently became the first City University of New York (CUNY) campus to offer a cannabis minor degree program, housed in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science.
Options for cannabis certification closer to home include American International College, in Springfield, which offers a master’s degree program, and Holyoke Community College, which offers certification programs in partnership with the Worcester-based Cannabis Community Care and Research Network. Certification programs are available for Bud Tenders, Cannabis Cultivation Assistants, Cannabis Extraction Technician Assistants, and Cannabis Culinary Assistants.
“People learn in different ways,” says Porter. “We found online training to be informative and we knew more about the industry when we reopened. But there’s no substitute for having customer service rock stars who we can then teach what makes our products better.”
“I would say if you’re considering the next step in your education, go for it,” Sanders adds. “But don’t do it for the certificate. Do it for yourself. The certificate is nice, but it’s the passion that drove you to it that we’re really interested in.”
What is the career path for someone interested in cannabis? One thing it’s not is a road to immediate riches. A sure way to become wealthy in the cannabis industry is by owning a store and selling it. Most employees come in at entry-level positions. At Canna Provisions, that job is known as retail associate and entails all the things you’d expect from someone behind the counter—from checking you in and running the register to fulfilling your order. The next step up is floor supervisor, then associate manager, and finally sales manager.
“There are definitely career path opportunities in this industry,” says Sanders, “but a degree in cannabis isn’t the golden ticket.”
For Maria Murillo, getting certified through BCC helped her start a new career and a new life. “After working in TV, I was a stay-at-home mom in Queens. Now I’m up here where it’s beautiful in a job that lets me help people. Last week I was able to help make a grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter all feel better and still get home in time to pick up my kids from school.”
Cannabis Courses
Many educational institutions are contributing to the development of professional industry standards and expertise. Here are some:
Berkshire Community College (berkshirecc.edu) offers a Cannabis Industry Certificate to “provide students with applicable skills and knowledge to work professionally in the areas of cannabis cultivation, processing, preparation, retail, and outreach,” which includes courses in business, communication, biopsychology and botany.
Holyoke Community College (hcc.edu) offers certification programs in partnership with the Worcester-based Cannabis Community Care and Research Network. Cannabis programs are for Bud Tender, Cultivation Assistant, Extraction Technician Assistant, and Culinary Assistant.
American International College (aic.edu) in Springfield offers a master’s degree for students interested in a career in cannabis, providing an understanding of the science, business, and legal issues of the industry.
The University of Rhode Island (uri.edu) offers an Undergraduate Certificate in Cannabis Studies through its online URI College of Pharmacy, promising to provide students with “a foundation in cannabis product development, therapeutic evaluation, chemistry and pharmacognosy.”
Medgar Evers College (mec.cuny.edu) is the first City University of New York (CUNY) campus to offer a cannabis minor degree program. The courses are available to all CUNY students via e-permits.
Green Flower (green-flower.com) offers the “world’s most comprehensive on demand training platform, built specifically for cannabis professionals.”