Spokane’s cannabis industry is getting a new level of accreditation this year.
Gonzaga university last week partnered with cannabis education center Green Flower to begin 6-month online programs in both Cannabis Healthcare & Medicine and Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management, that result in a co-branded certificate. They will both begin in early September.
Washington was one the first states in the nation to legalize recreational cannabis use in 2012, and its industry is sizable, with over $1.3 billion in revenue and $509 million in excise tax as of 2022 reported by the Washington state liquor and cannabis board. Spokane County makes up more than $150 million of that revenue. Spokane is home to over 30 dispensaries.
While the industry has continued to boom for both recreational and medical purposes, education in the area has remained irregular.
A 2019 survey by UC Irvine of 455 physicians found that while 84% of them had been asked about medical cannabis by patients, little to none had any formal training, and for 64% of them, patients themselves were their primary source on the effects of cannabis. Dispensary staff rarely need to have an accredited certificate for job openings, and many online courses do not require any type of assessment.
Max Simon, CEO of Green Flower, is looking forward to the collaboration.
“A lot of dispensaries don’t have credible guidance to give,” he said, and need someone to teach on the subject. He said …
