Higher education is taking the term quite literally. Since the passage of recreational use of marijuana in New York, its colleges and universities are taking the opportunity to add “new courses about cannabis to the syllabus to prepare students for jobs in the budding industry” reports the New York Post.
The courses are “not just offering tokin’ lessons on the history of week, either.” The New York Post reports, “Online Excelsior College is marketing new master’s degree courses in marijuana leading to a graduate certificate in ‘Cannabis Control,’ as well as expanding undergraduate classes.”
Dean of Excelsior’s graduate program Scott Dolan says students will learn about the complexities that the marijuana industry will have to operate in, including complying with numerous government regulations. Dolan also suggests accountants, lawyers, health professionals and people in the insurance industry would benefit from taking the course which will cover “social equity, environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility and public finance.”
The New York Post writes:
Weed is also turning into fertile ground for New York’s public university systems, whose colleges offer degrees in agriculture and law, biology, medicine and business.
Currently, 10 different SUNY campuses offer courses tied to the marijuana and hemp industries. The number of cannabis courses, certificate and training programs and degrees offered to students will “absolutely” increase to match students with new jobs in the emerging marijuana industry, said SUNY Chancellor James Malatras.
“Our mission is to provide access to students to meet workforce demands,” Malatras said in a Sunday interview. “This is not a simple matter. This a seismic shift in the law,” added Malatras.
Source: NYPost.com
NY Democrats consider raising taxes, legalizing marijuana and sports betting as city deficit skyrockets
“If there was an idea to raise money, it was discussed today”
New York state Democrats are considering raising taxes and legalizing weed in efforts to overcome a budget that is projected to experience a deficit in the “billions,” according to a report.
The liberal legislators considered raising taxes and decriminalizing weed – as well as sports betting – to make up for money lost during the coronavirus pandemic in a Wednesday meeting, according to BizPacReview. Democratic Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto said his state is “going to be billions of dollars short” for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.”
“If there was an idea to raise money, it was discussed today,” Benedetto told the New York Post. “Everything was discussed at great length. It was a very sober meeting. There are going to be more sober meetings. It’s heavy stuff.”
They considered raising income tax rates on billionaires and millionaires, as well as imposing a possible tax on stocks and second homes.
The New York chapter of Democratic Socialists of America is also engaging in a phone campaign to sway public opinion in favor of the tax hikes, as opposed to the alternative of slashing funding from education and other public services, BizPacReview reports.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned of extensive layoffs and tax increases in a Wednesday press briefing.
“If we do not get federal funding, the consequences are going to be devastating to this state, and the families and governments within the state,” he said. “You can see the layoff of several thousand government workers unless the federal government is truly responsible and accountable, and really gives New York the funding it deserves.”
“You’ll see tax increases…you could see dramatic tax increases that would hurt families and hurt the economy,” he added.
The governor also indicated a willingness to legalize marijuana as a possible source of state income, the Post reports.
College Event says “Terrorism” is what “Trumpism” is at its Core
An event hosted by Berea College in Kentucky called “White Citizenship as Terrorism: Make America Great Again, Again” argues that supporting President Trump is “terrorism” at its core.
The event, which is co-sponsored by the college’s Women’s and Gender Non-Conforming Center and the Law, Ethics and Society Group, takes place on March 17.
According to the Federalist, a flyer of the event states:
Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ appears to follow suit by offering a seemingly benign promise to return to America to a previously ‘great’ past. But the offer to ‘Make America Great Again, Again’ requires we refocus on how the last four years of daily tweets and administrative actions redefine whiteness. If terrorism is redefined as the use of violence and threats to create a state of fear toward particular communities and identities, then this is what ‘Trumpism’ is at its core.
The keynote address at the event will be given by Amy L. Brandzel, an assistant professor of women studies at the University of New Mexico, and the author of “Against Citizenship: The Violence of the Normative.”
In her book, Brandzel says citizenship is a “violent dehumanizing mechanism” and that, “citizenship requires anti-intersectionality, that is, strategies that deny the mutuality and contingency of race, class, gender, sexuality and nation…”
For the full report, click HERE.
