18 Jan 2017

Pets and Cannabis

by Trey Reckling | posted in: Cannabis Institute | 0

In fact, if you’re getting your animal high purely for your enjoyment, it’s highly unethical and could cause your pet to be very uncomfortable and anxious. Rather, this article is about the emerging market and uses of cannabis in veterinary medicine.

The endocannabinoid system in the human body is thought to regulate sleep, hunger, inflammations, autoimmune function, and more. It produces endogenous, or naturally occurring, cannabinoids, which are very similar to the phytocannabinoids present in cannabis. Because we have receptors specifically designed to receive cannabinoids, it makes cannabis a very effective and safe medicine for humans. And all vertebrate animals — from snakes to elephants — have this endocannabinoid system.

Using cannabis to treat animals is in the very early stages right now, but there is some history of its use. In the early 1900’s, veterinary medicine used cannabis tinctures to treat herd animals for bloating, dysentery, and other gastrointestinal conditions. Due to prohibition, however, research on the efficacy of cannabis use in veterinary medicine has been limited, and professional organizations are unwilling to support its use, so licensed veterinarians are understandably hesitant to recommend cannabis therapies to pet owners.

But advances in developing cannabis for different medical applications in humans have resulted in the introduction of cannabidiol, or CBD, which is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid that can be extracted from both cannabis and hemp. Because it doesn’t have an intoxicating effect, CBD-based medicine for pets has been slowly gaining traction.

While more research is required, many anecdotal stories from pet owners and some veterinarians about the benefits of CBD in pet care have increased the interest of pet owners around the world. The potential that this therapy could help heal their pets — with possibly few side effects, when compared with more intensive pharmaceutical therapies — is quite exciting.

As interest increases and the success stories are shared, a variety of CBD-based pet treats are being introduced to the market. CBD can be derived from both cannabis and hemp, however, its future is currently uncertain. The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently stated that it is reevaluating CBD — even if it’s extracted from hemp — and may include them in their drug scheduling. This is contrary to the Farm Bill signed by President Obama, so a lawsuit has already been filed to challenge any move to make CBD illegal by the DEA.

If you’re considering using cannabis-based medicine with your pet, please do so under the professional direction of a licensed veterinarian. This can present a bit of a challenge, however, given that the industry has not yet come out in support of using cannabis with pets.

In general, it’s a good idea to go ‘low and slow’ to avoid overdoing it when trying to establish the appropriate dosage for your pet. Be sure to monitor their behavior and reactions closely, as well.

Additionally, I encourage you to only use products derived from organic, US-grown hemp in order to avoid the pesticides and heavy metals sometimes found in Chinese hemp.

Do you have experience with using cannabis to treat your pet’s medical condition? If so, please share in the comments below!

11 Jan 2017

Instructor Spotlight: Annie Dumont

Even all-natural cleaning and personal care products can have extra ingredients to preserve them and ensure they’re shelf-stable.

A great way to ensure that you’re using 100% all-natural products is to make them yourself.

After a personal love affair with creating soaps and other cleaning products for herself and her family, Annie Dumont decided to go into business to share her passion with the world.

She is now offering her DIY Natural Products series of workshops at Seattle Central, which cover the following:

Learn more about Annie’s background and approach, and then download her DIY toothpaste how-to guide below.

4 Jan 2017

Learn From the Entrepreneurial Experts

by Kat Oak | posted in: Featured Classes | 0

Owning a successful business is a big dream — one that can easily turn into a nightmare if you’re not fully prepared to be an entrepreneur.

Even if you’re great at what you do, actually running a business requires a lot of hard work, a variety of skills unrelated to your core service or offering, and being financially savvy enough to give your business the time and space it needs to grow.

A few years ago, Jeff Leavy created The Entrepreneurship Toolkit for Seattle Central College’s Business and Technology department, largely in response to the community’s need for more training and guidance in the world of small business. This year, he passed the reigns to one of the classes’ long-time expert lecturers, Michael Coffey, so we asked both Jeff and Michael to share more about their backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives on this class.

We’ll be offering this course again during Spring 2017, so read on to learn whether or not this class is the right fit for you.

Jeff: Three years, then I handed it off to the very capable Michael Coffey.

Michael: I’m brand new and an old hand at this. I first got involved with the Entrepreneurship Toolkit class as a guest speaker a few years ago.

