Several colleges in the Hudson Valley will soon offer specialized courses centered around the budding cannabis industry.

Rockland Community College is focused on growing the cannabis industry's future workforce.

"It’s not every day you get an opportunity to shape an industry from scratch," said Kevin Stump, the college’s vice president of Economic Mobility and Workforce Innovation.

Stump will help come up with "pathway" courses on cannabis, which he expects to start in the fall of 2023 at RCC. They will be specialized credits that can stack toward one of their other college degrees.

The Suffern-based institution is one of six Hudson Valley area community colleges responsible for having a unique marijuana-focused pathway, thanks to state money and a grant from the national nonprofit Education Design Lab.

Stump explains RCC will possibly offer a course centered around the culinary arts and hospitality because of their Nyack location – or business courses since they're also home to the Small Business Development Center.

He says Hudson Valley community colleges have been meeting at least once a week to work on their future courses.