First degree in weed ‘not easy at all’
Rather than growing pot, students study chemistry, accounting and management
When Alex Roth’s mother sent him an article announcing a new degree program being offered at Northern Michigan University, the sophomore switched his major. Roth is now majoring in cannabis.
The program, Medicinal Plant Chemistry, is the first program to offer a 4-year undergraduate degree focusing on marijuana, according to Brandon Canfield, the associate professor of chemistry who started the program.
“When my friends hear what my major is, there are a lot of people who laugh and say, ‘wow. Cool dude. You’re going to get a degree growing marijuana,’ ” Roth told The Washington Post. “But it’s not an easy degree at all.”
The former environmental studies major won’t be getting high in class or growing his own plants. Instead, his required courses include tough subjects such as organic chemistry, plant physiology, botany, accounting, genetics, physical geography and financial management.
Several accredited colleges and universities offer credit and noncredit courses in marijuana. The University of California at Davis has an undergraduate course on the Physiology of Cannabis, the University of Denver offers a course on the Business of Marijuana and Vanderbilt’s law school has Marijuana Law and Policy course. Oaksterdam University in Oakland, Calif., calls itself America’s first cannabis college, but offers a certificate rather than a college diploma, according to its website.
But Northern Michigan University in Marquette is the first to offer a degree in the field.
“The historical stigma associated with cannabis is quickly vanishing,” says the school’s website, “and although there is a surge in businesses related to the marijuana economy, there is a major gap in educational opportunities available to prepare people for this field.”
Canfield told The Post to think of it as getting a science degree with a minor in business. He said he got the idea to start the major last year after attending the National Conference of the American Chemical Society where there was an official cannabis chemistry division.
Once university officials learned that the program would focus primarily on laboratory analysis, he said there was really no backlash. The school began publicizing the program in March. Since then, about a dozen students have declared in the major.
Despite not being able to handle actual marijuana on campus, there are still opportunities for NMU students to handle the plant offsite.
“We’ve got a long list of licensed Michigan businesses who want to take our students for internship programs,” Canfield said.