NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Medgar Evers College students will now be able to minor in cannabis studies, marking a first for the City University of New York.
The college in Crown Heights, Brooklyn will offer a cannabis minor degree program starting this fall, the school said in a press release. No other CUNY campus currently offers a program of the sort, according to the release.
Students will be able to enroll in "Introduction to the World of Cannabis" this fall, the release said. That course will be a prerequisite to take a number of other cannabis-centric classes.
"In following semesters, students can choose four courses from any of the 13 newly-developed courses to earn a cannabis degree minor in one of four different tracks," the release said.
The courses will be open to both Medgar Evers College students and students at CUNY's other 24 campuses via e-permits, according to the release.
The new program will provide "educational workforce development," as well as "opportunities for economic expansion," the release said. It will also "feature the skill-building instructional support needed to foster new cannabis leaders in the areas of testing, cultivation, business and health."
Medgar Evers' announcement came months after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21.
"As a botanist, I'm particularly pleased to see that the institution that I've been selected to lead is on the cutting edge of providing educational opportunities to learn about the many beneficial uses of plants such as cannabis, and to provide the training necessary for our students to be able to compete for burgeoning opportunities in this new industry," the college's president, Dr. Patricia Ramsey, said in a statement.
"Education is a key step in raising awareness of the non-recreational benefits of plants such as cannabis."
"Oftentimes, communities of color are the last to benefit from emerging economic opportunities," she added. "The science faculty and the business faculty collaborated in developing the minor in cannabis education; this, exposing the students to the science, health, technical and business aspects of this new industry."
