Doane University is set to launch a Professional Cannabis Certificate Program on DoaneX, the first of its kind offered by a university in Nebraska.
The program, titled “Cannabis Science and Industries: Seeds to Needs,” is a series of three self-paced, online courses designed by leading experts in the cannabis industry and academia with PhD and MD credentials. Courses are expected to be available on DoaneX later this fall.
Doane’s Professional Cannabis Certificate is designed to meet the interests of students who would like to enter the cannabis field, including cultivators and processors. The program also provides a foundation of knowledge for those interested in working in ancillary professions within the cannabis industry such as marketing, business, finance, and administration. The program provides comprehensive content that will be of interest to a wide audience.
Topics covered in the program include:
- Cannabis science
- Wellness aspects of cannabis
- Cultivation and processing
- Regulations, safety, and compliance
- Economic impacts
Professions in the cannabis industry
The Cannabis industry is projected to become a multibillion-dollar industry in America over the next five years with an already high demand for educated professionals in agriculture, processing, wellness, and manufacturing. Doane University’s Professional Cannabis Certificate Program is designed for a diverse audience seeking to gain an in-depth understanding of this emerging industry, providing the credentials needed to enter the cannabis workforce.
After the 2018 Farm Bill legalized commercial hemp production in the United States, the pool of farmers licensed to grow hemp continues to rise at a rapid rate. According to a report in Marijuana Moment, , farmers grew more than 78,000 acres of legal hemp last year, up from 26,000 acres in 2017. That number is projected to be at least 125,000 acres of hemp planted nationally in 2019.
This past May, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts signed the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act (LB657) into law, recognizing hemp as a viable agricultural crop, aligning state law with federal law.
Dr. Andrea Holmes, professor of chemistry at Doane, spent her sabbatical in the 2018-19 academic year in Colorado, where she worked at AgriScience Labs, a state-certified marijuana testing facility. Holmes tested consumer-facing products (marijuana flour, concentrates, edibles, topicals, etc.) for potency, residual solvents, terpenes, microbials (yeast, mold, E. coli, salmonella), pesticides, and heavy metals to ensure the products can be used safely. According to Holmes, the marijuana industry is more highly regulated than the food industry.