With cannabis dispensaries now given the OK to open, Hudson County Community College will be offering specialized programs in the cannabis business starting this summer.
These will include the College’s New Jersey Cannabis Licensing Workshop, Associate in Science in Business Administration, Option in Cannabis Studies, and Cannabis Business Agent and Business Management Certificates.
Voters in New Jersey approved a referendum legalizing the sale of cannabis in 2020. Over the past year, the state legislature has worked on laws to regulate the sale and the dispensaries where cannabis can be purchased. It was hoped that the new laws would help remedy the unfairness in the criminal justice system, including arrests and incarcerations for cannabis sale and possession that disproportionately affected African Americans and Latinos.
Earlier this spring, New Jersey’s five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved the first recreational cannabis business applications for conditional licensing. The CRC then reported that 37 of the applicants identified as certified Diversity-Owned Businesses, and 46 with majority stakes identified as Black, Latino, and Asian.
Most business owners know if their business is going to make or break after the first year. It’s also reported that 20 percent of new businesses fail in the first two years, 45 percent during the first five years; and 65 percent during the first ten years. These challenges have only increased for cannabis businesses, which are subject to regulations governing licensing, cultivation, testing, selling, and purchasing cannabis. The new programs at HCCC are meant to assist in abating these challenges and helping these new businesses achieve success.
HCCC’s New Jersey Cannabis Licensing Workshop is a four-week, non-credit program that provides an overview of what is needed to apply for and operate a State-licensed cannabis business. The workshop will include an overview of cannabis history and laws; do’s and don’ts of preparing applications, business plans, and achieving compliance.
The workshop will be conducted by Jessica F. Gonzalez, cannabis and intellectual property attorney at Hiller, PC General Counsel for Minorities for Medical Marijuana Inc., who will be joined by successful cannabis applicants, operators, and consultants. Additional information about the workshop may be obtained by contacting Chastity Farrell, HCCC associate director of continuing education and workforce development, at cfarrell@hccc.edu.
The HCCC for-credit offerings, which prepare students for cultivation, manufacturing, delivery, wholesale and retail sales opportunities in the cannabis business field, include an Associate in Science – Business Administration – Cannabis Studies, which is a 60-credit associate degree program that prepares graduates for ownership and operations opportunities in cannabis. This includes a curriculum based on communication skills, marketing, accounting, economics, finance, and business management.
The Cannabis Business Agent Proficiency Certificate is a 12-credit program that provides graduates with the job skills for employment in entry-level positions within the cannabis business field while the Cannabis Business Management Academic Certificate is a 33-credit program that provides graduates with the knowledge and skills for supervisory positions in the cannabis business field. The credits from both of these programs can transfer to the Associate in Science degree.
Additional information on the degree and certificate programs is available by contacting Janine Nunez, recruiter for the HCCC Business, Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Division, at 201-360-4640 or jnunez@hccc.edu.
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