Learn About Cannabis: 4 Cannabis Courses Online For Beginners - HØJ
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Learn About Cannabis: 4 Cannabis Courses Online For Beginners

    Blog > Learn About Cannabis: 4 Cannabis Courses Online For Beginners

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Ever dreamed of cultivating cannabis? Maybe having a growing farm, or even opening up your own local dispensary? You don’t need to attend schools or undergo professional studies about cannabis to dedicate your life to cannabis cultivation. What if there was a way around it? What if you kicked off 2023 on the right foot and took a formal, official course about your favorite hemp, and learn about cannabis? 

With cannabis’s legal status advancing over the world and its consequential growth, it would be foolish to gatekeep the educational material about this plant to full-time costly courses. Some of the internet’s most famous learning sites have university-backed online courses about cannabis. Focusing on the vast ocean of wonders and implications there is to know about the magical hemp, cannabis industry, and both its medical and recreational use. 

Most people don’t find what they’re looking for in most university courses, or rather they end up finding what they ‘don’t’ want to do for the rest of their lives. If you’re still here, I guess you may be interested in following this path, before or after college, doesn’t matter! As they say, It’s never too late to study something you’re passionate about. 

From specialized topics surrounding cannabis like agriculture and management to operating cannabis farms, medical uses, legal status, or even the hazard of opening up a dispensary, here are four online courses for beginners, that will definitely help you dive into the cannabis industry. 



Reasons Why You Should Learn About Cannabis

As the cannabis industry begins to grow, professional opportunities will surely follow. From growing cannabis to making a business out of it,  in today's not-so-distant future, the industry will find itself in need of different types of jobs within the industry. And it is always an advantage to get ahead!

As marijuana starts being decriminalized and legalized around the globe, regulations are sure to follow. In order for cannabis to be safe for everyone, hemp experts will be crucial for developing edibles, concentrates, beverages, and other cannabis products. 


- The industry is in need of more jobs

From running greenhouses to dispensaries and perhaps marketing cannabis inside a legal framework, a lot of brains are going to be needed. According to the investment bank Cowen & Co. as quoted by The Best Schools, the legal weed market will be worth something in the range of $75 billion by 2030. Imagine being a part of that! Here at HØJ, we work to always bring something new to the table, like applying new, sustainable technology to our products, and all this is possible due to a great team. Maybe you can also be a part of HØJ in the future!


- Cannabis can make a difference in the medical industry

Medical cannabis is on the rise, but sadly inconsistent regulations and stigma around marijuana are stopping research on its potential uses. Nowadays, we know that cannabis can help with epilepsy, chemotherapy’s side effects and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease. Imagine the things we would discover if more people got involved in understanding our human relationship with cannabinoids. 



Four Free Online Cannabis Courses:


1. The Health Effects of THC and CBD

Overview

  • This course is for patients, health care providers or anyone interested in learning how to use cannabis in ways that minimize the risks and maximize potential benefits
  • Duration: 4 months; 3 hours per week
  • Pricing: $29 - $99 USD subscription with a 7 day free trial
  • Free version: Yes and it consists of access to the course materials
  • From: University of Colorado in Boulder

Taught by Kent Hutchison, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder, this is a 4 part specialized course about the risks and benefits of different types of cannabis and CBD products. As summarized on their webpage, the goal is to learn how to use cannabis in ways that minimize the risks and maximize any potential benefits found in cannabinoids.

Students will start off with the History of Medical Cannabis with the intention of thinking critically about the past, present, and future research of cannabis. This program will also touch on the legal subject and the obstacles it causes for scientific research, as well as the risks and benefits of marijuana.

Moving on, Hutchison stops to teach about Cannabis, Chronic Pain and Related Disorders. It is focused on the health effects of cannabis for chronic pain, opioid use disorder, obesity, sleep dysfunction and cancer. This program contains discussions about special considerations for using cannabis in the previously mentioned conditions, such as dose, timing, side effects and drug interactions. 

Next comes Cannabis, Mental Health, and Brain Disorders, a program about the health effects of cannabis in the context of several mental health, anxiety, and other neurocognitive disorders. It will also teach you to understand the research on cannabis for several diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's Disease.

