In all global market sectors, including the cannabis industry, education is the key to reaching its peak. The Ganjier Certification Program consists of specially curated courses that provide students with an in-depth knowledge of cannabis education, a community of like-minds, and the tools needed to be one of the best canna-professionals in the budding industry.
Marijuana legalization has been sweeping across the country for about a decade now. This means the fairly-new industry still has many workers who have a limited understanding of budtending and other cannabis-production activities. In the last year, the number of Americans in legal states switching to the cannabis sector each month has been increasing gradually, proving that age-old stigmas are being broken. However, this is not enough to make a severe dent in the "reefer madness conspiracy" ingrained in many older populations.
It's high time the public understood that the cannabis industry promotes gladness, not madness. The best way to do this is to spread information about the many benefits of cannabis. Some legal states have started this by introducing cannabis education degree programs. The Ganjier Program is another effective way to spread the cannabis gospel.
Grooming Cannabis Professionals
To provide the best customer service in an industry, a deeper understanding of all concepts is required.
A few years ago, before the cannabis industry boom in 2020, investors sought new ways to bring more workers and students into the fledgling sector. And that's how the Ganjier Program was born.
Max Simon, the CEO, and co-founder of Green Flower Media, South California, played a massive role in this development. He porposed that the industry needed a solid online presence featuring affordable and accessible professional courses for everyone to learn everything there is to know about cannabis. Masters of the various operations in the cannabis sector were invited to teach, share their knowledge, and proffer successful marketing strategies that could bolster the market. Since its inception, the Ganjier Program has had mixed reviews as far as relevance, filling a need, and quality of education.
In 2018, Max Simon linked up with Derek Gilman (a cultivator) and Kevin Jodrey (a cannabis breeder) to develop a proper concept for the program. The trio decided to model the program after the famous wine sommelier. They sensed the need to educate budding and other professionals in the sector on serving and enlightening the public better. The team also deliberated on developing a more innovative assessment tool to store and retrieve cannabis data and information. The tool is accessible to all Ganjier students worldwide.
The Ganjier Certification Program
The training program was able to get eighteen respected key players in the cannabis field onboard. These VIPs were chosen for their unique business expertise and insight. Among these notable figures are KNF Cultivators Wendy Kornberg and Swami Chaitanya, Attorney Omar Figueroa, Researchers Jeff Raber, Josh Dixon, Alec Wurzer, and the late master Hashishin Patrick King.
The courses taught in the program by these outstanding personalities include the origin of cannabis, consumption methods, cultivation techniques, botany and genetics, cannabis sales, and processing methodologies.
The Ganjier Program is an expert-led certification program that has been split into phases. In the first phase, the students are taught online. They have to complete the ten courses and 31 lessons before moving to the next step. The first phase takes about 30 hours to complete, but each student will decide how long they can complete the online courses. The second phase includes the practical in-house training sessions, while the third is the assessment phase.
The practical session lasts for two days at the Emerald Triangle. The trainers use the Systematic Assessment Protocol (SAP) while running these live training sessions.
Opportunities Available for Ganjiers
A Ganjier is someone who has completed the program. They have been trained and equipped with the skills to provide accurate, quality, reliable, and valuable services to all customers in the industry. They have been certified to help consumers understand the various cannabis products and the consumption or delivery methods.
This may seem as though the consumer alone benefits from the program, but the Ganjier student also gains access to some opportunities.
Some of these opportunities include:
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How to become a master at assessing cannabis concentrates and flowers.
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How to properly and objectively deliver cannabis services, making them more valuable to their immediate employers and the cannabis market in general.
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Provides them with a community of like-minded people committed to spreading the cannabis culture and craft.
During the 2021 season, Kevin Jodrey said that a "Ganjier" is well-versed in everything involving cannabis. He added that Ganjiers are also passionate about teaching and creating more cannabis culture within their community. To develop the industry in the coming years, professionals and consumers in the cannabis sector need to appreciate the plant and its craft.
Previous Sessions
The 2021 session was great and was received with much excitement. Once announced, the class sold out within ten days. This year, Max Simon revealed that the demand for the Ganjier Program is beyond expectations. The program has received support from its council, obviously, as well as other prominent stakeholders in the industry. Simon announced that the incoming class would be twice the size of the first class.
Elizabeth Rice, Curaleaf Sales Director and a certified Ganjier revealed that the training program was a "rewarding experience". She added that the live training, which was held at Sunnabis Farms, was the major highlight of the program for her.
Bottom Line
In a few years, the industry will be headed by individuals who have either gotten their cannabis education in recognized institutions or from practical programs like the Ganjier. This program faces stiff competition from real college and universities who are now offering accredited cannabis classes and education, something Green Flower and The Ganjier course cannot do at this time. While the Gangier program would create masters of cannabis science, getting accredited with your online course is still a mystery to the industry. With the Ganjier Program, one can be rest assured that the authentic cannabis connoisseur culture will not be left behind as corporate cannabis grows into a trillion dollar industry.
The problem for online education platforms, whether in cannabis or not, is accreditation, and getting credit for the course work from employers and other universities. If a platfrom is not accredited by a governing education body, then the courses are not transferable and the credits are not counted in further education at most universities. This is the battle of, would you rather hire someone with a degree in cannabis science from Georgia Tech or Syracuse, or Univeristy of Phoenix online?
The Ganjier Certification Program is a nice program for those looking to learn more about the plant and its history, as opposed to just "getting a job", but with many new online cannabis education platforms coming online, and some from accredited universities and college, it may be tough for the program to win student tuition dollars.
2/3/22 Update
(NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2022) -- LIM College, a leading educational authority in the business of fashion and its adjacent fields, is launching a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree program in The Business of Cannabis.
The College recently received authorization from New York State to offer this first of its kind program. The inaugural class will start in September.
The MPS program in The Business of Cannabis will be delivered fully online and can be completed in one calendar year. It is designed for career-changers as well as those who are interested in advancing their current cannabis-related careers.
Coursework will encompass retailing, social and economic justice, marketing, supply chain, regulatory compliance, and more. Master’s degree candidates will also complete a capstone project, where they will develop a formal plan for a cannabis business and pitch it directly to industry professionals.
This will be LIM’s second groundbreaking degree offering in the cannabis space. Recognizing overlapping skills and experience sought by employers in both fashion and cannabis businesses—including marketing, retail, branding, and supply chain—plus the need for specific cannabis industry knowledge, in October 2021 the College announced it would offer the nation’s first Bachelor of Business Administration degree in The Business of Cannabis.
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