Triton College, based in River Grove, Illinois, has launched a cannabis cultivation course as part of its greenhouse grow operations certificate program, the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest reports. The program can be completed in five classes and can be spread over two semesters.
Triton is among about a dozen community colleges in the state licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Community College Board to offer cannabis courses. The college also offers a dispensary technician certificate program.
Paul Jensen, associate vice president of academic innovation and workforce education at Triton, told the Journal that “large cannabis companies have been extraordinarily helpful to all the colleges that are growing and that are trying to train people.”
“When there’s an opportunity for us to participate in a program that will give back to the community, we’re going to jump at the opportunity. We’re very excited to be able to get this license, bring this program here and work with the people in the community.” — Jensen to the Journal
While colleges are not permitted to cultivate cannabis on campus, students enrolled in the program study plants similar to cannabis, and the college partners with cannabis craft growers which offer students tours of their facilities.
Allowing colleges to launch vocational pilot programs related to cannabis was included in the state’s legalization law. Students must be at least 18-years-old to enroll in cannabis coursework in Illinois.
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