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Rutgers Law School is launching a new program for business owners looking for a better grasp on the rules and regulations of New Jersey’s cannabis industry. 

Beginning in January 2023, the six-month, non-credit certificate in cannabis law and business will bring together faculty from Rutgers Law School, School of Business-Camden, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and School of Communication and Information, as well as industry experts and guest speakers. 

In a Sept. 27 statement announcing the certificate program, Kimberly Mutcherson and Rose Cuison-Villazor, Rutgers Law School co-deans, said it was “exactly the kind of work that we want to be doing as New Jersey’s state law school.” 

Mutcherson and Cuison-Villazor said it was important for Rutgers to provide “crucial information” for people who want to enter the legal cannabis business, “especially those from communities that traditionally bore the brunt of punitive outcomes before legalization.” 

This is the first program the law school has offered for those who are not law students or legal professionals. 

Adult-use cannabis sales kicked off in New Jersey April 21, bringing a total $79.7 million in sales in the first 70 days, according to the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. To date, there are 19 dispensaries selling legal cannabis in the state. 

The full six-month certificate costs $2,695, but individual modules can be purchased for between $600 and $850. A limited number of scholarships will be available for people who have received, or who will be applying for, social equity business licenses through the CRC. Applications for these scholarships will open in October, the university said.