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Roanoke College is launching a cannabis studies program this fall. The University of Lynchburg has joined the bandwagon, too, recently unveiling a professional certification in cannabis health care and medicine.
But neither of these schools was the first to do it in Virginia. Nate Miller, an adjunct professor of horticulture at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, claims his was the first higher-education cannabis certification in the commonwealth. He launched it in the fall of 2022.
Courses like Miller’s, which serve as a beginner-level foray into the biology and uses of cannabis, are what he views as the next step in removing the stigma surrounding the plant.
“An educational program like ours legitimizes that industry,” Miller said, “meaning you have … many teachers that are professionals, that are in this growing and emerging market and industry.”
Except that emerging market suffered a blow when Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have legalized adult-use retail cannabis sales in the state.
Miller’s class came to be after a colleague requested it in 2021, when possessing recreational cannabis became legal in Virginia. As the industry continues to navigate a rocky political climate, his curriculum also explores the plant’s legal, business and political landscapes.
While Piedmont Virginia was the first in the state to offer a credential in cannabis, Virginia Tech beat the community college — by one semester — in simply offering a course on the subject. Established in the spring of 2022, Virginia Tech’s cannabis class is taught in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and covers cannabis science, industry and culture. It doesn’t lead to any specific credential.
There were a handful of cannabis education opportunities prior to these classes, according to data provided by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. This included two independent studies focusing on cannabinoid research in rats at Radford University in 2019-20 and a seminar at Washington & Lee University in 2020-21.
Despite creating a course on a hot-button topic, Miller said he didn’t receive much pushback. In fact, his first cohort, in fall 2022, drew 22 students — nearly double the enrollment that the school’s horticulture courses usually get, Miller said. That number has dropped since the course’s launch, so Miller expects five to 15 students for his next course, which starts in May.
Several of his students hope to pursue a career in cannabis, Miller said, so he tries to help by coordinating field trips to local growers, dispensaries and other industry players to facilitate connections for them in the area.
A second part to Miller’s course, a more in-depth look at the same topics, is also on its way to Piedmont Virginia.
Statewide expansions
The University of Lynchburg’s certificate in cannabis health care and medicine, which was announced last month and will begin this fall, comes from a partnership with Green Flower, a nationwide company that helps colleges develop curricula and study programs that in turn create a cannabis workforce. The plant and its uses are “very misunderstood,” Green Flower CEO Max Simon said.
“By getting the proper information people can get not just a lot of benefit, but society can really benefit from it,” Simon said. “This is an effective, natural and safe medication, or safe product, if you will, that can help a lot of people.”
Lynchburg’s offering is a six-month certificate program that includes three eight-week courses. The first is similar to Piedmont Virginia’s, covering cannabis history, botany and a “baseline understanding” of the industry and government regulations on the plant, Simon said.
The other two focus on how cannabis is used in medicine: its history as a treatment, how it should be used, the body’s endocannabinoid system that processes the plant, different medicinal cannabis products and how those should be used and delivered to patients.
Despite Virginia legalizing cannabis for personal use in 2021 and the push for more education on the topic, the colleges, so far, are careful to follow government and campus regulations. Simon and Miller both said their courses in no way encourage the use of recreational cannabis. Miller brings a cannabis plant to class as a “prop,” he said, and complies with the college’s rules, which prohibit “possessing, using, selling or distributing illegal drugs or controlled substances as defined by Virginia law.” Lynchburg’s certificate is 100% online, so it doesn’t run into that issue, Simon said.
“We are literally doing the educational component, showing people, ‘This is how it’s made. This is how it’s grown. And that is it,’” Miller said. “So, no, we’re not bringing drug paraphernalia on campus. We are bringing the plant and the machinery and some of the processes, but … we follow the school’s guidelines.”
Cannabis faces an uncertain future in Virginia. The effort to legitimize the business continues, Miller said, but likely won’t see any progress while Youngkin is in office. He calls it a “trickle-down effect,” and while lawmakers and lobbyists will continue to work on legislation, there’ll be a pause in what actually makes it through. Miller projects Virginia will be about a year behind “where we really should’ve been” due to these vetoes.
Miller joined the Virginia Hemp Coalition, which advocates “to rectify the injustices of hemp and cannabis prohibition,” according to its website, as a board member late last year. He occasionally travels to Richmond to lobby with the group, and as the only educator on the board, he said he’s able to provide lawmakers with more of a fact-based, educational view on potential legislation.
“You’ve got an educator here who is … trying to find a way to have bills passed and also propose that the educational aspect can maybe calm down some of the controversy,” Miller said.
Virginia’s political environment surrounding the topic affects what he can teach, too. As Miller prepares students for the workforce, he has to keep abreast of what’s legal both statewide and locally.
“There’s going to be a trickle-down effect as to what goes on legislatively in the state capitol, as to what goes on with businesses,” Miller said. “There, in turn, that’s how I teach a course.”