Our next blog post about members of the Graduate Certificate in Cannabis Control’s Industrial Advisory Committee spotlights Paul Coble, attorney and founder/CEO of Thalo Technologies. Thalo is not only a member of the program’s IAC, but also the subject matter expert for the program’s Risk Assessment in Cannabis Control course. Read on to learn more about him!

Background

Coble is an intellectual property attorney and cannabis software executive with an extensive background in science and technology. He studied molecular biology and chemistry in his undergraduate program before turning to study law.

Coble attended Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and graduated cum laude with a concentration in law, science, and technology. He studied how science and law interact and affect each other’s trajectories. As a practicing attorney, Coble has helped clients navigate and mitigate risk relating to intellectual property and heavily regulated markets such as alcohol, personal data, pharmaceuticals, and, of course, cannabis. He is a registered patent attorney and has litigated complex intellectual property cases across the country.

After a decade of practicing law, Coble decided to enter the cannabis industry and launched a startup, Thalo Technologies, to develop software to help cannabis and hemp manufacturers better capture and interpret their lab data to make more profitable decisions. He is currently serving as vice-chair of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Manufacturing Committee and is sitting by designation on the NCIA’s Policy Council. He also volunteers as general counsel of the Social Justice & Engineering Initiative.

Q & A with Paul Coble

 

Q: How did you get started in the industry?

A: I always wanted to start a company and my unique background in chemistry and data products led to a unique opportunity in cannabis manufacturing.

 Q: Do you hold any certifications? If so, which one(s)?

A: Member of the IL bar and U.S. Patent bar.

Q: What do you hope students will take away from the Graduate Certificate in Cannabis Control program?

A: Students will gain a better perspective of how cannabis policy affects the major stakeholders in the industry (regulators, operators, consumers) and how policy affects risk throughout the supply chain.

Q: What is a piece of advice you’d offer someone getting into the industry?

A: The industry is growing so quickly, [that] there is something that everyone can offer to improve the industry.

Q: What is one thing you wish you had known before entering the industry?

A: For an industry that changes as quickly as it does, there are also times where it moves very slowly and with great difficulty.

Q: You mentioned students will benefit from the course CBC 602 Risk Assessment in Cannabis Control by gaining a better understanding of cannabis policy effects. In addition to this, how do you think the cannabis control certificate program, as a whole, will benefit students?

 A: A major shortcoming in the cannabis industry today is a lack of understanding. Too often, regulators do not understand the needs of consumers or operators. Operators are frustrated with the lack of transparency and practicality in regulations, and consumers don’t understand why they have to jump through bureaucratic hoops and pay exorbitant prices. Some of this lack of understanding comes simply from the fact that this is a relatively new industry and the conventional knowledge base is still playing catch up.

The Graduate Certificate in Cannabis Control program is designed to introduce students to all the issues that shape the cannabis and hemp industries, not just the issues important to any one particular demographic. The issues present in the cannabis industry range from the expected business considerations to niche considerations driven by the unique scientific and legal nature of cannabis. Students will be able to move into the cannabis industry with a complete understanding of the various components of the industry and a comprehensive understanding of how they relate to each other. Furthermore, they will create as part of the program a bespoke toolbox of resources to help them navigate and thrive in the evolving industry.

Q: What are some organizations or associations that you recommend industry newcomers join? How could they benefit from joining them?

 A: There are two organizations that anyone in the cannabis industry should become involved with: (1) the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), and (2) their state industry association (often MITA or HITA). Both organizations are helpful for meeting others who are interested in similar aspects of the industry. Like all industries, cannabis has niches and specialties and the more people that you know working on similar issues, the easier it will be to stay current. Trade industry associations are also critical in effectively lobbying lawmakers to make better cannabis policy.

Q: Which cannabis industry career path do you think is best for students who complete this program? Why?

A: One of the great parts of the cannabis industry is that there are very few standard career paths. People are moving into the industry from all types of backgrounds and there are career paths for just about anyone. That said, the two careers that stick out to me as benefiting the most from the certificate in cannabis control program are those related to creating cannabis policy or regulations and those that are related to operating a cannabis business. Future regulators will gain a better understanding of the science, history, business, and risks of the cannabis industry. Entrepreneurial students will gain a high-level view of the inner workings of the cannabis and hemp supply chains. Students will walk away with a wiki designed to include evergreen resources that will benefit any cannabis career path.

