Derek Oldham,CG

About Me

My name is Derek Oldham and I am proud to offer budtender education and training services for individuals and cannabis businesses throughout Michigan. 

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I am a Certified Ganjier, Health Coach, and Cannabis Educator. My mission and purpose is to train the best budtenders in the midwest.

My path to becoming a Ganjier started out with me working as a river guide in Oregon. There is wisdom in the water, and my time on the river carved me into a good team leader, a fun teacher and storyteller, and a master of crafting peak experiences. 

During the off season, I had the privilege to work for master cultivators in Southern Oregon. After the harvest, I took my earnings and traveled the world. From Thai Stick and Bhang Lassi in Asia, to infused mezcal in Mexico, I have been fortunate enough to experience cannabis culture in 12 countries. I cherish these stories and will often share one in my classes.

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In 2018 I moved from Oregon to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I became a budtender as the market transitioned from medical to adult use. I continued to work as a budtender and dispensary store manager throughout the pandemic, helping to provide medicine and support for the community during a difficult time. The people that came in and shared their healing plant stories with me kept me inspired and hungry for more knowledge.

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This desire lead me to become a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2020. This experience taught me how to ask better questions and embrace the bio-individuality of each person.

During this time I worked with City Council and Decriminalize Nature to successfully change the law to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi in Ann Arbor. At this time I started to cultivate my own medicine that really helped keep me strong and healthy minded while being an essential worker throughout the pandemic.

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In 2021, I was accepted into the first Ganjier certification program to become a designated Master of Cannabis Service and an expert in assessing cannabis products. The Ganjier program is the most comprehensive collection of cannabis knowledge currently available, containing both cutting edge science, and the ancient, forbidden, and nearly forgotten wisdom of the past. I studied, trained, and passed my exams in Humboldt County, and was honored to graduate and receive the title of Certified Ganjier.

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It is now my duty and my privilege to ensure that this knowledge is preserved, passed on, and expanded upon.

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About My Offerings

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I am currently offering Budtender Training Services to budtenders, deep knowledge seekers, cannabis industry professionals, and those looking to get into the space. I have created an 8 hour course that facilitates a deep dive into everything that makes ganja such an important and sacred plant for human beings. From the history and culture to the botany and pharmacology, we cover it all. I will teach you how to be confident on the bud floor, help you match patient requests with the right products, and understand the why behind it all in a fun, engaging and memorable way. I can come to you, or I can host you and your team in Ann Arbor.

I also offer Ganjier SAPS (Systematic Assessment Protocols) scores to growers and extractors. If you have a product that you are really proud of that may not have received the cannabinoid results you were hoping for, a Ganjier's Flower and Concentrate Assessment is a great companion to a lab test.

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While a lab performs a quantitative assessment of safety and cannabinoid content, the Ganjier's Systematic Assessment Protocol assesses all of the character and quality markers of the flower and concentrate. From the cure to the terpenes, appearance, flavors, aroma, and experience, all of these factors determine the true potency of the plant. The full report with generous appearance, aroma, flavor and experience notes will be available for you and other Ganjiers to see, and you will also receive a QR code to your results that can be shared easily on any social media platform.

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My offerings below are just a few of the ways that you can work with me.

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To schedule a Budtender Training Seminar for yourself or your staff, request a Flower or Concentrate Assessment, or for all other inquiries, you can email me directly at   derekoldhamcg@gmail.com. 

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