The public health department will offer its first-ever cannabis-focused undergraduate courses starting next spring.
Though housed in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, Cannabis Epidemiology (BPH 370) and The Endocannabinoid System and Human Disease (BPH 371) will be available to the entire undergraduate population. BPH 370 will be a hands-on course exploring how to apply epidemiology through cannabis medicine, and BPH 371 will be a foundational course that seeks to uncover how cannabis helps some patients and hurts others.
Dr. Denise Vidot, a cannabis epidemiologist, earned her Ph.D. at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. While serving on several national educational committees, she engaged in discussions regarding educating future health professionals on medicinal cannabis. Dr. Vidot designed both courses from scratch in order to fill gaps she noticed during her time as an undergraduate student at UM.
Right before Dr. Vidot started college, her father was diagnosed with cancer. Once on campus, she sought out professors who might understand how her father could better utilize medical marijuana in his care, but kept running into dead ends.
“I sat here as a student, saw a gap and even though it took however many years later for it to be a course, it’s like a full circle moment for me,” said Dr. Vidot. “Because now, if there’s any students who have parents or caregivers that are consuming cannabis and they don’t really understand it, they don’t have to be lost.”
Not only is Dr. Vidot making UM history with this class, but these courses are also the first of their kind in the United States entirely. Under federal law, cannabis is considered a Schedule 1 drug. The DEA defines Schedule 1 substances as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Because of its classification and general controversies, Dr. Vidot explained many universities are “risk-adverse” when it comes to teaching about cannabis.
“I hope that [these courses] open the door to show that it can be done in a scientific way and an unbiased way,” said Dr. Vidot. “I also hope that the University of Miami can be the example for other institutions, especially those who have been risk adverse when it comes to teaching about cannabis.”
Bria-Necole Diggs, a Miller School of Medicine PhD in Epidemiology candidate, is a lead member of Dr. Vidot’s Global Cannabis and Psychedelic Research Collaboratory. Her passion for the subject began in Dr. Vidot’s introductory epidemiology course, and she urges students across disciplines to engage.
“With shifting policies, rising consumer use, and increasing scientific interest, now is the ideal time to equip students with the knowledge to address cannabis-related health questions,” said Bria-Necole. “We are at a turning point where public health needs leaders who can responsibly analyze, communicate and apply evidence on cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.”
Dr. Vidot agreed that the courses will be extremely useful to students outside of health-focused studies as well.
“A couple of business students [plan to take the course] because they want to be able to design cannabis lotion products or things like that,” said Dr. Vidot. “[They want to] understand the science before they create their products, which I thought was very smart of them.”
Dr. Vidot is aware of the potential humors relating to such a course — she’s been asked many times if she’ll be bringing “special brownies” to class — but she hopes these courses will help students be a little more open-minded when considering real-world implications of cannabis.
“Not all cannabis is created equal, so it’s not like I’m trying to tell everybody to leverage cannabis as medicine,” said Dr. Vidot. “We’re just trying to show that there’s both positives and negatives, and we want to show the science behind why.”
After an amendment seeking to decriminalize marijuana failed to pass in Florida last November, legislation initiatives to try again in 2026 are already underway. Cannabis and its controversies are likely to be a large conversation in the coming months, and a classroom where the scientific principles are laid out for all to understand might be exactly what students need to make informed decisions next year.