JWU to offer degree in cannabis entrepreneurship

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY is launching a Bachelor of Science degree in Cannabis Entrepreneurship in fall 2021 at its Providence campus. / AP FILE PHOTO/JUILIO CORTEZ

PROVIDENCE – Johnson & Wales University is launching a Bachelor of Science degree in Cannabis Entrepreneurship at its campus here, the university announced on Tuesday.

The degree, combining cannabis science and business entrepreneurship, will be the first of its kind in the Northeast when it is offered in fall 2021, JWU said. It will focus on the entire process of building a business within the cannabis industry, including how to launch a business that develops nonpsychoactive cannabis products from seed to distribution. The program will also explore the various cannibidiols, or CBD, the exploration of biomass for use in the textile industry, biomaterial fabrication and other fast-growing industries in the field.

Students will learn to be competitive in several facets of the cannabis industry, JWU said, including plant cultivation, CBD extraction processes and cannabis product retail.

The university noted that cannabis will not initially be grown as part of the program. Students will utilize plants with similar growth characteristics to the plant, such as tomatoes, coleus, hops and sundew.

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The courses required for degree will include Cannabis Law & Policy, Introduction to Cannabis Entrepreneurship, Small Cannabis Operations Business Management, Plant Cultivation I (Soil, Soil Substitutes and Disease Management), Plant Cultivation II (Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Tissue Culture, Genetic Manipulations, and Extractions), and Growth and Sustainability for Small Business. 

“Legal cannabis generated approximately $10.6 billion in 2018 and … is estimated to be close to $100 billion before the end of the decade,” said Magnus Thorsson, associate professor in the College of Business. “We are beginning to see that conventional business practices are key to the success of the cannabis industry. Growers and distributers are increasingly looking for specialists with a background in entrepreneurship and supply-chain-management to keep ahead of growing competition. Our industry contacts confirm that they need accountants and business managers with knowledge of botany to run their expanding operations.”

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