FINALLY, A DEGREE IN MARIJUANA

When Alex Roth’s mother sent him an article announcing a new degree program at Northern Michigan University, the sophomore immediately switched his major. Roth is now majoring in cannabis.

The program, medicinal plant chemistry, is the first to offer a four-year undergraduate degree focusing on marijuana, according to Brandon Canfield, the associate professor of chemistry who started the program.

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-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 sprouting field. — The Washington Post