I met Jeff Levy, who created this class, when I was a Business Assistance Officer at the Washington Women’s Business Center. When I left to launch my own business as a digital strategist for small business, he asked me to come in and present some key ideas of marketing online. This also led to my designing and teaching the Marketing Fundamentals class.

I’ve been coming in as a guest speaker almost every quarter since then, but Fall 2016 was my first time as the instructor for the full course.

Jeff: The dean at the time felt that Seattle Central College had an opportunity to be a center of excellence in entrepreneurship. I am a subject matter expert in that field and also a community college graduate. It was time to give back and provide some inspiration.

Michael: Aside from simply the necessity (Jeff Levy had conflicts that prevented him from teaching), the importance of this class is twofold.

First, I think it’s important for everyone to view starting a business as a possibility for them to consider. Not every business idea is great. Not every person is ready to start a business. But there is still a lot of inequality in who starts a business, and I think our economy would be more vibrant and diverse if more people considered business ownership. And the first step toward that is helping people see that starting their own business is a possible option for them.

Second, on the flip side, it’s also very important that those who do start a business are well informed about the process when they do so. Being a hard worker is not enough. Being good at what you do is not enough. Being passionate is not enough. Jumping in without having a good picture of what the experience of entrepreneurship is leads to a huge percentage of business failures. The misconceptions about entrepreneurship can be deadly to a business venture.

Jeff: Most of my other work are two hour seminars, and this is more hands-on and discussion-based.

Michael: Much of what I teach, both as a digital strategist and at Seattle Central, is about technical skills.

The Marketing Fundamentals class is an overview of marketing skills and concepts. I’ve taught classes about how to set up your own business website, or use Google+ as both a social media channel and to improve search engine optimization. But Entrepreneurship Toolkit is more about the entrepreneurs themselves. It’s about the bigger picture of both designing your ideal life, and based on that personal vision, thinking about business ownership as a potential way of realizing that vision. That’s very different than how most people think of starting a business.

Of course, there are also skills involved, and evaluating whether you’re ready now or if you have more work to do, and so forth, but the core of the class is the idea of whether a particular business idea will serve your life.

Jeff: Anyone entering the work force or needing to work their way through the “New Career Economy.”

Today, 31% of the work force is 1099, contract employees and that is projected to grow to 50% over the next 15-20 years. New workers need survival skills, both intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial. This class provides that.

Michael: Anyone who wonders about starting their own independent business, or buying a franchise.

This class is a great way to “try on” what it might be like to own a business, and what it would take to be successful — without the substantial costs in money and time of really starting one.

I’d love it if all the students were successful in business, it’s also sometimes a success if a student realizes, “I was about to start, but I know now that I need to learn more about how accounting (or whatever) works first.” Or that their personal goals are better achieved through traditional employment. Or that they need to prioritize building savings first before financing a startup.

Anyone who’s not sure about those kinds of priorities would get a lot out of this class.

Jeff: When a student that was also taking a class called Art and Anarchy told me he loved my class when he realized there was no financial security in anarchy. Wow!

Michael: We recently were visited by a librarian from the Seattle Public Library, Jay Lyman.

Many of the students were stunned (in a good way!) by how much detail could be gleaned about their potential customers, competitors, and industry, using free library resources. The “aha” was not just what data was in which database, but that it was even possible to find these things out.

I could almost see thoughts like “Wait, if you can see that, I bet you could also figure out…” cross many faces.

28 Dec 2016

Instructor Spotlight: Gilberto Nunez-Lira

by Kat Oak | posted in: Featured Instructors | 0

21 Dec 2016

Hands-On Guidance in Caring for Your Home

by Kat Oak | posted in: Featured Classes | 0

How are you treating your treasure? Do you need some guidance on caring for your home?

The dream of home ownership can quickly become a nightmare if you’re not prepared in the basics of home repair and maintenance.

Knowing simple things like repairing a damaged wall, replacing a leaking pipe under the sink, and preparing for cold weather are key in keeping your home safe and comfortable.

Expert contractor Peter Marx has been guiding folks in his Basic Hands-On Home Repair and Maintenance workshops over the past two decades.

“I don’t know everything — and I don’t pretend to,” he laughs. “But what I can do is offer my opinion and experience, and show them where they can find more resources.”

We asked him to share with us more about his class, why he teaches it, and why you should join him for his next series of hands-on workshops.

