INCREASE SALES with
Stand out from the competition + create customer loyalty in ONE DAY
CannaReps CEO explains how team training increases sales and how we keep your employees engaged with ever-new cannabis products.
Watch now ☝️
- Deliver a well-informed experience that consumers appreciate and enjoy
- Win customer trust and loyalty by delivering a consistent and educational experience
- Build a team culture that shapes your community and the industry
Canada’s 1st and ONLY Cannabis Sommelier Certification.
Recognized by the industry. Made for professionals and passionate connoisseurs.
SELL MORE, WITH CONFIDENCE
Empower your team with the tools and knowledge to provide effective cannabis guidance
- We transform a novice into a professional in 8 hours of education and hands-on activities
- Get up to speed with all the products in 50+ hours of classroom discussions
- Win over all types of customers from newbie to astute by providing effective and responsible cannabis guidance.
- See customer referrals roll in as you build a community of cannabis lovers
- Learn the language and create a relatable experience for the customer by translating technical terms like cannabinoid potency, terpene profiles, ancestry, and production method.
- No cannabis experience? No problem! We transform a novice into a professional in 8 hours of education and hands-on activities
-
Industry professionals feel confident and compliant with standards
in their communication - Training strengthens your team culture and enables a consistent customer experience. Your team's ability to provide accurate information, and effective cannabis guidance is the key to building loyalty and referrals, and to driving growth.
Budtender training that wows customers
- Get the sales template that helps you talk about cannabis and sell more, while staying compliant with regulations
- Provide powerful product recommendations that reassures your customers to come back for more
- Stay up to date up with leading-edge content and market insights provided in LIVE WEEKLY study hall sessions
- Connect with the budtender community instructors, & industry professionals
- Build a team culture that shapes your community and the industry
Budtenders are the most influential people in shaping the cannabis industry. When they are given the tools and tangible skills to effectively help customers, they become effective at their job and more passionate about cannabis and serving their customers. Budtenders create a community of customers that results in increased loyalty, referrals, and growth.
Training strengthens your team culture and enables a consistent customer experience. When your team is empowered with the compliant language and shares the same foundational knowledge, they can work together to efficiently serve all types of customers. That means a customer shouldn’t wait to talk to a knowledgeable person.
Be the ‘sticky icky’
Good educational content between customers and teams creates long term relationships.
Increase customer loyalty and employee retention in 1 day.
Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 Certification
A trained and knowledgeable cannabis guide that has mastered product appreciation and best practices.
This is what Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 Graduates can do:
- Positively impact lives and provide effective and safe product recommendations for all types of consumers in an approachable manner
- Demonstrate expert knowledge of cannabis history, ancestry, and culture
- Interact easily with all types of consumers about cannabinoid potency, terpene ratio, ancestry, bud integrity, production method, and quality assessment
- Explain the factors that lead to cannabis quality and detect quality issues
- Clarify any misconceptions about cannabis and properly categorize a cannabis menu beyond ‘Indica’ and ‘Sativa’
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Tell the story about each cannabis product and articulate its aromatic and tasting notes
- Use compliant language to represent the cannabis industry in a responsible way
- Work to remove the stigma associated with cannabis by conducting ourselves in a professional manner, and staying up to date with cannabis science
Flexible Ways to Train Your Team
Register anytime, learn at your own pace, complete your exam when you’re ready.
Your course access never expires.
Small Teams
(single registration
up to 5 students)
Self-guided, interactive online learning
Go at your own pace: certify yourself in 1 day, over a weekend, or take as long as you like!
What you get in the program:
- 8+ hours of engaging videos and demonstrations
- Fun & interactive hands-on activities with focus on sensory skill development
- Cannabis Sommelier Student PDF Workbook and curated resources
- Lifetime Level 1 online course access—available on desktop, iOS and Android mobile devices with an internet connection
- Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 Certificate of Completion
PLUS live Study Hall sessions with our instructors and community for 6 months!
Online, Self Guided
Retailer Program
(6 students or more)
Easy employee onboarding as you grow
Lock in your team pricing now so it never increases!
Empower each team member with the most up-to-date cannabis knowledge as you grow. Deliver a consistent and confident experience that your customers can count on.
Establish a company culture of product knowledge, science, and cultural awareness that builds your organization. Quickly and conveniently onboard new members as your team grows.
