New York City’s Medgar Evers College Becomes First CUNY School to Offer Cannabis Degree Program

With cannabis being destigmatized in recent years, the business aspects of the marijuana plant have grown.

In New York City, where many Black and brown people have been on the negative side from the aspects of the enforcing of marijuana laws, there is an educational institution that will now offer an “Introduction to the World of Cannabis” Course.

Brooklyn’s historic Medgar Evers College (MEC) had recently announced last week that students can now enroll in a prerequisite course for many of the other cannabis courses in this degree program. The course is called “Introduction to the World of Cannabis.”

“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. 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. The science faculty and the business faculty collaborated in developing the minor in cannabis education; thus, exposing the students to the science, health, technical and business aspects of this new industry,” said Dr. Patricia Ramsey, president of Medgar Evers College in a written statement.

Medgar Evers College will rely on diverse experts who engage in the cannabis space to serve as instructors for the courses that will feature cannabis. Michael Zaytsev, who is the author of The Cannabis Business Book and founder of New York City cannabis education and networking community High NY, is slated to lead its introductory foundational course, “Introduction to the World of Cannabis.”

This course is designed to reveal the intersectional nature of cannabis and examine the challenges and opportunities associated with institutional cannabis reform. “Whether you’re passionate about art, business, climate change, criminal justice reform, healthcare, or even pop culture, cannabis significantly impacts all of the above and more. Because of the breadth of the course, I will recruit some of my ‘friends in high places’ to guest lecture on topics where they have world-class subject matter expertise,” said Zaytsev.

For information pertaining to the cannabis minor program, you can visit www.mecgrow.com.