a joint report<\/a> by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics released in January 2018.<\/p>\nNorthern Michigan University recently developed a four-year degree program in medicinal plant chemistry with the goal of preparing entrepreneurial students for careers in this emerging industry. Niagara College in Ontario, Canada offers a graduate certificate in Commercial Cannabis Production in response to what the college characterizes as an overwhelming need for trained professionals in the booming cannabis market. Several other U.S. universities, including the University of Vermont and the University of Colorado in Boulder, offer undergraduate classes focused on the business aspects or legality of cannabis.<\/p>\n
However, comprehensive training in cannabis horticulture \u2013 the science behind actually growing an ideal crop \u2013 has historically been provided by non-accredited online outfits with amateur growers serving as faculty.<\/p>\n
An internationally recognized plant scientist and dedicated educator, Berkowitz remarked a disconnect between the increased interest and acceptance of marijuana and cannabis research and the caliber of training options available to students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you search for cannabis courses, you find websites for training schools that have no academic affiliations,” he says. “When you read about best practices for cannabis horticulture, you discover that the information provided isn\u2019t substantiated by refereed science or subjected to rigorous review. That\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a firm focus in horticulture, the UConn course serves as a gateway to the entire cannabis industry. The introductory course is open to all UConn students, regardless of their major, and has no prerequisites for enrollment. Along with Berkowitz, expert guest lecturers will present on topics like cannabis genetics, seed selection, soil and tissue testing, plant hormones, and lab testing of harvests, among others.<\/p>\n
Berkowitz currently has the ability to work with low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) hemp cannabis plants, which will be used as examples for class demonstrations. Unlike full-potency marijuana plants, the low THC hemp plants in Berkowitz\u2019s lab don\u2019t contain enough of the psychoactive component to give euphoric effects if ingested. The plants will be grown in concert with the course to provide students with hands-on examples of the range of horticultural methods applied to cannabis, such as propagating clones through cuttings, transplanting, training plants to alter canopy and flower architecture, culling males, pest management, and more.<\/p>\n
This has been a long time coming for Berkowitz, who has taken on independent studies with students interested in the cannabis industry for several years. With an expected 100 students in the first year, he hopes the course grows in popularity and could pave the way for additional advanced level courses and even the possibility of a minor or a dedicated degree program.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs laws have changed and acceptance for medical marijuana has grown, we\u2019ve seen more and more interest and more and more opportunities for students and faculty alike to delve into the science of cannabis,\u201d says Berkowitz. \u201cUConn is making inroads on both the educational and research fronts to support our students, our science, and our state\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of this inaugural class, Berkowitz plans to take his students on a field trip. Assuming all the paperwork goes through, they will have the chance to visit Connecticut Pharmaceutical Solutions, the facility where Berkowitz\u2019s former student Taylor Cheek works. On that field trip, they\u2019ll stop at the nursery and check in on Cheek and her \u201cbabies\u201d to see how they\u2019re all growing up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Plant science professor Gerry Berkowitz will offer a course on the horticulture of cannabis in the spring, to help prepare students for the burgeoning industry in medical marjuana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":142604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1862,2225,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2140],"class_list":["post-142602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-busn","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 03:24:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142602"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144680,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142602\/revisions\/144680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/142604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142602"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=142602"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=142602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}