Shannon Donnelly, a cannabis industry consultant and professor at the school of hospitality, is spearheading the initiative, which offers specialist and manager certifications — and a different viewpoint on the term "cannabis hospitality."
Cannabis hospitality for most people might mean "a place to consume cannabis," Donnelly says, like the cafes, lounges, hotels or other cannabis-friendly venues around Denver. But this program is based in MSU's School of Hospitality, "because that lets us look at the entire supply chain," according to Donnelly.
"When we look at the cannabis hospitality certificates, it really looks like the entire supply chain and ends in responsible sale and consumption," she says. "We're looking at what hospitality really is, which is customer service and creating sellable products, but then we look at everything that creates those products."
Each certificate is earned by completing five classes worth fifteen credits altogether. A few of the classes in the program,
such as Cannabis 101 for Hospitality and Cannabis in the Kitchen, started more than three years ago, but the larger cannabis curriculum and certificates were created for students "to get something out of this," Donnelly notes.
such as Cannabis 101 for Hospitality and Cannabis in the Kitchen, started more than three years ago, but the larger cannabis curriculum and certificates were created for students "to get something out of this," Donnelly notes.
"Some of the students already have credits that will allow them to take a few more classes next year and hopefully graduate with a certificate," she explains, with topics including things like "What does cannabis intoxication mean?" and "How does that relate to different cannabinoids that we're ingesting?"
From 2022 to 2023, Donnelly worked for the City of Denver as a marijuana business licensing liaison, including for social equity licenses. She's currently the executive director of the Center for Social Equity Support, a nonprofit that works with cannabis business owners from diverse backgrounds, and has been an MSU professor for two years. She recently applied for a public health and safety research grant to study air particulate levels and the efficacy of ventilation systems for cannabis industry workplaces.
"I've been in the industry since 2007, and what I've really known is that a lot employees coming into this industry have a really nice base-level understanding of the plant," Donnelly says. "But what about the business?"
The MSU specialist certificate is for people to get their feet into the cannabis industry for the first time with knowledge about the plant and service industry basics, according to the school, while the manager certificate has more business operations training.
Donnelly stopped short of naming what kind of jobs a cannabis hospitality certificate can attract, but says it could pair well with other fields of studies to get jobs outside of the cannabis industry.
“I see a lot of crossover from the school of criminal justice, the school of medicine, the school of chemistry and biology being able to take this certificate and now use those fundamental skills in their schools and have a lens to be able to look at the cannabis industry through," she says. "They need to have a foundational understanding of what happens in the industry and to be able to use their skills from their degree to work within cannabis, but also have jobs outside of the cannabis industry."
Colorado's cannabis industry is in a tough spot at the moment. After increasing for seven straight years to a record $2.2 billion in 2021, annual marijuana sales have been falling in Colorado, hitting just over $1.5 billion for 2023. Record-low wholesale prices, a long list of business closures and a 30 percent decline in employment have also hit marijuana businesses during that span, while state data shows that the number of recreational marijuana growing licenses fell over 21 percent from December 2022 through December 2023.
Donnelly says that for people who do want to work within the cannabis space, these classes will help them enter the industry and advance quickly, even from entry-level positions.
“Just in the last three years that I’ve been really working with students at MSU Denver, a lot of them now see a beneficial career coming in as a budtender, but now having the skills to move up quicker and find a job that’s more beneficial for what they’re looking for," she says.
One student was able to get a job with Workbench Dining, a private dining service that offers cocktail and gourmet cannabis pairings, through connections made in Donnelly's Cannabis in the Kitchen class, Donnelly says.
The first cannabis hospitality certificates won't be handed out until the 2025 spring semester at the earliest, Donnelly says. While some students have already completed a few of the classes needed to earn one of the certificates, others will be able to start those classes as soon as the upcoming fall semester.
Undergraduates at MSU can get the certificate by completing the required courses. Students who aren't seeking degrees can also enroll in MSU and complete the courses needed to earn the certificate. The cannabis hospitality program has no special requirements for admission, but students under nineteen need to meet requirements for modified open-access admissions, and students over age twenty must have graduated high school or earned their GED, including non-degree-seeking students.
Each certificate is set up for students to be able to complete it in a calendar year. The typical MSU undergraduate is enrolled in fifteen credits a semester, but the program is more spread out, and not all classes can be taken at once.
Undergraduates at MSU can get the certificate by completing the required courses. Students who aren't seeking degrees can also enroll in MSU and complete the courses needed to earn the certificate. The cannabis hospitality program has no special requirements for admission, but students under nineteen need to meet requirements for modified open-access admissions, and students over age twenty must have graduated high school or earned their GED, including non-degree-seeking students.
The cost of completing the five courses to earn a cannabis hospitality certificate can run as high as $6,000, as MSU charges more than $400 per credit hour. Costs could be lower for those who are eligible for the Colorado College Opportunity Fund, however.
Each certificate is set up for students to be able to complete it in a calendar year. The typical MSU undergraduate is enrolled in fifteen credits a semester, but the program is more spread out, and not all classes can be taken at once.
"Fingers crossed, maybe one day we'll be doing that," Donnelly says. "But right now, it looks like you'd be able to complete it in one calendar or school year."
For the specialist certificate, students take Cannabis 101 for Hospitality, Quality Service Leadership, Cannabis in the Kitchen, Intoxication and Responsible Vending in Hospitality, and Products and Service Promotion in Hospitality.
For the class on intoxication and responsible vending in hospitality, "we're really talking about intoxication of alcohol as well as intoxication of cannabis," Donnelly says.
"So students are truly getting to see from a business perspective, but also on an ingestion perceptive, what can they expect when it comes to responsible vending," Donnelly says. "So some of those key concepts that come from responsible vendor training in the cannabis industry, we're going to give students some of those, as well."
For the Cannabis 101 course, students learn vocabulary like "the traditional market versus the regulated market, what is Amendment 64" and while "indica and sativa might be something that we start with," the class goes deeper and discusses terpenes, which are the oils in cannabis, like d-limonene and linalool, that provide the aroma and some effects, Donnelly adds.
Donnelly recently took students in the Cannabis 101 class on the Canna Cabanabus, a licensed cannabis-friendly tour bus, and to MedPharm, a marijuana lab and processing facility, to show them examples of operations and businesses in the industry.
Product and Service Promotion in Hospitality is "how to sell stuff," Donnelly says. "If we're running a grocery store and we're running a dispensary, how do I mark things and make sure my margins still make sense?"
For the cannabis hospitality manager certificate, students take Cannabis in the Global Economy, Talent Leadership, Managerial Accounting for Hospitality, Hospitality Marketing and Sales, and Laws and Regulations in the Cannabis Industry.
"Colorado used to be a leader in bringing ideas out," she says. "We want to use these boards to do just that."
The school is hosting an unveiling of the new cannabis hospitality program, dubbed the Green Frontier Conference, on April 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hospitality Learning Center, 1190 Auraria Parkway. The event will feature expert panels, educational seminars, student pitch competitions and cooking demonstrations, according to MSU.
