Michigan’s Wayne State University this fall semester will begin offering a cannabis chemistry undergraduate certificate. The 15-credit hour program will focus on instrumentation, standard operating procedures, business and law practices, and science behind the testing and regulation of cannabis.
The certificate program will be housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and administered by the Department of Chemistry. It will require five classes and a research course.
In a statement, Andrea Matti, assistant professor of teaching in the chemistry department and director of the certificate program, said the program was necessary because the cannabis products sold throughout the state need to be “tested properly and is ethically sound.”
“We’ll teach students how to use the necessary instruments, properly dilute and prepare solutions, and analyze data – all that goes into analytical chemistry. It’s teaching the chemistry of measurements and how they are obtained.” — Matti in a press release
Techniques and instrumentation specific to the cannabis industry will be stressed during the program, and the skills will be applicable to a wide range of areas such as pharmaceutical research.
“It’s a field for our students who like chemistry, but don’t want to go into health sciences,” Matti said. “We’re teaching students the research methods. Testing facilities use a lot of high-pressure liquid chromatography – or HPLC – to test regulations, so we’re ensuring students are well versed in that instrument, the theory behind it and troubleshooting it.”
Currently, there are six accredited independent cannabis safety compliance facilities registered to operate in Michigan, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has $4.4 million in her proposed 2024 budget for a state-operated cannabis testing lab.
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