There’s no denying that the marijuana industry is flourishing. So much that some colleges are now offering educations in the plant.
Northern Michigan University is the latest institution to offer a degree in weed.
27-year old student Grace DeNoya of the university has said, “My friends make good-natured jokes about getting a degree in weed. I say, ‘No, it’s a serious degree, a chemistry degree first and foremost. It’s hard work. Organic chemistry is a bear.’”
“I came in planning to do the bioanalytical track, maybe go work in a lab. I just switched to the entrepreneurial track. I figured that would better position me, as the industry is still expanding and changing and growing so much.”
“We’re providing a fast track to get into the industry,” said Brandon Canfield, a chemistry professor at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
The school’s four-year degree has already drawn almost 300 students from 48 states according to Canfield.
The professor said that students will learn to measure and extract medicinal compounds from plants such as St. John’s Wort and ginseng and transfer that knowledge to marijuana.
“All of our graduates are going to be qualified to be analysts in a lab setting,” Canfield said.