Get everything in the self-guided online program including all the video course content and Cannabis Sommelier Level 2 Certificate of Completion
- Start by purchasing 6 or more registrations
- Easy online payment options by credit card or e-transfer, or request an invoice at checkout!
- We setup your Team Administration page
- Easily enroll each team member online whenever they’re ready to start!
Industry professionals benefit greatly in our Study Hall sessions where we discuss the latest science and products on the market with other students and alumni
Custom Private Training
(In-Person or Live Webinar)
Certify your entire team in 1 day!
The preferred team-building and employee onboarding training experience where we customize the content to your company’s needs.
Your entire team can learn all at once, and ask instructors live questions throughout the day.
- LIVE private & customized 8-hour interactive webinar
- Follow along with our Cannabis Sommelier Student Workbook and curated resources
- Includes lifetime access to online resources
- 1-day live certification for your entire team or customized live learning sessions plus optional online certification. We have options to fit your team!
Private customized sessions and industry expert insights for your entire team.
What you’ll learn
Level 1 Certification Program
Learn how to give appreciation and respect to the ancestry, history and culture of cannabis from around the world by being able to identify its lineage and grade its quality.
Break down the various cannabinoids and chemicals that the plant can produce.
Learn the solvent-free and solvent-based extraction methods and the potency ranges of each product type.
Learn to provide safe guidance with each consumption method.
Learn about the endocannabinoid system and entourage effect. Gain an understanding of why cannabis effects people differently and the medical contraindications for cannabis use.
Learn how to distinguish between low, medium, and high-quality cannabis. Identify potential issues with bud contamination and problematic bud.
Learn the compliant language and approach to guide cannabis consumers safely and effectively. Know how to engage with anyone on cannabinoid potency, terpene profiles, ancestry, and production method.
Learn anywhere, anytime.
Plus, join us in our LIVE Study Hall sessions.
What you'll get in the Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 core certification program:
- 8+ hours of engaging videos and demonstrations
- Cannabis Sommelier Toolkit ($89 value) shipped to you—free shipping within Canada & US
- Fun & interactive hands-on activities with focus on sensory skill development—cannabis skills you'll use every day!
- Cannabis Sommelier Student Workbook and curated resources—all the research you need to truly understand cannabis.
- Lifetime access to your Level 1 online course content—available on desktop, iOS and Android mobile devices with an internet connection
- Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 Certificate of Completion
Plus, we've added live Study Hall sessions with our instructors for 6 months.
- Join a community of professionals and enthusiasts and converse about cannabis at an informed level
- Stay up to date with new cannabis SKU's and product feedback from real budtenders across the country
- Get expert insights, cannabis product reviews, and exclusive bonus content
- Learn the latest updates on cannabis science, cannabinoids, terpenes, genetics, cultivation—Adolfo's live feed to students every week!
For the best learning experience, we recommend you acquire your own cannabis to use as learning samples with the toolkit and digital resources we provide. A list of recommended cultivars will be provided to you after you complete your enrolment.
Not able to obtain cannabis? Don’t sweat it. You can still learn with our videos and Study Hall sessions. Just like a cooking show, you don’t need all the ingredients on hand to learn how to cook a dish.
Featured In
Our Cannabis Sommeliers LOVE our tools and techniques,
and positively impacting lives every day
“Novice, intermediate or expert—regardless of your cannabis knowledge, CannaReps will educate you, engage you, and leave you feeling excited and better informed for you part in the industry. Inspirational speakers, hands-on learning, and a course unlike any other!”
📢 Listen to what Mitchell has to say about our Team Training program!
Mitchell Flann – Retail Training Manager of West Coast Cannabis Store / Hierarchy Brands
Without a doubt, I would certainly recommend the CannaReps course. I couldn’t possibly speak poorly of it because there’s nothing that does what CannaReps does. There’s a lot of courses based on the legal market, based on how to interpret the laws in Canada—and teaching Basic Cannabis 101, there’s lots of that, too. But when it comes to an in-depth, fact-based, proven level of knowledge that’s provided by people who’ve specified in cannabis for a very long time, there’s nothing like CannaReps.
West Coast Cannabis Store/
Hierarchy Brands
Professionally, I’ve been able to better understand what the patients need and guide them towards a higher quality product and a product that will match their preferences, as well. What our patients appreciate is they see that I understand what I’m talking about, where a lot of the doctors they consult with are not comfortable guiding them through this journey.
