BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Local entrepreneurs are growing their cannabis know-how at the college level.

As cannabis becomes normalized around the region, a program is helping New Yorkers of all backgrounds join the market.

Plattsburgh massage therapist Angie Durgan never imagined incorporating cannabis into her work. Then, she found a cannabis education course through Clinton Community College.

“I never thought that in New York state, I would ever be able to learn about that at a college level,” said Durgan.

Cannabis training platform Green Flower offers three online courses through Clinton: cultivation, manufacturing, and retail. Durgan is working her way through in hopes of using the plant as a healing tool in her practice.

“Now I can actually tell my clients in detail what is better for them and I actually feel more confident doing it,” she said.

Green Flower began in 2014 just as states started legalizing cannabis.

“I knew that there was going to be a need for really well-trained professionals in this industry to help navigate and enter and succeed in a space,” said Max Simon of Green Flower.”

Today, they partner with dozens of schools and businesses across the country to prepare folks for the industry. That industry is booming, with over 25 percent legal market growth expected from 2023 to 2030.

“It’s a new industry that’s generating a lot of opportunity and jobs and tax revenue, and yet it’s also something that has been historically very stigmatized and not very well understood,” said Simon.

Durgan says she hopes the program gives people a better understanding of the industry and the skills to enter it.

“Just the medicinal properties of cannabis and what cannabis looks like in the future. It doesn’t have to just be recreational,” she said.

Similar programs are also available in Vermont, including courses at UVM and Vermont State University.

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