Starting this summer, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will offer specialized programs in the cannabis business. These include the College’s New Jersey Cannabis Licensing Workshop, Associate in Science in Business Administration, Option in Cannabis Studies, and Cannabis Business Agent and Business Management Certificates. These programs were developed in direct response to new legislation, market demand, and community need.
Within the past year, New Jersey passed laws to legalize cannabis. These laws were designed to remedy unfairness in the criminal justice system – arrests and decisions that disproportionately affected African Americans and Latinos – and set up an equitable market in this arena. A few weeks ago, New Jersey’s five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved the first recreational cannabis business applications for conditional licensing. The CRC reported that 37 of the applicants identified as certified Diversity-Owned Businesses, and 46 with majority stakes identified as Black, Latinx, and Asian.
Sustaining any new business is challenging. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 20% of new businesses fail in the first two years; 45% during the first five years; and 65% during the first ten years. For cannabis businesses – that are subject to regulations governing licensing, cultivation, testing, selling, and purchasing cannabis – the challenges are greatly increased. The new HCCC programs are designed to assist in abating these challenges and helping new cannabis businesses achieve sustained success.
“Hudson County Community College is dedicated to providing our diverse community with state-of-the-art programs that will lead to success and upward social and economic mobility,” HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber said. “We are committed to ensuring that those who were most harmed by past cannabis injustices are provided with the acuity to build and sustain profitable businesses.”
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