Ohio cannabis school becomes first to get academic accreditation in U.S.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (WCMH) -- An Ohio school with an exclusive focus on coursework for the marijuana industry has become the first of its kind to receive academic accreditation.

The Cleveland School of Cannabis received its accredited status from the Middle States Association's Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Kevin Greene, vice president for the school, called it the "highest level of education accreditation that there is." He explained his team went through an intensive process that lasted nearly three years to earn a unanimous yes vote from MSA's board.

"You actually get audited in person," Greene said. "There's an audit team, that comes out and visits the campus. They spend three days on campus, they interview all staff, they interview students … and then from those interviews and their assessments from on campus, they then make a determination of your status of accreditation."

When the school first launched, it had brick-and-mortar campuses in Columbus and Independence, Ohio. The facility in the Cleveland area includes cooking and scientific labs, as well as cannabis growing facilities where students cultivate their own plants. It also includes a mock dispensary with a full point-of-sale system, where the students can participate in a simulation to help medical patients find the right products.

Greene broke down the Cleveland School of Cannabis' 16 classes into three main categories.

• Cultivation: the growing of cannabis on a commercial level.
• Extraction: creating the wide range of edible products and everything outside of cannabis flowers.
• Dispensary operations: working in commercial marijuana shops and patient interaction.

With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio, elective coursework involving legal practices and business at CSC will adjust, Greene said. However, the core education on cannabis products will see little impact.

"The cannabis plant, the properties of it … that doesn't change," Greene said. "What actually is going to happen is an expansion of the products in the marketplace. When you're in the medical market, they only approve certain types of products to be on the market. Now we'll be in more of a commercial space for products."

The lack of legal recreational marijuana vendors as of March means the state's residents are left only with legal home growing and possession. But for this reason, the vice president said he sees cannabis hobbyists enroll for growing lessons even without business pursuits. The most popular class, by far, is "Cooking with Cannabis."

"It's the elective everyone is taking, all the time," Greene said. "The class is always filled. The school always smells good on cooking days. It's by far the students' favorite, the staff favorite all the way."

While Greene said they have since closed the Columbus campus for in-person classes, it still offers online coursework for students in the city. CSC also invites all of its class members to the Cleveland-area facility for projects called enrichment days. And regardless of class, one such event known as "harvest day" is another favorite for everyone.

"When students get to go ahead and see what they've been growing for the last 16 weeks or so," Greene said. "They get to go ahead and trim their buds down and that sort of thing."

The vice president invited anyone interested in learning more about cannabis to enroll in a class with CSC. The school is available by phone at 216-465-4161, and by email as well.