SAN FRANCISCO—City College of San Francisco is now offering the first Cannabis Studies Associate of Arts Degree in the nation.
The Cannabis Studies Major will be under the Behavioral Sciences department, and classes will be offered starting in spring of 2021.
According to the City College’s website, ‘It provides a unique examination of the constructions of cannabis as a product, a psychoactive substance, a behavior, and a form of deviance, revolution, criminality, spirituality, and ethnomedicine; depending upon cultural standpoint, time and global location.’
The program is being referred to as a ‘gateway degree’ in order for students to seek out related disciplines such as Anthropology or Criminal Justice.
In order to complete the degree, students are required to pass courses in the Anthropology of Cannabis, the Psychology of Psychoactive Drugs and Intro to Cannabis Studies; in addition to passing three elective courses. The courses will provide historical background and context on cannabis usage and the connection with its social identity, regulation, enforcement, criminalization and movements toward legalization.
By the conclusion of the courses, students should be able to distinguish sociological theories used in the scholarly analyses of cannabis use, regulation, and activism. They should also be able to identify and evaluate different methodological techniques for studying the impact of cannabis on society and social relationships. Thirdly, they will be able to examine how cannabis laws, policies, and dominant social values establish and perpetuate social inequalities. Lastly, they will know how to apply sociological concepts to current, real life situations regarding cannabis and society.
