Cannabis courses flying high in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - There's a high demand for cannabis education courses in the valley and Okanagan College is happy to provide.
Okanagan College is bringing back courses on cannabis for the winter semester after their successful debut last fall. The courses cover a wide variety of topics, including investing in the cannabis industry, cannabis legislation, and growing cannabis for personal use.
Director of continuing studies and corporate training Dennis Silvestrone said he was pleased with the public's response to the new courses.
"The response was strong," he said. "We had to open different sections to accommodate demand."
Silvestrone said the courses saw a broad cross-section of business-minded people exploring a new industry and curious members of the general public. He said people want to give themselves a deeper understanding of the newly-legal drug.
"The courses touch on some vocational needs," he said. "There's a demand for a certain skillset."
Due to the success of the new program, Okanagan College is expanding the winter semester to include two new courses. The college will offer Cannabis Legislation and Quality Assurance, and Cannabis Botany and Plant Science. The new courses offer introductory views on legislation and cannabis production, respectively.
"We're trying to create opportunities," Silvestrone said. "That's how we approach [education]."
Classes will be offered in Kelowna, Penticton, Salmon Arm, Vernon and online throughout the winter semester. Courses can range in price from $150 to $600.
Silvestrone hopes to grow the cannabis courses even more in the coming semesters.
"It's interesting to see how this whole new world is opening up," he said.
A full list of winter courses can be found here.
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