UMass Law Librarian and Alumna Katelyn Golsby wrote a magazine article about developing and teaching a cannabis business law course while working as a law librarian at Florida International University.
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UMass Law Librarian and Alumna Katelyn Golsby was published in AALL Spectrum Magazine about developing and teaching a cannabis business law course while working as a law librarian at Florida International University (FIU). In the article, My First Rodeo, Golsby outlines how she overcame challenges during each part of the process and balanced the work required to teach the course with her duties as a full-time librarian.
In the article, Golsby recalls the conception of the course, which started from a Bloomberg article sent from a co-worker about the SAFER Banking Act. The SAFER Banking Act allows banks to provide services to the cannabis industry in states where cannabis is legal. The article planted a seed for Golsby to create a course that fit FIU’s course offering needs.
“Laws generally change, but some topics of law change more often and faster than others. This got me thinking about how important it is for lawyers to be able to keep abreast of changes in the laws, and the unique challenges faced by business owners operating cannabis businesses in states that have made it legal to do so.”
Golsby’s article goes on to recount the lessons she learned in the process of creating a course and, at-times comical and humbling, finding herself on the other side with a success story. Originally capped at 15 students, the class quickly grew to 33 students, both delighting and worrying Golsby. Her more-than-expected enrollment catapulted her in to a journey of research and development of how to actualize the course.
The course, Cannabis Business Law, is now offered for graded credit at FIU. In praise of FIU’s library and law school, Golsby reflects on the crucial support she received and urges other law librarians to take their first steps in teaching their first doctrinal course. The article also provides helpful tips for other law librarians who are considering teaching doctrinal law courses.