It’s been an invaluable experience teaching entrepreneurship and innovation at Clark University. There are vivid memories of supporting my dad as he started a small business when I was a teenager. By the time I was able to drive, that small business had kept me out of trouble with busy summers, overseeing job sites. With driving comes responsibility, freedom, and breaking weed down with my friends, attempting to dodge our parents. Thank God, mom and dad are cool because they indeed found my stash on numerous occasions and always gave it back.
Fast forward through business school, corporate leadership experience, and now a cannabis entrepreneur — Clark is amongst the nations first to introduce an accredited cannabis graduate school program. Can you guess whom they asked to develop a marijuana social impact class? That kid who dodged trouble, breaking it down, way back when. He grew up.
Social Impact | Ethics in Cannabis Commerce
Course Description: In the cannabis industry, there is perpetual change. The connection between propaganda, war on drug campaigns, and mass incarceration are undeniable. Additionally, for years, many people overlook the medicinal values of the plant. Although marijuana is becoming legal across nations, what has changed?
In this course, students will explore how cannabis has changed pop culture, the global economy, and has impacted local communities. We will develop critical thinking and communication skills around the social impact of marijuana by analyzing the balance of profits and social purpose. Students will learn from real-world experience and each other to strengthen leadership skills, which are essential within organizations or local communities.
Student Learning Outcomes: Illustrate and identify research on cannabis culture and social programs in the legal industry. Analyze and apply models of social, diversity, and inclusion programs by studying the history of cannabis, assessing the local needs of their communities, and creating a network of cannabis professionals poised to introduce a positive impact.
Professor Youngblood: My involvement with Clark started with cannabis. I was aside with two other business owners in a panel-style interview for a class within the newly developed Cannabis Certificate program a few months back. And at that time, looking through information on the business courses, I noticed a need for a Professor. It’s an honor to work with a school that has a rich history and is also very forward-thinking.
