'Higher' education: Incorporating cannabis as interdisciplinary curricula

This paper details successful efforts undertaken, at a Midwest (U.S.) university to address the significant lack of cannabis-centered academics within U.S. higher education. The foci of this paper for interdisciplinary cannabis curricula at the subject university is three-fold: student-centered, industry-centered, and community-centered. The curricular innovation was designed, presented, and now implemented, in a form of stackable credentialling; through which students develop fundamental knowledge about cannabis (badge in ‘cannabis operations’), apply that knowledge in a holistic way to local regions (certificate in ‘cannabis & community planning’), and culminate their learning experience with advanced topics and experiential learning components via an academic minor (‘cannabis operations management’), housed within a hospitality / tourism management program. Ultimately, this curriculum seeks to fill industry and community niches with interdisciplinary content on the topic of cannabis, to properly prepare those students who wish to pursue a meaningful and impactful career in the cannabis industry or ancillary industries.