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IDFPR Responsible Vendor Training Organization

Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Manages the Responsible Vendor Training According to the Cannabis Regulation & Tax Act.
Illinois Responsible Vendor Certification

Illinois Responsible Vendor Case Study

The Following Instructional Design Case Study Will Provide You an Example of How We Has Created CUSTOM eLearning Solutions for Our Cannabis Industry Partners & This Gives an Insight Into Our Work. 

State-Mandated Industry Compliance Training

As the legal medical and recreational cannabis industry expands across Illinois, companies within this new marketplace notice a lack of professional quality training to EDUCATE their workforce and maintain compliance. Illinois’ “Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act” provides for the controlled legalization of adult use cannabis in the state. And the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is charged under the Act with implementing and administering MULTIPLE aspects of the “Adult Use Cannabis Program,” including the licensing in the state and oversight of dispensing organizations, dispensary agents, and agent education providers.
Recently, Green CulturED partnered with Elevated Education to bring to market the Illinois Responsible Vendor training, the first-ever comprehensive training program REQUIRED for cannabis industry workers in the state. Elevated Education came to Green CulturED with an idea to create an accredited compliance training for cannabis industry workers to meet government compliance.

Disjointed Cannabis Laws & Industry Guidelines

The piecemeal, state-by-state nature of cannabis legalization prohibits the development of overarching federal laws to regulate the industry. The novelty of the cannabis industry and shifting public opinion about cannabis means that there are more “mainstream” people obtaining jobs in Illinois, increasing the NEED for government cannabis industry compliance training, which may have been largely ignored in the past.

This is becoming a problem for cannabis dispensary owners, managers, and staff. From growers (who may have started as enthusiasts) to retail Dispensary Technicians (who may have been hired for their past customer service or retail experience), the need for CONSISTENT compliance training across the cannabis industry is becoming very apparent. Whether cannabis companies blaze through the challenges or go up in smoke trying, the cannabis industry provides an insightful case study for Illinois employers who must meet the state’s Responsible Vendor annual training requirements.

More often than not, substantial training and development programs are being required to meet compliance requirements as the cannabis industry becomes legalized. With no national standards or “best practices,” owners of cannabis businesses must look to state laws for worker training requirements if ANY exist. Some states require employee registration; others require education on specific topics, like patient confidentiality. Still, other governments have no guidelines or cannabis industry compliance training at all.

Cannabis Industry “Training Gap” Study

A research study by Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research called “Training and Practices of Cannabis Dispensary Staff” published by Nancy A. Haug, Dustin Kieschnick, James E. Sottile, Kimberly A. Babson, Ryan Vandrey, and Marcel O. Bonn-Miller. The study revealed just over half (55%) of dispensary employees have had any FORMAL training regarding cannabis and only 20% had any type of specific medical or scientific training.

Of that group, 94% reported that even though untrained, they provided advice, guidance, or counsel to patients. Research also found recommendations in response to a patient’s conditions are frequently counter (or opposite) to existing empirical literature of recommended cannabis use for disorders. Unfortunately, consumers look to dispensary agents for cannabis ADVICE than physicians when making decisions.

Elevated Education Case Study

An Instructional Product Development Case Study Made Specifically for the Cannabis Industry & How We Were ENGAGED to Design Compliance Training That Created a Custom eLearning Instructional Product.