Q: As the subject matter expert for the Risk Assessment in Cannabis Control course, what information/content did you feel was most important to include in the curriculum? Why?

 A: The risk assessment and control course starts with the premise that risk is relative to one’s perspective and, therefore, risk may be understood differently by different stakeholders in the cannabis industry: regulators, operators, and consumers. For example, government regulators are incentivized to reduce diversion for a variety of reasons, but unless they understand why the diversion is happening in the first place, they will never be able to create a policy to curb it effectively. Effective risk assessment and mitigation relies on understanding the motivations of the stakeholder groups and the industrial repercussions of policy decisions.

I feel that it is necessary at the outset to have the students place themselves in the shoes of each group to understand how each views the cannabis industry. Students will use the different values and drives of each group as they explore the different sources of risk in the cannabis supply chain.

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*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Transitioning into the cannabis industry can be tricky if you’re not prepared. One of the advantages of entering this booming industry is that there are open opportunities just about anywhere you look, but success comes from being prepared.

Find Your Niche Within the Cannabis Industry

When you’re thinking about working in cannabis, it’s important to make sure your passions and skills align with what you want to do. The industry has many different options when it comes to choosing a career path. Careers range from working on the legal side of things, such as in compliance and risk management, to creative career paths like digital marketing and advertising. It’s important that you choose a career path that you feel confident and passionate about. This will not only make you happy, but also help you be successful in your career.

Understand Cannabis Industry Nuances

Working in cannabis isn’t a cakewalk. Although working in a burgeoning industry can be exciting and fun, there are many nuances to understand. Since laws and regulations are constantly changing, having a clear-cut understanding of them will not always be as simple as some would like to think. The success of a business within the industry is based on operating with an understanding these nuances and making sure that every action is compliant and doesn’t push boundaries. Working in the industry means that you understand these subtleties and agree to make sure everything you do is compliant and does not pose risk to the business or client you work for.

Obtain Tools for Success in the Cannabis Industry

To be successful in the industry, you need to have certain skills and tools. One of the tools is an understanding of the laws, from the federal level down to the municipal level. If you want to stay in this industry, you must learn and follow these laws. Another tool you’ll find necessary is the ability to diversify yourself. Companies and fellow professionals want to know what sets you apart from others and why they should take note. Failure to do so will only make it harder for you to reach your goals.

Seek Cannabis Industry Education

We want to make sure individuals are well prepared before jumping headfirst into an industry that is not only new but also difficult to navigate. You can do this by connecting with local cannabis associations or pursuing formal education to gain knowledge about the field and give you a competitive over others looking to enter the field. Check out Excelsior’s Graduate Certificate in Cannabis Control to learn more about this rapidly growing industry.

Kayleah Morris, a dialysis technician and U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class, never imagined that she would be dealing with an influx of patients from a global pandemic. Stationed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, she handles many COVID-19 patients in the Intensive Care Unit who are suffering from organ failure.

“In the beginning [of the pandemic], many people were scared of working in hospitals. I was deathly afraid that I would bring COVID home to my family,” said the mother of two. Thankfully, there are a lot of precautions in place to prevent staff from contracting the virus, and Walter Reed, known as the Presidents’ Hospital, has tremendous resources for personal protective equipment (PPE) and containment measures; they keep COVID patients in negative pressure rooms and staff wear positive air pressure masks.

Morris works 12-hour shifts in this environment so that she can alternate workdays with her husband and avoid using outside childcare. Still, she manages to take college courses online; she is just three classes away from finishing her bachelor’s degree. “I am very excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “Nothing is going to stop me from finishing at this point.”

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Originally from Albany, New York, Morris could not afford to go to college after high school, and working two jobs to make ends meet did not leave time to take classes. So at age 23, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy, went through basic training, and was stationed in Maryland. “I joined the military so that I could go to college,” she said. With her dialysis training and experience, she figured nursing school was the logical choice, so in 2014, she enrolled in Excelsior College. “I completed almost the entire nursing program before realizing that I didn’t want to be a nurse,” Morris said.

Her advisor helped her transfer her nursing credits into a different associate degree program, in Liberal Arts. After earning that degree in June 2019, Morris got to work on a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with a focus in Human Services. “One of my jobs, before I joined the Navy, was working with developmentally disabled individuals, and I loved it,” she said. “I would like to work with that population again if I could make a decent living.”

The change in program extended her time to degree completion a bit and coupled with recent changes to the military tuition assistance program, she had to apply for Pell Grant and other funding to pay for classes. “I am so appreciative of the Excelsior scholarship I received when I did,” she said. “It came at a great time and allowed me to continue.”

Not even a pandemic can stop Morris from completing her bachelor’s degree. “I have worked so hard for this for so long, there’s no slowing me down now.” After graduation, Morris plans to continue on for a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. “I want to deal directly with people and be able to see firsthand the impact that I’m having.”

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT QUOTES:

“I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and support in ensuring Active Duty Military personnel such as myself receive an education. With the recent changes to the tuition assistance funding, your help is needed now more than ever.”

“Working 12-hour shifts at the hospital and raising two children makes it difficult to pursue my degree. Financial limitations only add to my barriers to higher education. Your contributions have made it possible for me to attend college this fall and continue to work towards my bachelor’s degree. For the sake of my future and my family, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”

As many adult students struggle with the financial and health impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the attractiveness of short courses and alternative credentials as an alternative to continuing with their degree study is growing at a rate significantly higher than in 2019. According to Inside Higher Ed in August, “Several leading massive open online course providers, coding bootcamps and business schools offering non-degree credentials reported manyfold increases in web traffic, inquiries and enrollments…These new online learners are a mixture of recent college graduates looking to boost their résumés, current or prospective college students trying to get ahead, furloughed or laid-off workers looking to pivot to new careers, and people with stable jobs who are now working from home.”

Such classes are often noncredit and address specific professional needs and developmental skills that serve course takers well in an economy that has been strained by the virus outbreak and in which some 22 million jobs have been lost since the pandemic began. As such, employers are seeking specific skills and applicants who possess specific and contemporary job and knowledge skills. Moreover, students are looking for the same flexibility in learning that they are encountering with their work-from-home arrangements.

According to Credential Engine, a nonprofit that studies alternative credentialing tends, rapid changes in the marketplace have created an environment in which many providers are awarding an array of credentials. These alternative credentials provide students with short-term, affordable, and flexible learning experiences that result in specific, practical competencies and knowledge and skills sets that benefit both the student and the labor market.

Students can find a variety of areas of focus in these credentials. Colleges and universities offering alternative credentials (also referred to as “microcredentials”) typically provide significant information on their websites that guide students to make informed decisions about credential options, pathways, and their value in the job market.

In addition, alternative credentials can also advance equity and access to economic advancement. The relative brevity of these credentials delivers faster, more efficient, and focused skills building. In turn, students are rewarded by more rapid marketability and job success. Earning degrees can contribute to advancing one’s quality of life and earnings potential over a lifetime, but also, over the short-term, alternative credentials provide rapid access to economic advancement and skills acquisition that can contribute to a student successfully climbing more remunerative career ladders.

In addition, as a result of alternative credentials, employers have more detailed and externally validated information to hire more successful and competent employees.

Types of Microcredentials

Microcredentials include a) short courses for specific skills building and b) longer, more professionally focused programs that gradually advance the course taker’s skills level in a professional or industry-focused subject area.

In the Cengage noncredit offerings, known as ed2go, skills-based courses include subject matter such as Homeschool Success and Keys to Effective Communication, whereas the certificates in career training classes are industry aligned and cover areas such as Certified Medical Billing and CompTIA Certifications. These career training courses involve study over longer time periods, gradually building skills cumulatively, culminating in a certificate. Each course with ed2go—whether short or long—yields a certificate of completion that may be shown to prospective employers as evidence of acquiring specific skills and competencies that can lead to better job placement and career advancement, in both the short and long term.