University of Mississippi to Launch Medical Cannabis and Dietary Supplements Graduate Program

The University of Mississippi this week launched an online medical cannabis and dietary supplements graduate program. The university said the program “builds on the expertise and research excellence” found in its School of Pharmacy’s National Center for Natural Products Research and National Center for Cannabis Research and Education.

The National Center for Cannabis Research and Education was launched in 2021. The University of Mississippi for more than 50 years held the only federal license to cultivate cannabis through the National Institute on Drug Abuse Drug Supply Program.

In a statement, Donna Strum, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said the program “promises to open up a world of opportunities for those looking to advance their careers in these industries.”

“With these industries growing in our state and our country, this program is designed to ensure the workforce is well-trained and has the knowledge and skills to be effective and contribute to these industries.” — Strum in a press release

David Colby, the program’s organizer and a professor in the school’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences, noted that no other institutions in the state offer such a program and only a handful exist nationwide. He added that even those programs are “mostly focused on training pharmacists and health care professionals how to manage patients on medical cannabis and how to help train patients who want to know about therapeutics.”

“We want to train them in the chemistry, the biology, and the toxicology,” Colby said in a statement. “We’ll be teaching about plant genomics and formulation and manufacturing, as well as regulation. We want to train people who want to work in those industries, not necessarily a pharmacist who wants to recommend the correct cannabis product.”

The program will officially launch next year and will offer rolling admissions.