Finally, the last program is about Healthy Aging and the Future of Cannabis Research, which focuses on how the endocannabinoid system influences exercise, the human aging process, and our body’s own recovery.

Each course lasts about 4 weeks and you can take each one individually if you prefer or can’t commit long-term. If you wish to have free access, Coursera will allow you to take the course on “listener mode”; however, if you pay for it, you’ll have access to everything and will earn a certificate as soon as you complete the program. 

Remember: This is a beginner’s course, meaning you don’t need to have any medical or psychological background whatsoever, just curiosity and an open mind. You can find this program here!


2. Introduction to Medical Cannabis: Seed to Sale

Overview

  • This course is for anyone interested in learning the story of cannabis, its medical benefits, laws, and legal frameworks around the world
  • Duration: 2 weeks; 3 hours per week
  • Pricing: $84 USD, one-off payment
  • Free version: Yes; it consists of access to the course materials for a limited time
  • From: University of the West Indies

If you’re looking for a less time-consuming medical cannabis course, The University of the West Indies has you covered. In this two-week program, you will learn from Dr. Damian Cohall, who is a deputy dean and a senior lecturer in pharmacology. Topics include the history of cannabis, its past prohibition, and the given reclassification in recent years. You will discover the biochemistry of cannabis and its medical benefits, as well as cannabis laws and legal frameworks around the planet.

Before enrolling in this course you’ll need to check the availability of dates, since you will meet other online learners and actively participate in the discussion comments. The free version of this course has limited access, so be sure to read the guidelines before you start. If you subscribe to Future Learn, you’ll have more benefits like studying at your own pace and earning a certificate. Find this program here!



3. Cannabis Science and Industries: Seeds to Needs

Overview

  • This course is for: Growing enthusiasts and people who are interested to work in the cannabis industry
  • Duration: 3 months; 5 to 10 hours per week
  • Pricing: Around $500 USD
  • Free version: Yes; it consists of access to the course materials for a limited time
  • From: Doane University

Made for those who are interested in exploring the science and industry of cannabis, this three-part professional certificate covers all the basics of cannabis breeding, growing, extraction, refinement, and purification, along with post-harvesting techniques and valuable information about the industry. 

Doane University offers this environmental studies program with three different instructors; each will guide you to learn about cannabis through different lenses. The first course consists of a general cannabis overview and a glimpse at the industry’s panorama and professions. The second course is about cultivation and processing, with the third part being about compliance, testing, and research.

This program is self-paced and it can be completed in 3 months. Each course lasts about 21 days while dedicating 5 to 10 hours per week. If you want free access, EdX will allow you to access the course materials for a limited time only. If you decide to enroll, well, that’s a whole different story. 

Check the available online dates along with the free programm’s limitations and paid benefits that EdX has to offer! 



4. Medical Cannabis for Pain Control

Overview

  • This course is for patients, health care providers, or anyone interested in medical cannabis and its risks and benefits of using it for pain control
  • Duration: 12 hours
  • Pricing: From $29 to $99 USD subscription with a 7-day free trial
  • Free version: Yes; it consists of access to the course materials
  • From: Technion Israel Institute of Technology

If you wish to learn about medical cannabis but don’t have a lot of time in your hands, the Israel Institute of Technology has your back. Elon Eisenberg, a neurology and pain medicine professor, explains that medical cannabis is a subject that involves many disciplines like neuroscience, pain, pharmacology, oncology, and psychiatry, to name a few. 

Professor Eisenberg presses on the fact that there are cultural, agricultural, social, legal, and political implications that have to be taken into account if one wishes to understand the world of cannabis. In his course, he will teach you about pain, the history of medical cannabis, and its early human contact, along with the Botanics of cannabis.  

This is a flexible program for beginners and it takes about 12 hours to complete. You can find this course here!


So, ready to take your cannabis knowledge to higher levels? Which one will you choose? Let me know!

 

Author: Mary Jane

 


The Best Schools (2022) The Best Marijuana Degrees. Retrieved from https://thebestschools.org/degrees/marijuana-degrees/ 

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