Few college campuses are strangers to marijuana, but Colorado State University-Pueblo is going to be awash in it starting this fall. It’s purely for academic reasons, however.
The school plans to launch a bachelor’s of science program in Cannabis Biology and Chemistry this fall, according to a Facebook post from the now-ironically named Colorado Department of Higher Education.
Colorado led the nation when it came to legalizing cannabis, but it has fallen a bit behind when it comes to education about the drug. Though officials call the school’s degree program “among the first in the nation,” it was proceeded by Northern Michigan University, which offers a bachelors degree in medicinal plant chemistry, with a primary focus on cannabis.
The program will focus on the science necessary to work in the cannabis field, looking at both natural products, including the genetics of cannabis, and analytical chemistry, which helps them determine which sort of cannabis product is best suited for new products.
College officials expect as many as 60 people will elect the major in the next four years, a respectable start for a new degree. Hiring in the pot business, was up 76% in 2018, with some average salaries reaching as high as $528,090.
Colorado State University is also opening a research center at the Fort Collins campus this spring to study cannabinoids
Pot is big business in Colorado, with annual sales topping $1 billion since its legalization in 2012. Other states have followed suit, though, and Colorado is losing ground in both research and tourism as marijuana becomes more readily (and legally) available across the country.
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