First WIU Student Graduates with Cannabis & Culture Minor; Online Option Begins Fall 2021

MACOMB/Moline, IL – In Fall 2020, Western Illinois University jumped to the pinnacle of the road when its two cannabis-related minors debuted in Fall 2020: WIU School of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) Hashish & Tradition minor and the College of Agriculture’s Hashish Manufacturing minor. The Hashish & Tradition minor is an interdisciplinary minor that’s nationally distinctive as it’s the solely recognized minor that focuses on social justice points associated to hashish use and the hashish business. In Spring 2021 WIU graduated the primary of its 5 Hashish & Tradition minors.

In accordance with Anthropology Professor and co-creator of the CAS Minor Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, no different public or personal establishment within the state of Illinois affords a minor that addresses the socio-economic, historic, non secular and cultural points of hashish in the US and all over the world.

Alison Coats is the primary WIU pupil to graduate with a minor in Hashish & Tradition.

“I discovered a lot in regards to the medical efficacy of hashish use on this minor. We discovered about how Charlotte Figge, a younger woman with Dravet Syndrome, a uncommon type of epilepsy, turned a number one determine within the CBD motion. She even modified the thoughts of Dr. Sanjay Gupta (from CNN) in regards to the medical and ethical obligations our society has to permit folks to make use of hashish to deal with sure diseases,” Coats stated.

“I believe what modified Dr. Gupta’s thoughts in regards to the efficacy of utilizing medical marijuana was seeing how a lot it improved Charlotte’s life, in addition to the various different customers of medical marijuana that he spoke to. For many of them, the usage of medical marijuana saved their lives,” stated Senica Springer, a present pupil within the minor. “As somebody with a member of the family who makes use of medical marijuana, I consider that it actually will help enhance one’s high quality of life. I’ve additionally discovered in regards to the racial historical past of hashish in the US, which nonetheless performs out in the present day.”

The 18- to 19-credit-hour interdisciplinary minor is comprised of programs from anthropology, botany, historical past, liberal arts and sciences, philosophy, non secular research, English and political science. The minor contains such programs as Hashish Tradition, Faith & Medication, Up to date Ethical Issues, Historical past of Medication, Introduction to Public Coverage and Ethno-botany, amongst others. In Spring 2022, McIlvaine-Newsad and Haynes will lead the minor’s first examine Overseas journey (ANTH 379/679 and LAS 379/679) to Amsterdam to study extra in regards to the worldwide hashish business (study extra at bit.ly/WIUAmsterdamSA).

A web-based model of the minor will debut this fall. As well as, starting in Fall 2020, WIU college students who minor in Hashish & Tradition, and enroll in not less than one non secular research course, could also be eligible for a $1,000/semester Mary Olive Woods Scholarship. college students can receive the Woods Scholarship utility by emailing S-Haynes@wiu.edu.

Former and present college students within the minor have expressed curiosity in working within the rising hashish business in Illinois. McIlvaine-Newsad added that having an interdisciplinary publicity to the socio-economic, historic, political, medical and cultural elements of the hashish business offers people not solely a broad-based training, but additionally an understanding of coverage, in addition to market information.

“This minor supplies a stable basis for understanding the socio-cultural, historic and politics of hashish use within the U.S. and all over the world,” WIU Non secular Research and Liberal Arts and Sciences Professor and co-creator of the CAS Minor Sarah Haynes stated. “WIU’s Hashish & Tradition minor offers our college students quite a few, various instructional alternatives that study the assorted points of the hashish commerce.”

For extra details about the minor, go to wiu.edu/academics/cannabis/culture/index.php, or contact Haynes at S-Haynes@wiu.edu or McIlvaine-Newsad at H-McIlvaine-Newsad@wiu.edu or (309) 298-1264.

Sean Leary is an writer, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 within the pages of the Comics Patrons Information. An honors graduate of the College of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books together with the best-sellers The Arimathean, Each Quantity is Fortunate to Somebody and We Are All Characters.