Project Sponsor: Elevated Education

Elevated Education is a woman and minority-owned firm dedicated to providing high quality, instructional sound training, and educational content. With many years of experience creating courses and curriculum for corporations, colleges and universities, the military, and a wide variety of industries, they have worked CLOSELY with clients to identify and fulfill all of the cannabis industry compliance training requirements.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation, Cannabis Control Section approved Elevated Elevation as an approved Responsible Vendor training provider. This designation authorizes them to DELIVER training for Dispensary Agents, including Dispensary Technicians (aka “Budtenders”), Managers and Agents-in-Charge. The Responsible Vendor training provides Dispensary Agents with compliance industry training on the following cannabis-related topics:

Checking Purchaser Valid Identification

State Law Compliance & Dispensing Cannabis Rules

Identifying Cannabis Impairment Signs

Understanding Cannabis Physiological Effects

Implementing Facility Security Measures

Addressing Cannabis Consumption Health Concerns

The Responsible Vendor compliance training requirements include topics similar to the service-industry education required for serving alcohol called “TIPS” (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) but is tailored to the Illinois cannabis regulatory structure. All dispensing agents currently working in Illinois MUST receive Responsible Vendor training from a provider approved by Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to ensure they have been trained before agents can legally make sales to customers.

Elevated Education’s Business Problem

A rapidly changing legal landscape in Illinois resulted in immense growth in the cannabis industry, creating an education and skills gap that required instructional product development. An eLearning compliance training course was developed by Elevated Education as an IDEAL solution to effectively train state-wide, with consistent, auditable, and accurate information that’s needed in Illinois’ industry.

The legalization of the cannabis industry meant new retail infrastructure, new distribution rules, new licensing rules, and a transition to a new legal framework for growers. Seeing an opportunity to HELP their clients maintain compliance with regulatory laws and frameworks, Elevated Education became one of the very first accredited cannabis compliance industry training companies in the state of Illinois.

Their team wanted to create an eLearning course that they could sell to their clients, to train frontline customer service staff and management in the retail cannabis marketplace. Elevated Education partnered with Green CulturED’s Instructional Design for the entire “Responsible Vendor” compliance training product development and VALUED their team’s ability to deliver on the following:

Expertise in developing custom eLearning solutions for the cannabis industry.

Ability to pull together a project team to execute and deliver the project within a strict time frame.

Flexibility to respond quickly to changing circumstances created by the emerging legislation.

Elevated Education’s Constraints

As Elevated Education needed to develop the “Responsible Vendor” compliance training while regulations were still being drafted, this created SEVERAL constraints:

1. The first constraint was determining what would be in the compliance training. It’s hard to determine the length of a course, the instructional activities, or how long it would take to develop that course when you can’t CLEARLY identify the specific content required (new regulations hadn’t been drafted). Using our ingenuity, we researched and drafted content, making it easier for the experts to vet information.

2. A second constraint was the limited availability of internal technical staff to contribute to the instructional design and product development. The DEMAND for their expertise was extraordinary for Elevated Education’s work as they were required to meet the impending legalization date that was scheduled in the state of Illinois.

3. A third constraint was that Elevated Education did not have an operational Learning Management System (or LMS). We had to get up to speed on the inner workings of what Illinois required in the compliance training since every LMS influences the overall course structure and experience. As this was a government regulated training product to be sold by Elevated Education, we also needed to pay very close attention to the user experience to keep future support costs down to MAXIMIZE profitability. In addition, there were government “Responsible Vendor” reporting requirements to validate the learner’s identity, their training records, and certificates.

Ambassador Program

Partner With One of the Most Trusted Voices in the Cannabis Industry & Join Our Premier Affiliate Program to EARN 30% Recurring ($$$) as Long as Your Referral is a Member of Our Community.

Rapidly Changing Landscape

A rapidly changing legal landscape resulted in immense growth in the cannabis industry and created an education and skills gap. Green CulturED was ENGAGED by Elevated Education to design and create an eLearning solution to train Dispensary Agents in the retail cannabis marketplace. Through our partnership we had the expertise in developing custom instructional products, and for our ability to pull together a project team to execute and deliver the project within a strict time frame.

Develop Custom Solution

The Responsible Vendor compliance training was developed with Articulate Storyline by the Instructional Design team and delivered via Learning Management System (LMS). The compliance training also includes government regulation-based assessment to CONFIRM learning. As a self-paced course, it allows individuals to prepare themselves to work in the rapidly growing industry and allows companies to invest in training for their staff without the cost of developing it themselves.

