A new university course aimed at teaching students how to grow and sell pot is set to begin at a university in British Columbia this fall.
Tegan Adams, the professor for the course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), said the course will focus on the proper management and growth of marijuana.
According to Adams, the 14-week online course creates an opportunity for management professionals to break into the medical marijuana industry with a knowledge of it.
“It’s been generating a lot of interest on campus,” Adams said. “Last I checked, the course was either full or there were very few spots left.”
Adams, who works as a business development manager at a pharmaceutical and nutraceutical testing company, said she approached KPU and asked them if they would be interested in moving ahead with the course and the school reacted positively.
“I had been consulting in the industry, and there’s no training available for anyone,” she said. “So I asked if they would want to try an introductory course.”
KPU wasn’t the only school that Adams approached for the program but KPU was the easiest to work with, she said.
The course will be broken down into four categories: creating a facility management plan for a marijuana production facility, regulations, marketing, and development conditions.
While Adams acts as the primary instructor, she will not be the sole educator that gives tips to students on tricks of the trade. She said that “producers, other growers, and government representation” will be on hand to discuss the pot industry with KPU students.
Aside from the intricacies of the course, Adams is excited to be teaching an unprecedented course she said is drumming up a large amount of attention. She’s interested in changing the conversation surrounding the marijuana industry.
“There’s really nothing to lose with the proposal,” she said. “The main thing is angling it in a way that you’re seen as adding credibility to an industry that really needs it.”
She said that after moving ahead with that angle, KPU has taken well to the plan. However, she also stressed that it’s about more than the perception of outsiders.
“We’re not going to be going into a lot of the politics of marijuana,” Adams said. “The closest thing to that would probably be the marketing section, where students learn how to present themselves in the industry.”
