Photo via uwplatt.edu
UW-Platteville campus
UW-Platteville campus
If Wisconsin ever fully legalizes cannabis sativa—or even if it doesn’t—the future of the industry’s publicly available aspects will likely operate at a higher professional level thanks to the University of Wisconsin–Platteville’s Cannabis Certificate Program. Now entering its fifth year, the fully online program offers education in five areas critical to the plant’s growth and development, as well as its role in a society currently at odds with its legality.
The 24-week turnkey program, created by Green Flower, an online education provider based in Ventura, Calif., is advertised and distributed through online channels by UWP, one of 60 colleges and universities nationwide that exclusively partner with the content provider in providing cannabis education.
“When we looked into it in 2019, we saw a clear need for cannabis education,” explains Carolyn Keller, UWP’s associate provost. “We started in 2020, and all the program’s content is created and driven by Green Flower.”
As a non-degree program, the certificate series requires no additional educational input from UWP professors or staff, she adds. Like many online programs, progress through the steps in the courses are driven by students’ interest and time commitments. The different topic “pathways” offering certifications include:
- Cannabis Healthcare and Medicine
- Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management
- The Business of Cannabis
- Cannabis Agriculture and Horticulture, and
- Cannabis Product Development and Design
Each category of the 24-week course cycle costs students $2,400, and components cannot be mixed and matched from one series to another, Keller says. As non-degreed courses they also do not qualify for student aid or tuition reimbursement. Since starting in 2020, 464 students have completed various cannabis certificate classes through UWP, with 30 new students enrolled this semester.
Critical Time
Despite disputes over legalizing cannabis, this is still a critical time to improve cannabis education, according to Max Simon, founder and CEO of Green Flower.
“It’s a very exciting moment in the world of cannabis evolution because both presidential candidates are signaling the possible legalization and reclassification of cannabis,” Simon says. “We’re at the precipice of a level of federal cannabis support not seen since Richard Nixon entered office. This could create a wave of opportunity that we haven’t seen since the start of this industry. I am very optimistic about the moment that we’re in.”
Although Green Flower’s courses do not have an advocacy component to them, Simon feels strongly about legalization ever since cannabis helped him conquer his childhood struggles with ADHD when no other treatment could. He currently takes a prescribed medical dose each day, as does every other family member, including his elderly grandparents and his seven-year-old son.
“There is a heavy stigma placed on cannabis and its users, but when you look at how it’s operating in legal states you see that it’s a legitimate industry that supports and serves a lot of people in a lot of ways,” Simon says. “Cannabis deserves to be seen in an updated and a positive light.”
The lack of cannabis legalization in Wisconsin has not dampened interest in UWP’s program, Keller says. The majority of students are locally based, and proximity to Minnesota and Iowa—two states that each have their own approach to cannabis legalization—also helps bolster the program’s success.
“Our program focuses on the skills and career development part, rather than the advocacy part,” Simon adds. “That said, you can’t learn about the history of cannabis and not become an advocate for its use. Cannabis is safer than alcohol and fundamentally better for helping a host of medical conditions.
“Our criminalized prohibition mindset around this plant is a little nonsensical,” he adds.
The cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy, with sales projected to reach $45 billion by 2025. This growth is creating thousands of new jobs in various fields, from cultivation and production to marketing, sales, and policy advocacy.