Project Outcome

Elevated Education has been able to establish a strong position in the marketplace, building on its first-mover advantage in the space. After receiving approval from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) for the course they have been able to market and sell the compliance training to new and existing industry workers.

Partner Feedback

“They were a lifesaver and stepped in at the last minute when it seemed as though we weren’t going to be able to complete our curriculum on time. Their team provided guidance and offered solutions that not only delivered our project on time but a product that we are PROUD of. Their expertise and general know-how was a breath of fresh air.”

Instructional Design Process

Understanding & Following Instructional Design “Best Practices” From the Beginning is Crucial to Success. The eLearning Niche is Vast & You Will Dind Numerous Approaches That Work for Different Experts.

Elevated Education Background Story

Elevated Education has been able to establish custom training programs for clients and continues to build out its curriculum, based on its industry insights and expertise. The growing demand for the Responsible Vendor training provides a SOLID revenue opportunity for Elevated Education and by partnering with Green CulturED was able to bring their in-person classroom “Responsible Vendor” compliance training 100% online.

During this initial accreditation process and as a result of past successes, Elevated Education engaged Green CulturED, to take on the development of this as an additional eLearning project. These additional government compliance training types are MUCH larger and more technical in nature to develop the Responsible Vendor training, yet all the training modules had the same deadline and were completed on time and budget.

Elevated Education had to be honest about their available bandwidth (infrastructure, expertise, and staff) to successfully create certified or credentialed eLearning content. This type of eLearning requires many EXTRA steps, so they took a look at their staff availability, expertise, and knowledge for tackling this project in-house and that’s when they decided to partner with Green CulturED.

1. Engaging Cooperation & Analyze Requirements

As with all our projects, in collaboration with Elevated Education, we established guiding principles to help us MEET the project goals within the constraints. For example, “What are trade-offs we could and couldn’t make?” and “What would govern our decisions?” We ascertained that the timeline was critical, and the information had to be precise, ensuring correct interpretation and application of the regulations.

We also created a list of non-critical enhancements that could be made post-launch. The project could be DELIVERED on time meeting Elevated Education’s objectives, while some value-added features could be included in a later release. Learning objectives for each program were also established, making sure that the approach focused on the application of the new knowledge acquired by all of the learners

The goal of the Responsible Vendor compliance training was to provide comprehensive and efficient training to staff who require BASIC knowledge of cannabis, its effects, standard operating procedures, and the regulations that they must always adhere to.

2. Instructional Design & Creative Process

A challenge with compliance-oriented training can be the amount of legalese and, do’s and don’ts they contain, so significant FOCUS was placed on creating engaging instructional activities relevant to the compliance information. It was essential that the learner understand why it was important to learn the information that was trained on.

The knowledge couldn’t just be because they “had to” – a common challenge with compliance-oriented training. They had to see the importance of their work in the grand scheme of the NEW legalization. As a result, several scenarios were included that showed the potential consequences and personal impact on cannabis industry workers if they are not following the compliance procedures and government regulations.

Rather than SOLELY focusing on the punitive consequences of the legislation, a storyboard was created that included the following:

Content Sequence

Narrative Story Writing

Topics & Story Arc

Learning Activities

3. Build, Test & Modify eLearning Curriculum

Without any draft regulations to work from, subject matter experts identified likely topic areas and wrote the content in each of the IDENTIFIED areas, such as standard operating procedures for retail distribution. A series of individual “Responsible Vendor” training modules were outlined along with associated learning activities and content.

As further information became available the structure of the outlined modules needed to change. Some topics were condensed, others expanded and elaborated upon, and a narrative approach was CREATED that followed a new employee through their learning journey. Partway through the build phase, the development of retail or adult-use cannabis was legalized and, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) was responsible for creating completely new cannabis regulations.

