The University of California at Davis and Sonoma State University are set to begin offering cannabis-related college courses this spring. The higher education institutions represent the second and third in the state to offer cannabis-centric courses after the City College of San Francisco announced they had plans to offer their own course last month.
According to a Davis Enterprise report, the UC Davis “Physiology of Cannabis” undergraduate course is designed for biological sciences students and will cover therapeutic values, physiological effects in multiple systems, the biology of cannabis and cannabinoids, and the current and potential medical targets for cannabis and its effectiveness.
According to UC Davis School of Medicine Associate Professor Yu-Fung Lin, who is teaching the course, it is the first of its kind offered, at not just UC Davis, but “likely within the entire U.S. system.”
“This course is one of the few taught on an American college campus with a dedicated theme on the biology, physiology and medicinal effects of cannabis and cannabinoids,” she said in the report.
The Sonoma State University course is considerably less rigorous and aimed solely at current health care professionals. “Medical Cannabis: a Clinical Focus” is a one-day program intended as a workforce development course. It will cover some of the history of cannabis, dosing and administration, legal consequences, and an introduction to cannabinoids and terpenes, the North Bay Business Journal reports.
Robert Eyler, dean for the School of Extended and International Education, indicated that the school is “nowhere close” to offering a cannabis-related major. However, there are plans to offer another three-hour cannabis-related course in March.
“We have no intention of offering courses about entrepreneurship or the business side of it,” he said.
The SSU program is being conducted in partnership with the United Patients Group.