William Paterson University forms Cannabis Institute

Looking ahead at New Jersey’s potential legal cannabis market, a dozen faculty and staff at William Paterson University formed the Cannabis Institute to advise state, county, and municipal agencies on issues related to medical and recreational cannabis.Looking ahead at New Jersey’s potential legal cannabis market, a dozen faculty and staff at William Paterson University formed the Cannabis Institute to advise state, county, and municipal agencies on issues related to medical and recreational cannabis.

Additionally, the Institute will disseminate and discuss cannabis research, data, and policy analyses through conferences, seminars, forums, and public lectures.

“As we began to look at the research interests of our faculty, we realized we had a number of faculty researching cannabis from a number of different disciplines. As the vote became imminent and as New Jersey decides to or not to legalize marijuana, it just seemed logical to capitalize on the brain trust of the faculty,” said William Paterson University President Richard Helldobler on the creation of the Cannabis Institute.

Rahi Abouk, a University associate professor of economics, finance, and global business, will run the institute. He specializes in health economics and the economics of substance abuse, and routinely conducts research on how public policies targeting alcohol and drug use affect their respective communities.

Abouk is currently exploring labor market effects of cannabis legalization as well as effects on adolescents.

“I think a lot of other states have jumped into the legalization of marijuana and haven’t done it in a thoughtful and cogent way in terms of public health, social policy and fiscal policy,” Helldobler said. “Universities can offer something that might put New Jersey in somewhere of a better place than some of our sister states who may have rolled it out not as thoughtfully as it should have been.”

Other members of the Cannabis Institute include Elizabeth Amaya-Fernandez, wellness coordinator at William Patterson’s Counseling, Health, and Wellness Center; LaShauna Dean, associate professor of special education and counseling; Aleksandar Kecojevic, assistant professor of public health; William Kernan, professor of public health; Betty Kollia, professor of communication disorders and sciences; Claire Leonard, professor of biology; Emmanuel Onaivi, professor of biology; Glen Sherman, associate vice president and dean of students; and Sean Wilson, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice.