Southwest Virginia Population decline 2010-2018.

Bristol Schools to Teach Cannabis Farming?

by Lewis Loflin

Above: the failed Ralph Stanley Museum typical economic development in Southwest Virginia.

I kid you not, marijuana farming in Bristol. The Bristol City School Board voted 5 to 0 for classes teaching students about cannabis. Well, sort of. Let me back up.

The Virginia Board of Pharmacy in 2018 approved Dharma Pharmaceuticals opening five cannabis oil plants in Virginia. That is also supposed to be at the Bristol Mall with the proposed casino.

Cannabis and gambling the future of Bristol! We thought Indian reservations were dumping grounds for this kind of riff-raff

This includes indoor growing of weed and the production cannibiciol and THC-A oil. The Virginia Dept. of Education must approve the five classes under vocational training. The classes are vague such as "health and medical science, food and agriculture, and greenhouse plant production and management."

Also classes in cybersecurity which have nothing to do with growing cannabis. But these classes are already available at local high schools and community colleges.

Much of this seems to be nonsense. To quote one exited board member, "We already have horticulture and floriculture, but this would go even deeper into using hydroponics for growing vegetables and organic foods..."

But that is already available! A 2-pound bag of carrots cost $1.25 at Aldi's so what is growing them a great expense in a greenhouse supposed to accomplish? They admit the school already has classes on cybersecurity, so what is this really about? They claim there are tons of jobs in cyber security. Not in this area or Bristol.

Let's see a list of those jobs. I forgot, cannabis farming uses cybersecurity experts!

They claim "cybersecurity, how it directly affects food and agriculture, is a specialization a lot of other areas might not have." What??? When did all the illegal alien Mexicans that do most of the agricultural scut work around here become "experts" in cybersecurity?

We already have greenhouses, pick your own strawberries, etc. What is this really about?

I finally found the real goal - money. "Funding is expected to come through the federal Perkins V Act to improve career and technical education." It's money for the school.

Almost everything they do in this community is getting and spending government money. Period.

As a former vocational instructor I can tell them what they really need here: basic science, math, and reading. The sorry levels of education in this community needs more attention than a stupid cannabis growing business. Or wasting more government grants.

What a joke in a City facing fiscal bankruptcy. Ref. BHC 1-8-2019.

Posted 1-28-2019.

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