Launching a Cannabis Studies Program at Golden Gate University

Yes, I’m the new dean at Golden Gate University who is launching a Cannabis Studies program at a school that has been focused on a traditional business curriculum for many years. It has been complicated, but it is definitely the right thing to do. Cannabis (which is what we call it now to make it seem more legitimate, and to get away from the words used in past decades to demonize the plant and its users) was legalized in California just over two years ago, and money has been flooding in from big tobacco, from Canada, where cannabis is legal nationwide and where there has been major investment for some time, and from private equity firms. My university has always been about helping working people in the Bay Area acquire the tools to succeed so they don’t get left behind as industry and economic development progress. Surely we would not want to pass judgment on this rapidly growing industry and turn our backs on it, if there are opportunities for our students to show what they know and can do?

One issue we confronted right away was the fact that while cannabis is legal in California and ten other states (and the District of Columbia), it is still illegal at the federal level. We had to make sure there were no legal issues about offering courses on how to succeed in the cannabis business. Would this jeopardize federal financial aid programs? As it turns out, courses like this are acceptable. At many institutions there have been courses that have discussed drug use, both legal and illegal. There are Criminology courses on substance abuse and treatment, Pharmacy courses in illegal drug use, and Religion courses on the use of drugs in religious practice. We also thought about starting the course with a disclaimer telling students that this is how it’s being done, but since it’s illegal on the federal level, they should avoid doing such things themselves. (This is how Cecil B. de Mille became a major Hollywood producer: back in the 1930s he made films like Sign of the Cross featuring all sorts of risqué behavior, debauchery,  and semi-nudity, but then he would show the Christians triumphing over paganism, so it would all be okay.) Eventually we contacted the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, where a representative told us that, while she could not endorse such a course, anything that reduced the risks of illegal drug use by discussing quality control and supporting regulation and safety standards would help them in their battle against drugs. So that’s in there.

It has also been a bit awkward to discuss the developments with our leadership and our Board of Trustees. Many of us associate cannabis with counterculture, teen rebellion, and “youthful experimentation,” let’s call it. The first couple of presentations dissolved in giggles, especially when I talked about how the new intro course was creating a buzz in the community. (Once you go down that road, everything you say sounds like a double entendre: “we are hoping for high enrollments for this course”; numbering the course or finding a room for the class meetings—yup, you guessed it, “420” was the preferred option for both; “a joint decision”; “this course is a gateway for other courses in the sequence”; etc.)

On the other hand, the business community has been enthusiastic, since the cannabis industry is unique in terms of the different banking and finance laws, legal aspects, and also the many equity and fairness issues that the new laws seek to address. Our law school has offered seminars on this, CalCPA (the state CPA professional association) has held symposia, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been flowing into the region to build and support cannabis-related enterprises. By one estimate, 10,000 jobs will be created in the state this year. With this in mind, two of our staff members, including our assistant dean Liam Anderson and Academic Program Manager Sue Ann Hirschberg, have driven development of the program, based on detailed market research (and possibly, some direct interaction with local dispensaries, but I don’t know for sure).

I won’t deny that the publicity this has generated hasn’t hurt—adult-focused institutions like mine struggle to get the attention they deserve. My hope is that this course, and the rest of the certificate program currently in development, covering historical and cultural issues, finance and business aspects like supply chain management, and legal considerations, will be relevant for the working adults who typically enroll at Golden Gate University and for the community at large. And I’ve just spent an hour looking for some kind of cannabis slang term that would serve as a kick-ass conclusion for this post, but I couldn’t make “budding” into anything useful. And it is absolutely not because I am high. Can anyone help?