I was a self-employed contractor and cabinet maker since college, eventually becoming a vendor and installer for Corel solid surface coutertops. One of my largest vendors was a local home improvement chain called Ernst Hardware, and when they went out of business, my business took a huge hit.

So I went to a vocational counselor, who advised me that I had a lot of great experience in building and construction, and that I should find a way to share that with others. And I love doing that — I have decades of knowledge and experience, and it’s great to give that back to my community.

Like all of my workshops, this is a hands-on class, and I’ve developed the curriculum so that students can actually do things in the class versus a discussion of theory and simply watching a demonstration.

That’s actually quite unusual for a home repair class; usually it’s a demo and discussion, and students go home to try things out on their own. I’ve set up an environment that gives folks the opportunity to actually do the work, versus just watching or talking about it.

This means they’ll retain more of the information, and feel more confident when they’re working on these repairs at home by themselves.

I provide my students with a resource sheet so they’ll know who is reputable to work with in the area, but here are a few tips to consider when you’re looking for guidance online or from a book:

If you’re watching a project on TV or YouTube, realize that the time is condensed and your project will actually take a lot longer than how it’s presented
Check who is producing a home improvement show, book, or guide to ensure that they’re a reputable source of information
Large home improvement stores often have great how-to guides for projects
Your home’s design or materials may differ from what is presented in the show, book, or guide, so be certain to review it thoroughly before you start

Most importantly, don’t take on any projects that you don’t feel you have the skills to complete! But if you do, and you need to work with a pro to finish it, you can learn great skills in communicating with them in my class.

14 Dec 2016

Can Cannabis Help With Our Opiate Crisis?

by Trey Reckling | posted in: Cannabis Institute | 0

In 2014, more people died from drug overdose than any year on record in the US. Six out of ten of these deaths were from opiates, about 47,000 people. As the Centers for Disease Control notes, “Since 1999, the amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. nearly quadrupled, yet there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.”

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, on an average day in the United States:

More than 650,000 opioid prescriptions are dispensed
3,900 people initiate non-medical use of prescription opioids
580 people initiate heroin use
78 people die from an opioid-related overdose

Physicians nationwide are now re-evaluating prescribing practices that have contributed to the crisis. When physicians cut off prescriptions to these painkillers, many patients seek out other sources, by “doctor shopping” or going to illegal, underground markets for heroin. The drug has become readily available in even the smallest of American cities.

Ironically, heroin began as a pharmaceutical drug. The Bayer Company began an aggressive heroin marketing campaign in 1898, even marketing the product for children! But as science and understanding of the drug expanded, the therapeutic use was decreased.

However, sometimes the profit motives of a company outweigh the public’s best interest; for example, Purdue Pharma once touted OxyContin as its new “miracle pill” for pain — claiming that, because it was time-released, it posed little to no threat of addiction. They have since been fined $600 million dollars after pleading guilty of intentionally misleading the public about the risks it posed.

For all of the concerns about legal cannabis, we continue to learn about the positive benefits of legalized marijuana:

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article in 2014 that indicated in states with legalized medical marijuana, there were 25% fewer overdose deaths related to prescription painkillers. Additionally, these states also see an equal percentage decrease in the number of opiate-based prescriptions being written.

Researchers have also analyzed traffic fatality information from 1999 – 2013 in eighteen US states. Data showed that those states that had legal medical marijuana had fewer fatal crashes of drivers with opioids in their system.

In addition to the taxes it raises and the money that is saved on law enforcement, medical marijuana has a positive economic impact on our healthcare costs, saving an estimated $165.2 million in Medicare prescription fees.

In general, people with access to medical marijuana take fewer prescription drugs. Here are a few of the reasons why:

Pain relievers such as Naproxen or Ibuprofen can significantly increase a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke
Up to 90% of opioid users can experience constipation
Opiates can compromise the immune system
Opioid use can cause hormone imbalances

Prior to legal interventions, the medicinal benefits of cannabis had been known throughout the world for generations. We are only just now rediscovering many of its therapeutic benefits, and how it can be used to manage many chronic health conditions with significantly less side affects than synthetic drugs.

Simply identifying a problem and talking about it will not resolve it; we will need creative solutions and dedicated citizens if we hope to address the opiate crisis in the US. We’ve tried — and failed — to police addiction, so it’s time to consider some new approaches to this problem.

What can you do?

