Colorado university to offer cannabis-related degree

University officials in Colorado have received state approval to offer a cannabis-related degree program

PUEBLO, Colo. —
A university in Colorado will offer a cannabis-related degree program after receiving approval from the state.

Colorado State University is expected to launch the program this fall at its Pueblo campus about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south of Denver, The Denver Post reported.

The Cannabis, Biology and Chemistry program would focus on the science necessary to work in the cannabis field and emphasize natural products and analytical chemistry, officials said.

“It’s a rigorous degree geared toward the increasing demand coming about because of the cannabis industry,” College of Science and Mathematics dean David Lehmpuhl said. “Hemp and marijuana has really come to the forefront in a lot of economic sectors in the country. We’re not pro-cannabis or anti-cannabis. What we’re about will be the science, and training students to look at that science.”

The curriculum would be similar to double-majoring in biology and chemistry, officials said.

The natural products coursework would place students in a lab setting to learn about the genetics of cannabis or other plants with additional courses in neurobiology, biochemistry and genetics, university officials said.

The analytical chemistry coursework would also place students in a lab setting to learn about the chemical compounds, such as determining what kind of cannabidiol concentration should exist in a product, university officials said.

The lab is licensed to grow industrial hemp and students might work with CBD, officials said.

The Colorado State University system also has plans to open a new research center on the Fort Collins campus dedicated to studying cannabinoids this spring.