As demand grows for skilled workers for New York’s cannabis industry, CUNY Medgar Evers College (MEC) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn has expanded its cannabis degree minor program, and qualifying students have a chance to study at the school for free.
MEC is set to offer new Associate’s and Batchelor’s degrees in fall 2023/ spring 2024, which students, who qualify under the Excelsior Scholarship and the Medgar Evers College CHAMPSS Program, can study at no cost.
These new programs were announced at the Second Annual MEC Cannabis Education Showcase, which took place on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
According to a statement from the college, the day-long outdoor celebration featured music, food, art and panel discussions that highlighted the “rich diversity” of the cannabis community.
Panels included updates on Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD), How the Community is Healing from the War on Drugs, Women and Cannabis Entrepreneurship, and Legacy, Shifting the Narrative.
Entertainment activations included Afro-Caribbean drumming by The Sound, a live performance by VBRTNS, audio by Livity Movements, and a rapturous afternoon set by Brooklyn’s legendary Soul Summit Music.
Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clark (D-09) and New York State Cannabis Control Board Chairwoman, Tremaine Wright were among those in attendance.
The event was sponsored by the Legacy Core Foundation, Universe City NYC, Grow Brownsville, and the Gotham Gives Foundation.
Introduced during the fall 2021 semester, the MEC Cannabis Degree Minor Program was the first cannabis degree minor program in NYC, the statement said.
“Exemplifying its core mission to provide educational workforce development and opportunities for economic expansion, MEC’s expanded cannabis degree programs, including a new Associates Degree in Environmental Studies in Cannabis and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sciences on the Cannabis Track, feature the skill-building instructional support needed to foster new cannabis leaders and the workforce necessary to support the budding industry,” the statement said.