Explore the data on medical marijuana that’s already available
Advocate for further research studies
Learn more about how marijuana can help with pain management by taking our Pain Management and Cannabis Therapy online course
Discuss medical marijuana with the people you know
Talk to your healthcare provider about how medical marijuana might support your health goals, or find a healthcare provider who has the background and interest in exploring the topic with you

As access to medical cannabis expands throughout the country, I’m hopeful that it will have a positive impact on communities. It’s already helping tens of thousands of people to manage their health, and it also seems to be saving lives. And that’s a ray of hope that I will embrace.

7 Dec 2016

Organizing Workshops Help You Get It Together

by Kat Oak | posted in: Featured Classes | 0

Do you have a hall closet that could double as a Tetris board? Are you using your garage less for car storage, and more for miscellaneous stuff storage? Is there a seemingly-bottomless junk drawer in your kitchen that needs taming?

If you answered yes to any — or all! — of these questions, then it’s time to take yourself by the lapel and deliver yourself to our Get it Together series of organizing workshops.

For the past five years, expert consultant Lauren Williams has been helping her clients get their homes and offices under control.

“While this is a home improvement class, it could also be considered personal improvement — and even a health & wellness class!” She laughs. “I can’t tell you the number of clients I’ve had who have had their asthma disappear after decluttering and organizing their homes.”

The series is comprised of three workshops that you can take together or independently:

30 Nov 2016

Set Things in Motion with a Career Development Plan

by Kat Oak | posted in: How-To's and Guides | 0

Are you doing work that you love? If not, why not?

While it’s true that many of us are doing what we’re doing out of necessity — we gotta pay the bills, right? — creating a meaningful career can often be rooted in actually planning for it.

Where do you want to be in 10 years? And what steps do you need to take to get there — today, tomorrow, next month, next year, and so on?

Even if you’re not doing work that you love right now, charting out your career plan can bring a new dimension and meaning to your present situation. It will not only help you establish the path to your ideal professional reality, it will show you what you can do right now to help you achieve it.

Some of the elements of a career development plan include:

Short-term goals
Long-term goals
Timeline
Action steps
Opportunities
Potential barriers
Re-evaluation intervals

Part of instructor Yvonne Freitas McGookin‘s work is to help people define and plan for their professional futures.

“A career development plan is a roadmap that helps you to identify your desired career and directs the steps needed to get there,” she notes. “If you want to be clear about the destination — your desired career — a plan gives you an opportunity to envision how you’ll get there. First off, it will help you feel empowered! If you want to actively participate in your career, instead of being a by-stander waiting for opportunities to show up, a career development plan can help you do that. As a result, you can design and follow a plan that gets you to where you want to go when you want to get there. If you don’t have a plan, you might end up moving from job to job without any clear path or sense of direction. It can feel like you don’t have much control or choice, which is not very satisfying.”

But how is having a career development plan different than having general professional goals?

“A career development plan helps you to create a clear vision for your career and specific strategies for achieving that vision,” Yvonne explains. “Some of those strategies may be personal as well as professional. For example, if you’re interested in shifting into a different career or industry, you should include any potential financial impacts in your career plan. Will you need to save money to pay for any education or training to support your career change? Will you need to move to a different location where there are more opportunities in this field or industry?”

Yvonne knows how important a plan can be because she didn’t start out with one herself.

“I began thinking about my career when I was a child and, at that time, wanted to become an elementary school teacher,” she remembers. “But, by the time I went to college, my vision for my career had changed and I didn’t have any clarity about my direction.”

So when did she develop her first plan?

“After taking an undergrad course that sparked a clearer vision for my career, I created a career development plan that helped me move into and advance in that career,” Yvonne recalls. “My plan included taking specific courses, volunteer opportunities, and working an extra job to finance my educational goals. I followed that plan for many years until I achieved my vision. Then, several years ago, I re-evaluated my career, decided to make some changes, and created a career development plan to support those changes.”

How often should someone plan to re-evaluate their plan?

According to Yvonne, “You should reassess your plan on a semi-regular basis, whenever you lose momentum, or need to acknowledge some changes (opportunities or barriers) that impact your plan. This re-evaluation will give you the opportunity to make adjustments that help to get you back on track.”

23 Nov 2016

Guide Your Career with Project Management Fundamentals

by Kat Oak | posted in: Featured Classes | 0

Many large organizations have positions and even entire departments devoted to planning and managing projects, but possessing these skills is actually quite beneficial for any professional.

