Cannabis Workforce Initiative Career Exploration and Worker Rights Program: 15 Hour Certificate

CWI’s cannabis career exploration and worker rights trainings cover:

  • The variety of jobs across the supply chain and in ancillary businesses.
  • An overview understanding of the cannabis plant at the core of the industry.
  • Your rights at work.
  • The seed-to-sale context for different job opportunities.

and more!

Lehman students can earn one elective credit by completing this certificate course.

To submit for the credit upon completion:

Email your certificate in PDF format ONLY, labeled with your Full Name, Student EMPLID, and Certificate title to: College.completioncredit@lehman.cuny.edu.

Questions? Please reach out to MARTHA.MCDERMOTT@lehman.cuny.edu

STEP 1: 

STEP 2: 

Complete each course module by watching the videos from start to finish.

STEP 3: 

Earn your certificate!

Cannabis Career Exploration and Worker Rights Certificate

OPEN ENROLLMENT

Session 1: The Legalization of Cannabis

• Impact of the War on Drugs
• New York State Cannabis Law
• Privacy & Drug testing at work
• Cannabis criminal records & expungement

The legalization of cannabis in New York was a game changer. It ended the war on drugs that led to mass incarceration and took economic opportunities from communities across the state. It also launched a new legal industry that will create a lot of jobs. In this class, you’ll learn about the history of cannabis laws and what legalization under MRTA means for you. We’ll talk about the changes to when drug testing is allowed at work. We’ll also cover the criminal records that can now be expunged and what it means for applying for jobs.

Session 2: Industry Opportunities Overview and the Cannabis Plant

• Overview & Goals
• History of Cannabis Laws
• Industry Overview

Buds, strains, cannabinoids, and terpenes. In this class, you’ll learn about the cannabis plant and how it’s grown, including the different strains and characteristics. You’ll see different processes for growing, drying, and curing, and understand the variety of jobs in cannabis cultivation.
Then we’ll introduce you to the regulated, adult-use cannabis industry, with an overview of opportunities that goes from seed to sale.

Session 3: Jobs in Extraction and Manufacturing

• Extraction opportunities
• Manufacturing opportunities

It takes a lot of work for cannabis products to arrive at dispensaries as pre-rolls, vapes, tinctures, concentrates, or edibles. In this class, you’ll get a look at how different products are made and learn about the job opportunities each step of the way.

Session 4: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities

• Unions & collective bargaining
• Pay
• Time off
• Benefits

If you don’t know your rights, you can’t enforce them. Learn what the law guarantees about your pay, overtime, time off, and what happens if you get hurt or laid off.
All cannabis businesses in New York have to sign an agreement called a labor peace agreement. This means employers have to agree not to interfere with a union organizing their employees and their choice to join a union. It’s important to understand what this means for you. You have a right to have your voice heard at work!

Session 5: Packaging, Labeling, Marketing, and Advertising in Cannabis

A look at marketing, branding, packaging, and labeling in cannabis. Understand the job opportunities and the transferable skills employers need. Learn what it means for cannabis branding and packaging to be compliant in New York State.

Session 6: Working in a Dispensary

• Retail opportunities
• Sales - characterizing products

In this class, we’ll look at how dispensaries operate and the range of retail jobs available. We’ll talk about characterizing products for customers and how to explain strength and effect. You’ll learn why it’s important to be able to listen to what the customer wants and how to make recommendations.

Session 7: Seed-to-sale compliance

Compliance is the backbone of every cannabis business. In this class, we’ll look at what it means to be compliant in the cannabis industry, including the importance of seed-to-sale tracking.

Session 8: Health & Safety in the Cannabis Industry

• Cultivation - indoor, outdoor, hybrid
• Ergonomic hazards
• Occupational hazards

It’s important to understand the potential health and safety risks in cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail jobs. In this class, you’ll learn how to identify these risks and what to do to address them.

Session 9: Discrimination & Harassment

• Types of discrimination
• Dealing with sexual harassment
• Recognizing a hostile work environment

You have a right to a fair and equitable workplace that’s free of discrimination and harassment. The law says you can’t be discriminated against based on things like race, gender, how you pray, or who you love. But we all know it happens. Learn to recognize different types of discrimination and know what to do when you see it or it happens to you.

Session 10: Beyond the Bud: Ancillary Opportunities in the Cannabis Industry

• Opportunities in ancillary industries
• Wrap-up

You’ve now learned about the job opportunities throughout the cannabis supply chain, from seed to sale. What else is needed to make the market work? What about delivery, logistics, security, accounting, packaging, marketing, culinary and hospitality jobs? In this final class, we'll look at some of the other jobs that support the industry and make it successful.