Vermont State University program prepares cannabis entrepreneurs for growing industry

Castleton, Vt – Though still illegal under federal law, cannabis sales in states is a multi-billion dollar industry.

And as the business and its culture continue to develop, a university in the Green Mountain State is hoping to turn out the next generation of workers for the industry.

Vermont State University’s ‘Cannabis Studies Certificate Program’ is a twelve credit program that goes deep on marijuana – it’s history and anthropology, cultivation and production, business enterprise and skill development.

“We wanted to provide both education and training, hence the certification part of it, for students to work in the industry,” said Philip Lamy, a professor of sociology, anthropology and Cannabis Studies at Vermont State University-Castleton, and the director of the certificate program.

Lamy came up with the idea for a class about six years ago. He said, an educator, he felt he needed to get involved. What started out as a few opinion pieces in local newspapers quickly grew into something much larger.

“We’d already had medical marijuana for a few years – and like in many other states, the debate was on about legalization,” Lamy recalls.. “I couldn’t help noticing a lot of the discussion in the news and the media, a lot of that information was misinformation.”

“From there we got the idea to take it a little bit further, and thought ‘Jeez, why not offer a class?”

An experimental course filled up almost immediately, and now, fully formed program, offers three courses and an internship.

“We’re placing and attracting students from across the board,” Lamy says. “But what they have in common is an interest in cannabis, and they want to find a way to find their particular area of study into the cannabis marketplace.”

You can learn more about the Cannabis Studies Certification Program here.

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