This is particularly true if you’re in a small business or start-up environment where you’re wearing many hats; the ability to skillfully manage projects is often essential to building a successful business.

It can also help you develop your career, and prepare you to take on jobs with higher levels of responsibility.

Expert instructor Zahid Kahn recently shared his insight into some great methods and tools that you can help organize and manage projects.

When we say, ‘Your Business is Our Business’ we mean it: We’re here to help you establish or grow the company of your dreams.

Learn more about what you’ll gain by joining us for our Fundamentals of Project Management course this Winter.

I am passionate about project management and developing people; as a PMO Manager, I am continuously developing my team, and I started teaching in 2008 in order to advance my team’s project management skills.

Since then I have seen measurable improvement in project management skill.

People from other departments of my organization and outside organizations wanted me to help them with advancing their project management skills, so I started teaching various levels of project management courses.

I feel inspired when I make a difference by improving the skill and knowledge of my students.

This class is designed to help students understand the global standards of project management and also learn how to apply tools and techniques to manage their projects.

Some of the classes I teach help student prepare to take the test to get certified as Project Management Professional (PMP®) through the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Most of the classes I teach are large in class size (between 50 to 100 students); this class size will be small and will allow for more one-on-one interaction.

Many of my students have had great outcomes as a direct result of learning the basics of project management.

Here are a few of them:

Some of the students were able to apply project management tools such as the project charter to start managing their projects immediately after the class
Many students recognized the importance of risk management after listening to case studies I discussed in the class
More than 90% of my students passed the test to get certified as PMP®
Several of my students got promoted within six months after completing my five day training

16 Nov 2016

Winter 2017 Registration is Open!

by Kat Oak | posted in: News & Press | 0

Lifelong Learning

Basic Hands-On Home Repair & Maintenance
Keep your home in great shape by learning practical skills such as wall repair, weatherization, installing home security, and more.

Get it Together: Organizing Your Home and Office
New! Get tips and tools to transform your home or office into a highly organized, functional, creative, and efficient environment.

Living Healthy: Wellness from the Inside Out
New! Explore nutrition, exercise, stress management, supplements, and other methods for preventing adult-onset diabetes.

Spanish for Heritage Speakers
New! Build upon your existing language skills in this class designed for those who were raised in a Spanish-speaking home.

Professional Development

Certificate in Customer Service
New! Learning to provide extraordinary customer service will help you grow professionally and improve your overall productivity.

Digital Marketing Certificate
New! Seasoned experts will guide you through email marketing, search engine optimization, online advertising, and more.

Entrepreneurship Toolkit
Interested in staring your own business? This class provides you with the nuts-and-bolts information you need to get going.

Fundamentals of Project Management
Gain a highly marketable skill to effectively manage projects, an essential ability that transcends industries and specific positions.

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No, This Article Isn't About Getting Your Animal High

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Do it Yourself!

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Annie's Favorites

Is Starting Your Own Business Right for You?

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Key Takeaways

Learn goal setting

Meet community resources

Assess your communications style & strengths

A business should be designed to support your life goals; otherwise, you’re just in a job where you have to be both boss and employee.

There are lots of risks in business, but there are healthy ways to address those risks.

Business ownership may be right for you, but maybe not right now.

Strategy and planning are two of the biggest keys to success.

Recommended Resources

Related Classes

Spice Things Up

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There are two types of people in the world, those who are learning by doing different activities in life, and those who are just observing others.

The Home Should be the Treasure Chest of Living — Le Corbusier

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Gain a basic understanding of your house as a system

Improve your understanding of plumbing and electrical

Learn how to do calking and plasterboard projects

Get guidance on how to work smart and safely

Learn how to communicate effectively with professionals

Recommended Resources

78 People Die From Opiate-Related Overdoses in the US Each Day

Simplify Your Surroundings

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Techniques to help you focus on the task of organizing

Skills to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by organizing

Methods to help you assess the value of your items

Recommended Resources

Is Your Career on Track?

2 Common Mistakes in Creating a Career Development Plan

Recommended Reading

Career Development Plan Worksheet

You'll Love It When a Plan Comes Together

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Key Takeaways

Understand the value and importance of project management

Learn how to develop a project scope that meets your customers’ requirements

Learn how to identify and manage uncertainties to achieve project success

Learn how to measure project success

Understand what it take to be a good project manager

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Your Business is Our Business

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