Concord Medical Centre
The Cannabis Sommelier course features that I love the most would definitely have to be the high-quality materials, and the practicality and hands-on components of the course that supports those materials.
For anyone looking to take the Cannabis Sommelier course, I would tell them that to be a competent and confident cannabis consultant, cannabis sommelier, or just a passionate connoisseur, this is an absolute must.
Eminence Organic Skin Care
- You're passionate about cannabis
- You want to deepen your knowledge and DO something to HELP people in their cannabis journey
- You want clarity for your own personal consumption
- You desire to or currently work in the cannabis industry and move the industry forward
- You're humble to know what you know today might be outdated or not true and be willing to receive new information
- You are skeptical and believe that cannabis does NOT improve lives
- You are under the legal age in your province or state
- You believe that cannabis is reserved for “stoners” and should be criminalized and illegal
Get Your Training Costs Covered / Reimbursed
Your company may be eligible for a training cost reimbursement, provided by provincial government programs. Select programs are listed below. Provinces not listed here may also qualify for reimbursement — please check with your provincial body.
Provincial Training Grants
Job Grant BC: https://www.workbc.ca/Employer-Resources/BC-Employer-Training-Grant/What-is-the-B-C-Employer-Training-Grant.aspx
CannaReps is eligible for the BC employer training program provides financial assistance for employers who wish to purchase training for their employees. It’s available to any business (small, medium, big) planning to deliver training to existing and new employees. Employers are eligible to receive up to $300,000 per fiscal year (April 1 – March 31). Reimbursement amounts vary between 60% and 100% depending on the training stream.
Privately operated stores. Wholesale and distribution control through AGLC
The legal age of consumption is 18+
If you want to work in Alberta here are the requirements:
- 18+
- Complete the Sellsafe certification
- Apply for Qualified Cannabis Worker (https://aglc.ca/forms/application-qualified-cannabis-worker)
If you work in the recreational market, there are some regulations you should know, for example, you’re not allowed to:
- sell to people under 18
- give medical advice
- sell more than 30 grams
- open/show the product in-store
Job Grant Alberta:
https://www.alberta.ca/canada-alberta-job-grant.aspx
CannaReps training is eligible for the Canada-Alberta Job Grant. It provides direct financial assistance for employers who wish to purchase training for their employees. It’s available to any business (small, medium, big) planning to deliver training to existing and new employees.
Employers only need to contribute a minimum of ⅓ of the total training costs for existing employees. If hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs could be covered, up to $15,000 per trainee.
Only private retailers are operating. Regulated by AGCO
Wholesale and distribution are controlled by the Ontario Cannabis Store.
The legal age of consumption is 19+.
If you want to work in the cannabis industry you only need to be 19+ and do the Cannsell certification.
If you work in the recreational market there are some regulations you should know, for example, you’re not allowed to:
- sell to people under 19
- give medical advice
- sell more than 30 grams
- open/show the product in-store
Job Grant Ontario: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/cojg/
CannaReps courses are eligible under the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG). It provides direct financial assistance for employers who wish to purchase training for their employees. It is available to any business (small, medium, big) planning to deliver training to existing and new employees.
Employers with 100 or more employees need to contribute 1/2 of the training costs. Small employers with less than 100 employees need to contribute 1/6 of training costs.
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Top 5 Tips for
Cannabis Retailers
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Meet Your Instructors
The master educator of the CannaReps crew, Adolfo brings 20+ years of experience as a grower, community organizer, researcher, and consultant in the cannabis industry. Whether you’re an eager student or an industry veteran, Adolfo inspires people to adopt the ‘eternal learner’ mindset when it comes to cannabis because he believes that it can change lives and help communities heal when we treat the plant and its users with respect and understanding. Adolfo’s advocacy for dispensaries, clients, and deeper research in cannabis often see him at the head of the room, presenting his research and moving public policy forward.
Julie provides exemplary cannabis education and helps cannabis companies deliver the ultimate customer experience. Breaking barriers comes naturally to Julie, as the first Canadian female Apple Expert trainer, and the pioneer that obtained the first cannabis compassion club business license in Canada, while winning Lift industry awards 3 years in a row. As one of the rare women of colour CEO’s in the industry, Julie is humbly committed to removing stigmas, building community, and increasing industry standards for high-quality products and compassionate service.
