Western Illinois University Graduates First Cannabis & Culture Minor

The first of five Western Illinois University students with a minor in Cannabis & Culture was part of the school’s spring 2021 graduating class. The interdisciplinary minor—so far, the only one in the nation—focuses on social justice issues related to cannabis use and the cannabis industry.

There are four other current students minoring in Cannabis & Culture.

Alison Coats said the minor taught her about the medical efficacy of cannabis and about the story of Charlotte Figi, the girl with Dravet Syndrome who became a leading figure in the CBD movement and the namesake of the ‘Charlotte’s Web’ strain. Figi died last year amid the coronavirus pandemic from, what her family described as, COVID-like symptoms.