Chicago Catholic university offers courses on running cannabis dispensaries

Courses at DePaul University in Chicago are teaching students how to run cannabis dispensaries. 

One course, Community-Centric Dispensary Management, promises to “introduce students to cannabis dispensary management within a community-centric framework,” The College Fix first reported.

The course description at the Catholic university calls dispensary leadership “integral to community development” and says that it “offers models for managing the cannabis retail environment to promote hospitality and engagement among employees, guests, and community members.” 

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The Chicago university is teaching students how to run marijuana dispensaries.  (Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/Reuters)

“We will examine the operational and cultural nuances of the dispensary business, taking into consideration community interests, consumer temperament, government regulations, and social equity,” the course description reads. “This course also covers the specialized dimensions of cannabis business management, including personnel training, compliance, recordkeeping, and product storage and processing, which are all critical to running a successful dispensary.”

Other courses in the “Cannabis Studies” program include Psychotropic Drugs in Modern American History, Cannabis and Society, Introduction to Cannabis Studies, Cannabis & 60’s Psychedelic Culture, Cannabis, Medicine, and Health, Special Topics in Cannabis Studies, and an opportunity to do an independent study on cannabis. 

Another class, Cannabis, Race, and Justice, “investigates issues related to race and equity in the recreational cannabis sector.”

According to the course description, the class examines “the industry’s commercial landscape and concerns about ‘Big Cannabis’ as an emerging yet not universal corporatized model, cultural proclivities toward natural and preventive medicine as well as race-related disparities in the cannabis universe. 

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In New York, pot dispensaries have been exploding, with licensed pot shops going from 261 in 2024 to at least 556 in 2025. (David McNew/Getty Images)

The race portion “includes a focus on the various regional strategies to resolve disproportionate, race-based arrest and incarceration rates pre-legalization, social equity and licensing programs for cannabis entrepreneurs, teenage marijuana use and the overall state of numerous social justice movements to address these and other racial issues connected to this industry.”

According to a February 2025 report, there were about 15,000 cannabis dispensaries running throughout the country, compared to about 12,156 dispensaries in the U.S. at the beginning of 2024. According to The College Fix, there are 263 cannabis dispensary facilities in Illinois.

In December, President Donald Trump loosened federal restrictions on marijuana, and reclassified it as a less dangerous drug.

DePaul is a private Catholic university. The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not specifically mention marijuana but says non-therapeutic drug use is a grave offense.

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In December, President Donald Trump loosened federal restrictions on marijuana, and reclassified it as a less dangerous drug. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Fox News Digital reached out to DePaul University for comment. 

DePaul is hardly the only university to offer courses around cannabis. The University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, Kent State University and University of Denver are just some of the many colleges across the country with programs regarding the industry.

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