Questions? Book a time with a CannaReps personnel
Or send us a message
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re a beginner who’s curious about the budding industry, a current industry professional who’s looking to brush up on cannabis product knowledge, or an entrepreneur looking to expand their knowledge—this course is the right answer for you! We give you solid, proven, evidence-based data that is as up-to-date as possible so you leave the class with all the top information.
The Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 program is great for beginners as the content provides critical and foundational concepts to understanding cannabis. We have had many cannabis “newbies” take the course and by the end, they feel empowered and confident in their cannabis knowledge. As this is a comprehensive program, you don’t need to do any additional reading or study prior to the program. A list of recommended articles, publications, and books to further your knowledge is provided in our references section.
Our Cannabis Sommelier courses were originally developed for in-person learning in a classroom setting where learners can study cultivars hands-on. This year, we’ve redeveloped Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 into an online course and packed it with even more valuable content.
This new delivery format gives us three advantages:
- A lower price point!
In-person, Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 is normally $480 (plus travel expenses for out-of-town learners). We’re now able to offer the online course for just $347 CAD! Tuition is subject to change. - The convenience of learning at your own pace!
The program is now self-guided so you can pause, review a section, or take a break as life demands without losing access. We welcome all types of learners and are even more easily available to clarify concepts and answer questions. - Learn online from anywhere!
The course content is accessible anytime from your computer or mobile device, as long as you have an internet connection. So many of you have asked us to come to your city or country—now we can learn in the comfort of your own home! - Study Hall sessions!
We’ve never been able to offer this to students before! Your online certification includes a bonus of 6 months of Study Hall sessions with Headmaster Adolfo. We also make these videos available for playback in case you miss them.
This is a hybrid of an online course and live training. The core content is offered on our website where you get a combination of videos, hands-on activities, quizzes, and reference hand-outs. The live component is our bi-weekly Study Hall sessions which we have not been able to offer our alumni community until now. The fun and relaxed sessions is where you get to the latest updates on all things cannabis—directly from our instructors. Ask all your questions, connect with other learners, and stay up-to-date on the latest cannabis products and science. Not only does Adolfo deliver extra bonus content every session, but this is also a great networking opportunity for those interested in the cannabis industry!
- Not able to obtain cannabis? Don’t sweat it. You can still learn all the core content by watching our videos and attending the Study Hall sessions. Just like a cooking show, you don’t need all the ingredients on-hand to learn how to cook a dish!
Yes, this course is available internationally, and we already have students across the USA and around the world. (If our checkout doesn’t ship to your country, send us an email!)
One of the hurdles that you may encounter is your ability to access cannabis depending on the laws applicable to your state or country. However, you don’t need to have cannabis on hand to enjoy the program, as you can still learn by watching us complete the demonstrations. Regardless of your ability to access cannabis, we send you a Cannabis Sommelier Kit. (The kit does not contain any cannabis)
Bulk registrations for Cannabis Sommelier Level 1 can be purchased in quantities of 6 or more at $297 CAD. You’ll be sent unique codes to enrol each team member now or in the future as your team grows. Contact us at trainmyteam@cannareps.ca for more information.
This is a self-paced course, with a total of 8-10 hours of instructional lessons. All the topics are broken down into mini-lessons so you can stop for a break after each lesson or activity. The best experience is to take the course in sequence as the course is designed in a building block style where each lesson is a foundation for the next. The last lesson ties in all the learning provided in previous sections.
We believe so strongly in our courses that you will gain knowledge and confidence about cannabis for your own consumption and guidance for others. If you feel that you are unsatisfied with the course content and that it did not add value to your understanding of cannabis, please contact us within 30 days and we will give you a refund minus the cost and shipping of the Cannabis Sommelier kit (valued at $89) as you get to keep it.
We are considering offering parts of Level 2 content online such as the lectures and theories in the near future so please stay tuned. The interactive and sensory development components are impossible to conduct online as there is a large component of smelling and handling products—many of which are difficult to find on the market. There are also regulatory restrictions preventing us from shipping out cannabis products and we must adhere to them.
Level 2 is a very fun and interactive experience, where it is worth meeting and learning with other cannabis community members. The activities we have designed include group work and the discussions among the students are very valuable to cement your learning. We hope to be able to host Level 2 sessions in select cities across Canada this fall.
Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for course date announcements.
Age verification required to ensure students are of legal age to access Cannabis.
18+ in Alberta, 21+ in Quebec, 19+ in all other Canadian provinces, 21+ in the USA.
