Governors State Veteran Alumnae Seeks to Serve as a Cannabis Responsible Vendor
Erica Mitchell is still dedicated to serving; a mindset she developed in the U.S. Army. As a veteran since 2014, she has been trained to support her fellow comrades, and that is a mission she takes to heart. Mitchell, who is one of the many female Veteran alumnae of Governors State University, found an opportunity to build on that mission at GSU’s School of Extended Learning (SXL).
She recently completed the Illinois Cannabis Responsible Vendor Training (RVT) self-paced certification course, achieving the first step on her path to owning a Wi-Fi Café that sells cannabis to veterans with medical issues. The course delivered by Illinois Equity Staffing is required for any vendor seeking to sell and distribute Cannabis in the State of Illinois. The former four-hour Saturday workshop shifted to a self-paced online format for convenience and safety during the pandemic. Mitchell is happy that it did.
“I loved the format. I liked the slides that you could write on. I was able to pause and rewind as needed, so I could understand better and go at my own pace. I could reverse and ask questions. I have taken online courses before, but nothing like this,” Mitchell said. “I have been recommending it to everyone I work with. It has notes about all the laws, and it is broken into three sections.”
Mitchell currently works at A Safe Haven, a female-owned organization battling poverty and homelessness; a place where people in crisis can find the food, shelter, treatment, medical care, education, job training and more.
Mitchell says there is a need for medical cannabis in the local veteran community.
“CBD relieves pain, and I see veterans self medicate all the time. I want to take care of them. I do not want to see overdoses. We’re going to do it medically and the right way.”
Mitchell has reached out to the Illinois Department of Public Health to obtain her license. She is hoping that when her café is established that the veterans will refer veterans to her. She’s even thought about the ideal location of her new business venture. “I’d like it to be convenient for the veterans. The VA does do transport, but somewhere between Hines and Jessie Brown would be good,” she said.
What are Mitchell’s next steps? “I am finishing the IRB process to complete my Master of Public Administration/Political Justice Studies at Governors State University." She is also looking to continue her medical cannabis education. SXL offers a new Medical Cannabis Certificate Program, of which the RVT course is the first step, so she is part way there. She will need to learn medical terminology, in-depth medical cannabis information (uses, consumption, and legal aspects), details on the different types of Cannabis, and undergo employment advising services. A Cannabis Project Management Certificate Program is also available for those working in larger corporate environments.
To register for Cannabis courses, contact Michelle Sebasco at msebasco@govst.edu.
For information on GSU Veterans education and why GSU ranks "Best of the Best," visit www.govst.edu/Veterans.