Higher education in California took a step forward last week with the announcement that both the University of California at Davis and Sonoma State University will begin offering cannabis-related college courses this spring. The two schools represent the second and third in the state to offer weed-themed classes 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 “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 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, according to the North Bay Business Journal.
The SSU program is being conducted in partnership with the United Patients Group.