As the Illinois cannabis industry expands so does the education.

Along with Illinois Valley Community College and Western Illinois University, Danville Area Community College is entering the cannabis education field.

DACC will offer a class called Cultivation and Compliance, SUST 121.

Sustainability Instructor George Hickman developed the course that teaches students how to grow marijuana—but without actually bringing any cannabis on campus.

“The course introduces key concepts and protocols associated with medicinal plant growth and distribution in Illinois,” Hickman said in a statement on DACC’s blog.

In the campus greenhouse, students will grow plants that have the same growth requirements as marijuana, such as poinsettias and catnip.

Along with Agriculture Instructor Brandy Marron and Horticulture Instructor Amanda Krabbe, the College will grow hemp in the farmland south of the DACC campus.

“Hemp seeds come from the cannabis sativa plant,” Hickman stated for the DACC blog. “Growing hemp is comparable to growing cannabis, so students will be acquiring the same skills with cultivating hemp as they would in growing marijuana.”

Though growing marijuana is closely regulated in Illinois, Hemp can be grown legally because the plant does not contain THC that produces mind-altering effects.

The course would also teach students about biosecurity related to cannabis, inventory tracking, and the legal aspects such as Biotrack and compliance with the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s laws.

Cresco Labs recently opened Sunnyside Danville, a recreational only dispensary, and Danville is in line to host one of a 44-acre cultivation center west of the Danville Correctional Center, less than two miles from DACC.

According to DACC, the SUST 121 course would be a building block for students pursuing a career as a cultivation technician or trying to earn a certificate program the Business & Technology Division is developing.

DACC Dean Terri Cummings said that the certificate would include marketing, hemp production, legal studies, and agriculture technology that may make use of DACC’s new aquaponics lab.

Under current law, only Illinois registered medical cardholders can grow up to five cannabis plants for personal use.

Students will have to the option in assisting medical-marijuana patients in growing their five cannabis plants permitted under the law or will be required to grow a plant like catnip to prove competent in growing marijuana.

For a similar story about Western Illinois University, click here.