Don’t know much about history
Don’t know much biology
Don’t know much about a science book
Don’t know much about the French I took
But I do know about cannabis
And I know that it can relate to us
What a wonderful world this would be.
With apologies to Sam Cooke’s 1960 classic song “Wonderful World”
In May 2021, Sullivan University in Louisville became the only institution of higher education in Kentucky to offer a cannabis business studies certificate.
Spare the pathetic puns, please! Sullivan has heard them all. Weed the people. High expectations. Now I know my CBDs. You’re my best bud. You can’t spell healthcare without “THC.”
Sullivan, a private for-profit university since 1962, is serious about studying the business and social consequences of the tall green plant with a stiff upright stem, divided serrated leaves and glandular hairs. Cannabis plants grow well in Kentucky and are commonly used to produce hemp fiber and CBD oil products that are marketed for potential health benefits.
The nine-month, online, 24-hour course offered by Sullivan is designed to provide students with an introduction to the social, legal, psychological and economic impact of cannabis use. It strives to familiarize students with the cannabis and hemp industry, including hemp, CBD and other derivatives of cannabis plants.
Sullivan’s website lists the 2022 tuition and fees for the Cannabusiness Studies certificate at $9,480. It also states that Sullivan is prepared to help qualified students with financial assistance. Every degree from Sullivan comes with career services assistance.
“The cannabis program at Sullivan definitely is worthwhile,” said LaToya Goodin-Hunfjord, who graduated from the program in June after starting in it last October. She has been a hemp farmer in Green County since 2014 with the brand name “Hemp Hop Queen.”
“It’s good for Kentucky to learn more about this crop used for fiber and medicine. It has helped me with the business I am in,” Goodin-Hunfjord said. “I would have liked to have seen in it more hands-on training. There is some, but it’s an online course.”
How the Program Blossomed
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, which licenses programs at state universities, said there may be some out-of-state online cannabis programs like the one at Sullivan, but Sullivan appears to be the only Kentucky school with such a program. (The University of Kentucky is in line to get an on-campus cannabis research center.)
Sullivan Chancellor Glenn Sullivan said that the seed for a cannabis program at Sullivan started when the United States Congress and several states, including Kentucky, focused on industrial hemp. Sullivan noted that the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill allowed states to operate pilot programs regulating hemp production, and the 2018 Farm Bill expanded on it. “I was looking for a new program for Sullivan and thought about the retail-public side of hemp,” he said. “I know hemp is not a panacea for our woes, but it is an opportunity for our people to diversify. An online program was born.”
Sullivan contacted the Kentucky Hemp Association, which advocates for the hemp industry, local growers, manufacturers and processors, to ask what a university cannabis business program should look like.
The term “cannabusiness” was coined.
Sullivan said there was no interest in establishing a four-year degree. “Most people were looking for a certificate program,” he said.
The program took about two years to develop, and the university started with an online introductory course followed by the certificate program.
University officials were surprised that 93 students from 23 states—with more than half the enrollees from outside of Kentucky—initially signed up for it. “We had students who were going to medical school, law school, business, law enforcement—all kinds,” Sullivan said. “Our Advisory Board members recommended that we offer courses on the history and sociology of cannabis, the legal and medical issues, and the retail side of the business.”
Courses in the program today range from an introduction to the social, legal, psychological and economic impact of cannabis use to principles of sales management in cannabusiness. To enroll, students in the program must be a minimum of 21 years of age within nine months after their start date.
The program has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
Katie Moyer of Christian County, president of the Kentucky Hemp Association and owner of Kentucky Hemp Works in Crofton, said, “It’s a great idea for a business school to include the studies of cannabis. I have heard only good things about it.”
Moyer agrees with Sullivan that, as the industry expands and the demand for employees grows, entry-level workers should understand basic business operations such as retailing, manufacturing, sales, supervision, and supply chain management, as well as social, legal, psychological and economic issues surrounding the industry.
She said hemp production slumped a bit nationally in recent years, but that is expected to change. The U.S. hemp market is projected to triple from the current $5.6 billion annually to $17.4 billion by 2027. Kentucky is in the top 10 states of hemp cultivation.
Don’t Call It a Social Movement
The Sullivan program is “objectively focused without attempting to be involved in any social movement,” said Sullivan University Social and Behavioral Science chair Tonnie L. Renfro, who oversees the course.
Cannabis is illegal in the Commonwealth for recreational use, though non-psychoactive CBD oil is legal in the state. Kentucky has a lengthy history of cultivating industrial hemp, which was grown for fiber beginning in 1775.
Renfro said the program must note that state laws vary on cannabis since the program is online and students are enrolled from all over the U.S.
She thinks the program has “a good future” at Sullivan. “We initially saw some students enroll in it for curiosity,” Renfro said. “Now, we run 25 to 28 in the class, and I think their interest overall is more intense. We have more and more students who want to get fully invested in the industry.”
An interesting field trip for the class, she said, is a visit to Evercure Farms near La Grange in Oldham County, especially during harvesting time in late summer.
Renfro said her opinions on cannabis have changed. She said she came from a strong religious and military background and frowned on cannabis. “Twenty years ago, I was anti-cannabis. Today, I think there are good medical benefits to it, and I believe Kentucky someday will allow the use of medical marijuana under certain conditions,” she said. “But I don’t get on a soap box about it with my students. That’s not my job. I let them decide their own opinions of cannabis.”
Renfro said she has never been criticized for teaching cannabis business, “though some members of my family raised an eyebrow when I told them what I’m going to do. But after I explained it all, they said, ‘OK,’ ” she said.
Goodin-Hunfjord, armed with her freshly presented cannabis business studies certificate from Sullivan University, has persuaded another student to take the course.
Her son, Kris Hunfjord, started the program this spring.
“We are looking at building and running our own greenhouse someday,” she said. “I know the program will help him.”