Courses offered during college's summer session; Fall conference planned
QUEENSBURY, New York (June 10, 2025) — Summer weather means growing season is in full swing at SUNY Adirondack — and that includes in the college’s flourishing hemp program.
SUNY Adirondack is one of four SUNY colleges included in a million-dollar statewide initiative to create and enhance credential programs and course offerings that provide pathways to employment in the cannabis industry.
The college offers five credited courses, including how to grow hemp, how to harvest and prepare hemp for processing, history of cannabis in society, and cannabis entrepreneurship and marketing classes. The courses are part of two microcredential programs — short, focused three-course series designed to provide in-demand skills, know-how and experience — in hemp: Cannabis & Hemp Cultivation, and Cannabis Business and Entrepreneurship.
One of the courses required for each, Marketing New York’s Agricultural Products, is offered in the college’s second summer session, which runs July 8 to Aug. 16.
Both microcredentials also include Cannabis: A journey through History, Society & Policy. The Cultivation pathway comprises Harvesting and Intro to Processing and Introduction to Sustainable Cultivation. The Entrepreneurship pathway includes Principles of Entrepreneurship and The Business of Cannabis & Hemp.
Students who complete two courses toward either of these microcredentials will receive a $500 stipend from the college. Nine students have already been awarded stipends.
“Cannabis instruction at SUNY Adirondack dives deep into the science of cultivation,” said Michael Cahill, an instructor of Science at the college. “Students gain hands-on experience and a thorough understanding of the latest industry techniques, preparing them for exciting careers in this rapidly evolving field.”
The microcredentials are “stackable” — count toward associate degrees — in Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship; Liberal Arts and Sciences: Individual Studies; Liberal Arts and Sciences: Mathematics and Science; and Agricultural Business. Some classes are offered online and others in a hybrid model (partly online and partly in person). Learn more
at https://www.sunyacc.edu/academics/microcredentials.
“Beyond cannabis cultivation, students delve into the history of cannabis, the roots of U.S. prohibition of cannabis, and the ever-evolving political and policy landscape of the cannabis industry,” said Wendy Johnston, associate professor of Political Science. “Students will gain insights into federal, New York state and local policies, knowledge needed for the successful navigation of complex regulations.”
The college will host a free cannabis conference Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The event, which is open to the public, will include farm tours; a keynote speaker; nine sessions on topics including Terpenes/Soil Health, Social Justice, Dispensaries and Testing Industry; and a panel discussion of experts in the field.
New York State Department of Health estimates the fast-developing cannabis industry will grow to be between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion annually. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, a $1.7 billion industry can generate an economic output of $4.1 billion and more than 30,000 jobs, and attract hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment.
