Many medical cannabis patients tend to rely on staff at a dispensary to offer recommendations on the best possible strain or cannabis product to treat their respective health condition. A new report finds that most dispensary employees actually have very little training on what they are talking about when it comes to connecting sick people with the right form of medical cannabis.
Scientists have found that only 55% of dispensary employees, surveyed in the study, had received any formal training for their current positions. The other 45% hadn’t had any formal educational training on cannabis or cannabis products at all.
Canna Law Blog also noted, in the last year, that education scams are among the top six scams occurring in the medical cannabis industry targeting patients and dispensary staff. The cannabis industry is the fastest growing industry in America, education and understanding of medical cannabis should be a cornerstone for business owners and their employees alike.
Before you overpay for low-quality educational resources, do a web search to find out who your money is going to and what their qualifications are. However, a search engine can’t point you towards anything that lends the company authority and credibility on the subject of medical cannabis.
A report, titled “Training and Practices of Cannabis Dispensary Staff”, released this past December in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, was conducted by California researchers and found that only 20 percent of the employees who received training were taught specialized medical or scientific information. But nearly all (94 percent) of staff still gave dosage recommendations to patients.
Clearly, there is a recognizable economic need for cannabis training seminars and schools as future and existing cannabis businesses become more standardized & regulated; in addition to state-level statutes regarding quality standards, packaging, potency and the like, a number of people within the medical/ recreational cannabis industry have been calling for self-regulation and guidelines for best practices.
For current and potential business owners—as well as anyone else seeking employment in the medical or adult-use cannabis industry—the rapidly-expanding number of training institutions raises serious questions as to which ones actually know/ care about what they’re teaching, and which ones are just trying to capitalize off of what’s being referred to as the “green rush.”
Here are some factors to consider when choosing where to get your cannabis education:
How many years of cannabis industry and/ or education experience does the staff have?
Who develops the learning content, and what makes them qualified? Are they subject matter experts, professional educators, or both?
Is the learning institution involved in medical cannabis activism?
Are their law classes specific to one state, the whole country, or both?
Do the courses focus on business, medical science, cultivation, law, or all the above? Do they offer the classes that best suit your specific needs?
How accessible are the classes? Where are they located, and how easy is it to get there?
Does the training program offer a certification? If so, which organization(s) is that certification backed by?
Does the institution place heavy emphasis on spreading education, or do they seem more interested in getting your money?
After assessing your needs, here are some options for you whether you are a patient or a cannabis industry professional:
The American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA), has online core curriculum that is available.
The Sativa Science Club s a collaborative effort to uplift and uphold quality standards industry wide.
Habu Health is a cannabis research group committed to building consumer confidence through scientific rigor.
The Medical Cannabis Institute (TMCI), provides online medical education for healthcare professionals who want to learn about medical cannabis and its potential clinical application.
Americans for Safe Access has devised seed to consumption national quality standards and as well as an answer page for quality credits on medical cannabis.
You can also attend the Medical Cannabis Symposium to learn more.
Author Bio:Jason Barker is the Founder/Organizer of theLECUA Patient’s Coalition Of New Mexicoand is passionate about educational seminars in the medical cannabis industry and the importance of finding reputable and credible sources for learning about cannabis.
