According to the Leafly 2022 Jobs Report, the cannabis industry (both medical and adult-use) supports over 428,000 jobs across cultivation, production, testing, and retail. A lot of those jobs are budtenders, and unlike Canada, the US has no standardized certification or training program for preparing budtenders to serve the public.
Employees get a lot of on-the-job training, but as cannabis products continue to evolve, so does the education needed to best serve dispensary patrons.
We at Leafly have worked tirelessly to provide casual tokers, medical patients, and professionals with the most current information on the plant, the industry, and the politics of it all.
Our Leafly Learn budtender course provides a comprehensive kickstart to your cannabis career, or a refresh on the most important aspects of cannabis to convey to your patients and customers.
What is Leafly Learn?
Leafly Learn (not to be confused with our Learn content section) is an online platform that hosts the “The Art and Science of Cannabis” certification course for budtenders and cannabis industry professionals to learn more about cannabis, its scientific study, culture, and politics, to better serve the local cannabis community.
The course takes approximately two hours via 44 segments of interactive exercises, quizzes, and a final assessment. The course covers basic tenets of cannabis science and research, as well as the complexity of how cannabis, its compounds, and dosage elicit different experiences.
How do I access and use Leafly Learn?
You can access the Leafly Learn online course here. Those seeking a Leafly Learn certification will need to access it through a Leafly Biz account. Check with your employer to confirm they have a Leafly Biz account. If so, you can access the course if:
1. Your employer has a Leafly Pro account. Pro includes the course as part of clients’ monthly subscription.
2. Your employer has a standard account. However, standard clients must pay a $50 fee for the course per month for each individual retail store.
3. If you attended the Leafly Live Terp Talk, all tour attendees get free enrollment in the “Art and Science of Cannabis” course.
The course requires an internet connection and computer to access course materials and additional resources.
For any questions about Leafly Learn, reach out here.
What will the course help me learn?
The course has four core subjects, with new content to reflect the storied history of cannabis as a plant and industry.
Cannabis science
As a scheduled substance, scientific study and research on cannabis can be tricky to fund and even tricker to distribute to the public. Our course goes over key findings in scientific studies, such as core cannabinoids, terpenes, and the endocannabinoid system. Those who take the course will also learn how to determine what strains work for different customers.
Effects
Cannabis is personal, and the same product can have different effects on different people. This section helps budtenders understand how different environments, strains, and body chemistry influence how cannabis affects consumers. The course also gives participants the language to effectively communicate these subjective experiences to customers.
Dosing
Cannabis is a biphasic plant. This means that the same strain taken at a low dose might have a different effect than when taken at a high dose. Different consumption methods also elicit different experiences, as well as different onset times and durations. Understanding how to dose different cannabis products empowers customers to develop their own relationships with cannabis.
The War on Drugs
As part of a new supplemental course, Leafly believes it’s not enough to only know about the plant. Context is everything, and this module will provide a historical overview of cannabis’ stigmatization and criminalization, and how these still impact society today.
Why Leafly Learn makes better budtenders
Budtenders work in one of the most exciting, fastest-growing industries of today, but it comes with unique challenges. It’s hard to keep track of every single cannabis product, as well as new laws, studies, and information on the plant all the time.
A solid grasp of the basics gives you a foundation to successfully navigate the gamut of your customers’ and patients’ wants and needs.
It’s also important to clearly communicate information to customers and patients. The Leafly Learn course includes various pointers for how to engage with dispensary patrons and how to demonstrate budtender expertise to lead people to the right cannabis products for them.
