Features

Get a degree in cannabis

Published on January 22, 2019 by David Wylie

Call it higher education.

Colleges and universities all over Canada are offering training for work in the cannabis industry.

Okanagan College is offering continuing education courses covering everything from cultivation from seed to harvest, retail sales, business fundamentals, and regulatory policy.

“The Okanagan Valley is quickly becoming a leading region for cannabis cultivation,” said the college, adding the industry is creating hundreds of local jobs.

We’ve recently talked to a North Okanagan retail franchise owner who fears there won’t be enough trained store employees at the start.

Big Canadian colleges and universities are stepping up, offering a mish-mash of continuing education and certificates specializing in cannabis disciplines.

In Ontario, Niagara College is offering a one-year commercial cannabis production course that covers the biology and cultural practices of cannabis production – including plant nutrition, environment, lighting, climate control, pest control and cultivar selection.

“There is a new and overwhelming need for qualified and trained professionals in the booming cannabis production industry,” says the school.

The session starting in May 2019 is already waitlisted.

The certificate program is Canada’s first post-secondary credential in the production of commercial cannabis.

It’s sponsored by Canopy Growth, with a focus on Tweed.

The University of Ottawa is offering two courses in Cannabis Law, which is another first in Canada.

“We are proud to be the first Canadian law school to offer courses in this cutting edge area of law and public policy,” said uOttawa Dean of Law Adam Dodek.

“The legalization and regulation of cannabis will impact many areas of the law, and we are proud that our students will be able to study these issues in real-time, as the regulation of cannabis unfolds.”

The course will explore some of the potential legal implications of legalization, including its impact on employment and labour law, property law, immigration law and business law.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C. is offering a cannabis marketing course and a course on financing a cannabis enterprise.

Major universities, including McGill in Montreal and Ryerson in Toronto also have cannabis course offerings.