After the state of Michigan legalized recreational cannabis use in 2018 Lake Superior State University, in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, launched several cannabis-related programs.
The school offers a cannabis business program and a chemistry program as well.
But because cannabis containing the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is prohibited under federal law in the U.S., the university, which receives federal funding, can’t actually have those plants on campus.
“We can’t have a product that contains THC on campus, so we’re typically using a surrogate such as hemp,” said Steve Johnson, dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Lake Superior State University.
Although his students are primarily working with hemp, Johnson said that hasn’t held them back from successful careers in the cannabis industry after they graduate.
Because Lake Superior State University gets federal funding, and cannabis remains prohibited federally in the U.S., students work with hemp plants, instead of cannabis. (Erik White/CBC)
“If you look at a compliance facility, there’s maybe one or two tests that they do that actually focus on THC and the rest are other things,” he said.
“Is there residual solvent? Are there heavy metals? Are there pesticides? Are there microplastics?”
Johnson said most students who complete the cannabis programs find employment soon thereafter.
“They make a good living,” he said.
When Lake Superior State University first started offering cannabis-related programs Johnson said some people joked it would be a “party degree.”
Late Night host Jimmy Fallon joked in 2021 that a scholarship for one of the cannabis programs came with some extra incentives.
“It’s the only scholarship that comes with a year’s supply of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” he said.
The first program, Johnson said, was to train chemists who would be able to work in the field of compliance, to meet the state’s various requirements for selling recreational cannabis.
“And then, serendipitously, it was approved in Canada for legal use and recreational use in the state of Michigan kind of right around when the degree was approved,” Johnson said.
In addition to testing cannabis for compliance, Johnson says graduates work in just about every part of the cannabis industry, from growing plants to processing plants and dispensaries.
After the state of Michigan legalized recreational cannabis use in 2018, Lake Superior State University, in Sault Ste. Marie, MI launched several cannabis-related programs. Read More