Authored By: Julie K. Godard
Marijuana growing has long been a sacred art, and only today is the knowledge starting to be passed to anyone that is curious. The book in the image above is one of a few noted books that truly explains all the ins and outs of cannabis cultivation, care, and production, and until about twenty years ago was probably uncommon in households across America. Now, authors and cannabis experts like Jorge Cervantes and Ed Rosenthal are considered the fathers of marijuana cultivation methods (in this century, at least). Marijuana cultivation was once something that people only learned through doing, but today many educations institutions are changing that.
What Kind of Marijuana Education Can I Get?
Marijuana education is becoming a prerequisite for working in the industry, and it may be necessary for jobs as budtenders, marijuana delivery drivers, cultivators, dispensary or retail store locations, or production of a marijuana edible or extract. In Colorado and California, marijuana educational institutions are cropping up everywhere, from Oaksterdam University in Oakland to Denver’s THC University. Because of the federal illegality of marijuana in the United States, however, these universities are not affiliated with state universities, and are not accredited. In other words, your education there is meant to get you a job in the industry and nothing more. While that’s all you might need right now, Israel students at Ariel University now have a fully accredited option that U.S. students don’t.
What is Ariel University’s Medical Marijuana Program?
Israel has been a leader in the medical marijuana fields of research and innovation since Dr. Raphael Mechoulam found THC in the 1960s, and it continues to be the home of much marijuana research. Some countries even send their scientists and medical researchers to Israel to study the potential of medical cannabis due to illegality at the federal level. So it’s not that surprising that Israel would be the first country to create an accredited medical marijuana education program. As of today, 117 students have been accepted into a medical marijuana course planned and created by Dr. Michael Dor, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ariel University. The course will cover five main topics: the history of medical cannabis, current laws and regulations, active cannabis ingredients, cannabis farming and farming technology, and finally the social implications of medical cannabis. Students who enroll must be in the Medical Administration field and have completed at least one year of studies. Dor stated that “The demand for this course was very high, and due to a lack of space, dozens of students were rejected.”
The Future of Marijuana Education
Although marijuana is legal in recreational forms in many states in the U.S., research programs are often held back by federal illegality, which many people are trying to change. After all, how can we know what marijuana is capable of if we can’t research it in a controlled environment? Research and education are the keys to using marijuana and hemp to their full extent, and must be supported by national law across the world for the benefit of patients everywhere. Educational programs like Ariel University’s will pave the way for other universities to establish their own, and thereby increase cannabis knowledge in the world.
