Get Your Degree in Cannabis—in Canada

Canadian college students will have an opportunity next year to study the fine art of cannabis cultivation.

According to Reuters, a college in New Brunswick intends to prepare students interested in taking on a career in the cannabis trade by launching a program that will teach them the ins and outs of growing marijuana.

The course, which is still being designed, will be made available through the French-language College Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick.

“This is not a mainstream program,” said Michel Doucet, executive director of continuing education and customized learning. “We’re looking at training qualified employees to meet the needs of industry, versus training students at large.”

This is perhaps big news for a nation of young minds hoping to get in on the ground floor of a lucrative new industry – one that is projected to service an estimated 8 million customers and generate annual sales reaching $5 billion.

Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana nationwide when he took over as Prime Minister last year. Some of the latest reports have suggested the Canadian government will make this happen in early 2017.

Medical marijuana is already legal all across the entire scope of the northern nation, but a lot of the cannabis companies have expressed interest in crossing over into the recreational sector. This development is expected to create thousands of new jobs help give the economy a much-needed jolt.

But the training course, which will be offered in 2017, will not provide students with a degree in cannabis cultivation. As Reuters points out, Canadian colleges are different than universities in the way that they typically provide people with diplomas rather than degrees.

Even still, the College Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick has yet to determine whether the cannabis cultivation program will be acknowledged as a fully accredited course.

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