Higher education? OSU to offer marijuana policy course

Students at Oregon State University will have a chance to help shape policies related to marijuana legalization in Oregon as part of a new public policy course taught this winter on the OSU campus in Corvallis.

“Marijuana Policy in the 21st Century” is a new sociology course developed by Seth Crawford, an instructor in the School of Public Policy in OSU’s College of Liberal Arts . The course will examine some of the policy issues facing the state following the legalization of recreational marijuana by Oregon voters in November.

“We will be working with policymakers and stakeholders to help answer some of the biggest questions facing the state following the passage of Measure 91,” said Crawford, who is an expert on the policies and market structure of marijuana in Oregon.

Crawford also serves on the state’s Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, which advises the director of the Oregon Department of Human Services on administrative aspects of the state’s medical marijuana program. He has provided expert testimony on marijuana-related policies in Oregon.

The new course will examine marijuana control strategies, methods for investigating marijuana markets and recent case studies in legalization. The course will culminate in the presentation of an evidenced-based, student-directed paper on policy recommendations for the OLCC and the Oregon Health Authority, Crawford said. Policies established by the OLCC will determine how marijuana would be produced, sold and distributed in Oregon.

The students will produce a collectively authored white paper of their recommendations; make group presentations that will be recorded and available for viewing by the public and stakeholders; and present findings to policymakers, Crawford said.

The new class is being held this winter term, which is under way and runs through March 20 . With 50 students enrolled, the course is at capacity. Enrollees are a mix of graduate and undergraduate students, Crawford said.