Gonzaga University is now offering two new programs aimed at people who work in or are interested in joining the cannabis industry and adjacent fields. One program focuses on cannabis and health care, while the other is aimed at the business and compliance side of the industry. The programs are a collaborative effort between the university and cannabis industry educational training provider Green Flower.
"We've been seeing the rise of legalization of medical and recreational cannabis across the nation. Here in Washington the growth has been one of the highest across the country. The reason we went into this is because there is an educational gap. We see ourselves as an institution that is here to provide education and to meet people in the margins," says Rachelle Strawther, director of Gonzaga's Center for Lifelong Learning.
As part of the university's lifelong learning offerings, the programs are not exclusive to Gonzaga students or graduates. The courses are open to anyone over the age of 18, and there are no educational prerequisites.
Gonzaga provides the accreditation and vets the curricula that Green Flower instructors will be teaching in the online courses.
Green Flower has been in the cannabis education and certification space since 2014, partnering with colleges and companies in the industry around the nation.
"Part of what Green Flower offers is we have an employer network helping people get hired by companies that appreciate those who have this level of training," says Green Flower CEO Max Simon.
Both Strawther and Simon said there's a lack of an established and accepted education and certification track for those entering or advancing in the cannabis industry, whose employees outnumber dentists by a 3-1 ratio, according to Green Leaf and Gonzaga.
"We're trying to help reduce the stigma surrounding cannabis because people need to have good information to make decisions for themselves and for their businesses," says Strawther.
With the health care and medical program, for example, primary care providers can complete the course and receive a Gonzaga-branded certificate that will allow patients to see that they are well versed in the relationship between cannabis and health.
"Whether it's to patients or to colleagues in the medical field, [graduates] can say they have a formal form of recognition of the knowledge they have for that sector," says Simon.
The registration deadline for the first 24-week session is Sept. 11. ♦
