With the tides turning in the U.S and all over Europe, it appears as though Reefer Madness era politics are being rolled back en masse.

For anyone out there who is curious about what is happening, where the research is being done, what level to get involved at, and how to learn more, I've put together this four part series, the culmination of 30+ hours of research on current developments within the Cannabis Educational sphere. There are numerous Cannabis Campus projects ranging in size, capacity, and focus.

This series is organized by the type of offerings they provide.

Part One is focused on the large scale Research and Development operations poised on the forefront of shaping this industry as it moves out from beneath the dark shadows of the black market and into the unforgivingly normalizing glare of free market capitalism.

Part Two will focus on existing accredited Universities and bodies of Higher Education who are incorporating the study of Cannabis into their curriculum. Read this here:
https://steemit.com/cannabis/@stirling/cannabis-universities-cannabis-campus-series-part-2

Part Three is highlighting schools focused specifically on Cannabis that have an on-campus, experiential component, with no University affiliation. https://steemit.com/cannabis/@stirling/cannabis-business-training-cannabis-campus-series-part-3

Part Four will introduce vocational based educational opportunities that are available here: https://steemit.com/cannabis/@stirling/cannabis-vocational-training-cannabis-campus-part-four

Stay tuned for the entire series as it is released, and welcome to part 1:

This section includes large scale, heavily funded, research, development, and production based institutions. Most on this scale do not have a marketed educational/ vocational component, though their use of funds, implemented systems design, and proven scalability suggest that outreach, touring, and strategic partnership may be a viable options, if you're coming in to this industry to play with the big boys.

Coachella Cannabis Campus

Self proclaimed “CALIFORNIA’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL CANNABIS CAMPUS”

No specific Educational Component
Focused on the development of:
Coachella(TM) Premium brand medical cannabis;
Proprietary system of integrated growing and extraction technology;
Cannabis genetics improvement program

This enormous campus consists of 111,500 total square feet over 6-acres, and features the entire wholesale supply chain from a single site.
They claim to be a fully-entitled facility outfitted with state-of-the-art, highly efficient systems that "maximize resources and reduce operating expenses". They have trademarked the Medical cannabis brand: Coachella™ Premium Cannabis, with the potential to develop additional brands.

All testing will be based on site, with a technology-focused lab including pesticide and residual solvent analysis, and they are developing proprietary chain of custody software, RFID plant tracking, security with video analytics, transportation, and cash logistics.

Tilray Portugal Cannabis Campus

(image courtesy of Tilray)
https://www.tilray.com/press-/tilray-eu-campus

The headlines read: "Tilray invests €20 Million to Build EU Campus and Begin Operations 2017".

Located in Cantanhede, Portugal, within the BIOCANT Research Park is Tilray’s European Campus, now fully licensed to Produce Medical Cannabis in the European Union.. They are focused on being an all in house operation, by cultivating, processing, packaging, and distributing medical cannabis products (officially referred to as GMP Grade) to researchers, qualified patients, pharmacies, throughout the European common market. How exactly they will do this remains to be tested, as import laws regarding Cannabis vary widely from Nation to Nation.

The build-out of the EU Campus is planned to occur in phases, and includes 25,000 m2 of greenhouse and 3,000 m2 of processing facilities (let's just say it's going to be BIG). Phase one of the build-out will increase Tilray’s annual global production capacity to 62 metric tonnes by the end of 2018. The main selling points of this operation, besides apparent domination of the localized European market, include: a €20 million capital investment to play with, the intended creation of 100's of jobs, and research partnerships that "will positively impact local community".

Chalice Farms PDX

https://chalicefarms.com/chalice-farms-story/

This large scale campus in Portland, Oregon, boasts a fully integrated vertical business model, but currently no educational component. Product is grown, dried, cured, packaged and marketed using a dedicated in-house team and lab-testing for quality control. This "fully-integrated business model" provides lower production costs, standardization, quality-control and distribution, which are all huge considerations within this burgeoning market. It also leverages the affordability of labor in Oregon, and Chalice Farms states this is their competitive market advantage.

Chalice Farms consists of:
Four existing retail locations;
24,000 square-foot HQ facility;
Processing plant;
Commercial kitchen.

Plans call for broad marketing initiatives centered around the Chalice Farms brand of edibles and infused products, as well as expansion into Washington state with its line of Cartridges and Vape Pens (the packaging aspects), and other states across the U.S., which is quite the undertaking, with legislature varying so widely from state to state, and the threatening tone of the current Federal attitude towards the expanding market.

Flow Kana Cannabis Institute

https://www.flowkana.com/cannabis_institute

Flow Kana is another self proclaimed “World’s First Cannabis Campus”, though what they seem to mean by that statement is very different than any of the projects outlined above. They are also the only Mega-Campus project in the Emerald Triangle, the world-renowned region famous for decades of Cannabis production.

The 80-acre, 85,000-industrial-square-foot Flow Cannabis Institute is slated to provide a centralized location for independent cannabis farmers from throughout the Emerald Triangle to come together and combine resources for access to testing facilities and large scale space to dry, cure, trim, process, package, manufacture and distribute their individual farm products cost effectively, at massive scale, operating as a sort of Co-Operative Collective model.

Flow Cannabis Institute will also aim to function as a co-operative seat with a somewhat integrated educational component, by providing legislators, regulators, farmers and patients with the space and opportunity to learn firsthand what it takes to grow cannabis sustainably.

Also unique among the large scale Cannabis Campus, the Flow Kana Institute intends to offer a one-of-a-kind bed & breakfast and retreat experience, as their location is a former family-owned winery, with a number of historic residential buildings, a pool and spa, immaculate grounds, and historical Big Dog Saloon.

Thank you for tuning in to the turning tides of Cannabis Culture, it certainly is an interesting frontier and I feel like we are here to witness (if we like) a HUGE shift in this exploding industry.

Stay tuned for the next part in this series!

And please check out my other recent content:

https://steemit.com/earthnation/@stirling/success-is-f-usding-up-on-your-own-terms

<3
@Stirling