FGCU plans to offer degree program that will ready students to work in marijuana industry

Thyrie Bland | The News-Press

Show Caption Hide Caption 5 things to know about Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University opened its doors Aug. 25, 1997.

What started out as a marijuana class at Florida Gulf Coast University is being expanded to a bachelor's degree program that will prepare students to work in the weed industry.

Students will be able to start taking classes needed to earn the degree in integrated studies in January. The university also is going to offer a certificate program.

FGCU believes it is the first of Florida's 12 schools in the State University System to offer such a program. When FGCU began offering its class, "Weed: Impact of Marijuana," in August, it joined a growing list of schools nationwide offering classes on marijuana.

"There are some schools that have some specific courses, but as far as I know ... nobody has developed in the state of Florida something that would result in a bachelor's degree," said Maria Roca, the Department of Integrated Studies chairwoman.

FGCU: Marijuana: There is a class for that at FGCU

The new program puts FGCU on the list of schools nationwide that offer marijuana-related degrees. Northern Michigan University in Marquette is cited as the first school to offer a marijuana degree because of its medicinal plant chemistry program. Colorado State University-Pueblo offers a minor in cannabis studies and special classes on the drug.

The idea for the degree program came about after Sam Walch, an integrated studies instructor, and Martha Rosenthal, a neuroscience professor, went to a medical marijuana conference in Sarasota earlier this year.

Walch said the first thought was just to try to offer a certificate program. He said after more discussion, the idea turned into offering the degree and certificate programs.

"When we were there, we noticed immediately ... there was a real need for a confirmed university education rather than a lot of the just fly-by-night stuff that was going on," he said. "There was such a huge opportunity for our students in an industry that really, really wanted to partner with universities and really get the best employees possible."

FGCU gave the Department of Integrated Studies $25,000 to get the degree and certificate programs off the ground. Part of the program's goals will be to place students in internships in the marijuana industry. The university also is planning to have a job fair on its campus in 2019 for people who are interested in working in the cannabis industry.

"I think a greater focus on the business side and the cultural side and the medical side of this makes much more sense to us than trying to take on some of the big universities that are doing the agri-nomics," FGCU President Mike Martin said.

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The program will prepare students for a range of marijuana-related jobs, from working in growing facilities and dispensaries to marketing jobs in the industry, Roca said.

"The industry is as about as integrated an industry as anything we have seen in a long time," she said. "It really is aimed at preparing students for whichever angle of the industry that they are interested in, which makes the integrated degree such a powerful one."

How much money students who decide to get the degree and enter the marijuana industry will earn is a bit of a mystery, Walch said.

"The interesting part is there is not really much of that data available because it's such a new industry and a very secretive industry," he said.

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Walch said he plans to make a Cannabis Career Club part of the program. He said the club will serve as a networking group for students who want to work in the marijuana industry.

FGCU senior Anselm Weber, 22, president of the FGCU chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policies, said he thinks some students in his organization will be interested in the new program.

"A lot of them grew up with these giant institutions telling people ..., 'Be drug-free' and not to question anything," he said. "They were just growing up seeing that a lot of policy decisions are not scientific and the other is that a lot of these things are being pushed to unfairly criminalize ... people of color."

The degree program will offer students an array of classes, including the business of marijuana, cannabis culture, laws and policies and the science of marijuana.

"I like creating new things," said Rosenthal, who designed the degree program. "It has been fun coming up with a major and talking to people. So many faculty are excited about this, being involved with this."

The marijuana industry started to take off in Florida in 2016 after voters OK'd legalizing medical marijuana. Marijuana dispensaries are popping up across the state.

Orlando Attorney John Morgan plans to push to get a measure on the ballot in 2020 that will ask voters to make recreational use of marijuana OK in Florida.

"I have gone out of my way to educate myself ... and have been absolutely stunned by the benefits of medical cannabis from seizure disorders to treating cancer to dealing with anxiety and depression," Roca said. "It's just the benefits are so impressive. We need more research. We need a deeper understanding."