Consequently, the approach taken was to focus on the common areas across all state regulations and note exceptions as they occurred. For example, the legal age of consumption was CONSISTENT across the entire state of Illinois, and in cases where more substantive differences existed, links to specific information on the respective state regulations were created. As the project progressed multiple rounds of versions were created which were each reviewed and modified accordingly following feedback. 

 

4. Responsible Vendor Training Launch

The Responsible Vendor online training was successfully delivered and launched on time. As part of the LAUNCH, Green CulturED worked with Elevated Education to develop a video highlighting the breadth of information covered, and the interactivity and applied nature of the course to support sales. We provided the creation of a promotional video sharing screenshots and training excerpts.

Project Summary

The Illinois Responsible Vendor compliance training was VERY well thought-out, but the client faced many challenges – not just in coordinating the accredited content, but also in entering an emerging market – new cannabis industries – that recently became legal due to government law changes established in the state of Illinois.

Providing the value of continuing education credit was tricky, however, due to the sensitive nature of the cannabis topic. So, Elevated Education applied to the state to become accredited and establish a LONG-standing relationship with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to coordinate and manage the accreditation details of the cannabis industry compliance training.

Thanks to our extensive in-house Instructional Design expertise and knowledge, Green CulturED partnered with Elevated Education to overcome the challenges and successfully launched the compliance training. Thus, Green CulturED has become responsible for knowledge management since we helped GUIDE the process during the Instructional Design process after Elevated Education received its accreditation. The curriculum has also been very well-received by Illinois’ cannabis industry workers. Not only have we had STRONG enrollments, but we have received positive feedback from learners about the training.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find All Your Answers to Questions Frequently Asked About Our Social Equity Program so Learn How We Help a Make an Equitable & Diverse Cannabis Industry.

Depending on if you’re an individual or a licensed business our program benefits vary…

Scholarship Lottery (For Individuals)

A Social Equity Scholarship Lottery winner gets yearlong access to “Headquarters (HQ) Learning Center” (MSRP: $1,764 / Annually) for ambitious leaders who want to increase revenue ($$$), decrease doubt, and accelerate their growth. We combine some incredible community-based learning and mastery certifications with tactical micro-learning, access to our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and a world-class Learning Management System (LMS).

The scholarship winner is automatically chosen based upon a “random selection method” automatically via our LMS platform that will happen each and every MONTH (so no “human beings” on our team will ever choose the “winner” to maintain the integrity of this program).

Business Program (For Operators)

As a Social Equity Business Program participant, your entire team will get a 50% OFF “forever discount” (MSRP: Priceless) on our total eLearning solutions to help owner-operators, start-up entrepreneurs and industry executives ensure compliance and expand their brand… all while building a lucrative and fun business you can truly be proud of.

More cannabis businesses are using total eLearning solutions (like us!) to help grow their brand and accomplish their goals. So whether you’re looking to scale your team to build a bigger business or expand upon the success that you’ve already had… joining our Business Program will help to increase your VALUE in the cannabis industry. We provide the training. We provide the eLearning solutions and world-class support that’ll 100% ensure compliance.

It depends on the Social Equity Program…

Scholarship Lottery (For Individuals)

Every month participants are automatically chosen by a “random selection method” via our Learning Management System (LMS) to objectively determine each month’s winner. To participate in this “Headquarters Learning Center” (or “HQ” for short) scholarship and have this opportunity for one (1) year of FREE access (MSRP: $1,764 / Annually), you must…

  • Be part of an under-represented group in the cannabis industry, examples include (but are not limited to): BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women-owned, military veterans, etc.
  • You have been negatively impacted by the “War on Drugs” by being arrested or convicted of selling, possession, use, manufacturing, or cultivation of any cannabis.

Important: We’ll occasionally ask participants to “leave a review” or do a “shout-out” on social media for our team to VERIFY the winners (and ensure our program isn’t abused).

