Finally, a higher education for cannabis-based products

Production of cannabis-based products could be very lucrative for the local market. In a quote taken from strategic consultancy firm Prohibition Partners which released  their 5^th annual European Cannabis report , predictions for  the  African cannabis market to be estimated at just  over than $US 7.1 billion annually by 2023.

Domestically this could be at just over R27 billion. Making a highly lucrative business to invest in while it’s still in developing state in South Africa.

Theoretically, the introduction of cannabis education could assist in creating many jobs for South Africans who opt to go into the industry as a career. Getting the correct education in the growing and correct usage of cannabis from qualified professionals is therefore beneficial.

“The industry is extremely new so the job market is limited right now but as the industry grows so will the demand for trained personal so the demand is going to increase rapidly. There is also a need for certain industries to up-skill themselves with cannabis knowledge to meet consumer demands so certain professions are going to need to learn about this industry”, says Trenton Birch, co-founder and CEO of Cheeba Cannabis.

The Cannabis Academy is the first online learning platform devoted to cannabis education on the African continent which opens its online gateway as a front-runner at a time when the industry is poised for rapid growth and making a substantial contribution to sustainable socio-economic development.

Part of the reason for encouraging cannabis education is to break the perception of it only being a is psychoactive, as the by-product of CBD can be used as an ingredient in various daily products, ranging from sleeping tablets to food products and even in the cosmetics industry.

Courses are open to anyone with an interest in learning about cannabis.  “We have entry-level courses for those just starting out and then more advanced courses for people such as doctors, pharmacists and other personnel in the medical industry wanting to up-skill,” says Birch.

Behind the endeavour is a team of four partners at Cheeba Africa, is Trenton Birch, Linda Siboto, Bianca Kaiser and Mitch Penning, whose combined experience covers education, media, health and wellness and technology which they all have amassed from their combined knowledge in their collective cannabis space.

Jacqui Ramage (B.Pharm) an expert on the subject of the medicinal and regulatory cannabis industry presented the Academy’s first Medicinal Cannabis Webinar on June 3.

Being that the course is only offered online and not a standing campus, there are several varying courses available. Some are self-study; study at your own pace in your own time with lifetime access to your dashboard.

The other courses are blended learning where there is a hybrid of online self-study and an opportunity to join an online class where you get to meet other people and build your network. Blended courses are four weeks in duration.

The type of accreditation you need to start such an academy requires it is only when you offer certification that you need to register. Says Birch: ” We are working with various accreditation boards around our courses.  Our first courses are in partnership with the US-based Cannabis online education platform Medical Marijuana 411. With over 800+ current, peer-reviewed citations, Marijuana 411 is the leader in online medical marijuana education for patients, medical professionals and dispensary consultants”.  They are accredited in many US states and with the FDA so all our courses have been through vigorous checks internationally. With short courses, no accreditation is required to start a training facility.

Cannabis has the potential to have a significant positive impact on our economy, facilitating large scale job creation and assisting disadvantaged communities with making a living as well as contributing to an overall improvement of our continent’s health.  “But education is needed for the industry to realise its true potential. Without an educated workforce the industry will not grow so there are countless benefits to educating our population on cannabis”, he says.

An unexplored and new industry in the local job market the hope that this sort of education can bring about more businesses that are self-sustainable and larger pockets of job creation.

Have a look at this link for all the various courses: https://cheebaafrica.com/pages/cheeba-academy

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