UC Merced Extension is launching a series of courses geared toward anyone who is interested in making some legal green in the Valley’s budding cannabis industry.

Victor A. Patton

The Merced FOCUS

The courses are being conducted in collaboration with Ventura-based cannabis education company Greenflower, and include three online, 9-week classes.

Extension programs like UC Merced’s offer classes to individuals without having to apply for admission to a formal university degree program. In other words, you need not be a UC Merced student to apply.

The certificates offered by UC Merced Extension include: 1). Retail Specialist, 2). Cultivation Specialist and 3). Extraction and Product Development Specialist. Admission for each course is $750, and classes begin Dec. 2.

The classes come six years after the first cannabis retail store opened in Merced County, and eight years after California legalized recreational weed.

Today, there are several legal dispensaries in the Merced County area. Still, the local industry has room for growth, particularly compared to urban centers like the Bay Area and Sacramento.

Michael Pierick, director of strategic initiatives and degree completion for UC Merced Extension, said the potential for growth is why the university decided to provide options for green rush prospectors.

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“No matter what program we do, we often look for things where there are gaps, there’s unmet needs in our region, where there’s opportunities for job growth for individuals,” Pierick told The Merced FOCUS.

“It really was an opportunity that we felt we could meet as being one of the only programs offering these three cannabis training certificates in the Central Valley and even in the northern region as well.”

Recent data does indicate the legal cannabis industry continues to grow steadily. According to the Vangst 2024 Cannabis Jobs Report, California ranks first in the nation for cannabis jobs, supporting 78,616 jobs as of March.

The number of legal cannabis jobs in the country was 440,445 as of the beginning of this year, the highest year ever for the industry. In comparison, there were 122,800 cannabis industry jobs reported in 2017.

Still, the industry does have its challenges. The business is very competitive and success is not guaranteed.

For example, in California, high taxes and unlicensed sales have led to decreased sales and some job losses, although the situation improved this year over last, the Vangst report said.

The report also mentioned those issues faced by California’s cannabis industry are expected to see continued improvement in 2025.

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Helping Those Who Are Passionate

Although the cannabis program is new to UC Merced and the region, it’s not the first partnership Green Flower has made with a university system. Green Flower conducts similar extension classes in collaboration with around 60 schools nationwide, including California State University East Bay and UC Riverside

Max Simon, CEO and cofounder of Green Flower, which produces cannabis industry curriculum, said the classes cover the most prominent aspects of the cannabis industry, whether someone wants to improve their retail skillset or start their own business.

The classes are led by facilitators from Green Flower. “The cannabis industry is very competitive and very complex, and so for people that actually want to be a part of this industry, it really serves them to have trusted education and then a form of credibility to differentiate themselves from others,” Simon told The Merced FOCUS.

“For people that are passionate about cannabis and interested in cannabis, it’s a great way to get clarity, confidence, credibility and direction so that they can participate.”

In terms of salary range in the cannabis industry, on the low end the average “budtender” who works in retail makes from $14 to $22 an hour, according to the Vangst report.

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On the higher end, management jobs pay much higher. A director of cultivation or director of manufacturing can make from $100,000 to $140,000 annually.

An extraction manager can make between $60,000 and $100,000 annually, while a director of retail can make $80,000 to $120,000 annually.

Pierick said UC Merced Extension is already planning on offering more classes past the first cohort.

“It’s projected to be a $50 billion industry in revenue by 2030 so I don’t see the program going away,” Pierick said.

Visit the UC Merced Extension website to enroll in the cannabis workforce training or learn more.

About the Author

Victor Patton is editor-in-chief of The Merced FOCUS.