Business Program (For Operators)

Every qualifying business will receive a 50% OFF “forever discount” (MSRP: Priceless) on all their team enrollments and there are never any usage limitations, but you must always be designated as Social Equity (SE), Economic Empowerment (EE) & Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). To be eligible for our Business Program, you will be required to complete an application and provide license documentation from government regulator(s) to verify.

Monthly scholarship(s) are awarded and licensed business (verified) are always granted…

Scholarship Lottery (For Individuals)

The Social Equity Scholarship Lottery is completely automated via our platform’s Learning Management System (LMS) through a “random selection method” that enrolls WINNERS automatically into our “Headquarters (HQ) Learning Center” (MSRP: $1,764 / Annually).

Business Program (For Operators)

All Social Equity Business Program applicants will have their application reviewed by our team on a weekly basis and if you meet the requirements then you’ll be granted a 50% OFF “forever discount” (MSRP: Priceless) to enroll your team. The number of awards will never be limited for businesses, it’s just the volume of eligible applicants that we receive may cause some delays when reviewing your application. We aim to support 100% of the businesses that are eligible so you’ll see how we want this Business Program to make a lasting impact!

Every person or business can always join, at any time… we NEVER placed limitations that would ever stop a human being from participating in our Scholarship Lottery every month or eligible licensed operations to utilize our Business Program for our total eLearning solutions.

It depends on where you’re located (aka “legal jurisdiction“)…

  • Scholarship Lottery (For Individuals): Anyone who’s located anywhere in the world has the RIGHT to learn about cannabis regardless of your local jurisdiction’s laws (ex. country, state/province, territory, etc.) so you can participate wherever you’re living.
  • Business Program (For Operators): Only Social Equity (SE), Economic Empowerment (EE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) applicants and similar licenses.

Monthly or weekly depending on the Scholarship Lottery or Business Program…

  • Individual Scholarships (For Individuals): Lottery Winner(s) Awarded Monthly
  • Business Program (For Operators): Team Reviews Applications Weekly

A wide variety of ways… if you have any family or friends who would LOVE to participate in this month’s Social Equity Scholarship Lottery, you can easily share it (click here). But we are always excited to collaborate with other policy, technology, and media organizations that focus on enhancing social and racial equity in the industry so just email us if you want to help!

If you have any questions… you can always start a live chat via our platform, reach out to us on any social network, or contact us via email at Info (@) GreenCulturED.co. If needed we’ll schedule a Zoom webinar/meeting to assist with ANY Business Program onboarding too.

Our Mission

We’re Green CulturED and we’re on a mission. It’s simple, but a VERY powerful mission: We will train 1,000,000+ individuals over the next five (5) years on everything there’s to know about cannabis and help ensure regulatory compliance, reduce risk, and increase profitability.

If we achieve this mission, we will create 100’s of 1,000’s opportunities for individuals that will add BILLIONS to the global economy. That’s a big deal! It’s an important mission and we’re “radically committed” since we believe it will change the world, yet we need your help.

Why? We do this because we believe this industry is the most challenging, interesting, and rewarding field there is. And finally, we do it for YOU. In the end, it’s our community that matters. We learn from you. We’re thankful for you… if you share our vision, let’s get started!

Evan Erickson

Evan Erickson

Chief Training Officer

Our Founder's Message

“How do you describe your training? Underwhelming? Non-existent? If you’ve said anything other than a “well-oiled machine,” then you’re at the RIGHT place if you want to transform ordinary training into a perfected eLearning solution.

Is training actually making a MEASUREABLE difference to you? I often ask this question about my “learning experiences” when I got started in cannabis, I didn’t like the answer. That’s why we’re here, so you will always be a cannabis expert.

In the spirit of “open-sourcing” our eLearning solutions you’ll find our ground-breaking training, industry strategies, and Ed-Tech to learn everything you need (or actually GROW your biz) and much more… without all of those headaches.”

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