College professor, advocate, educator, and entrepreneur, Magnus Thorsson, Ph.D; is the brains behind the US’s first four-year degree program in cannabis entrepreneurship – at Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island.
Ahead of his keynote presentation at the upcoming Hemp4Future conference in his native Iceland, he spoke to Dave Barton about wellness, plant medicine, professionalizing the cannabis industry, and promoting responsible use through education and more diverse product offerings.
Who is Magnus Thorsson? Hemp4Future Keynote Speaker
Like many cannabis-naive youngsters, the young Magnus Thorsson tried his first joint with friends on a visit to Amsterdam, some 30 years ago. However, his first encounter didn’t exactly spark a lifelong affinity for the plant. That came a lot later.
Fast forward to 2018, when visiting a university campus in Oregon, he was struck by students’ seemingly sudden euphoria at the news that recreational cannabis was being legalized.
“It was like we’d won World War II,” he recalls. “As someone who researches buyer behavior – and as an entrepreneur – I was keen to dive deeper into what looked like a consumer motivation movement; happening right in front of me.”
Reexamining his very first cannabis experience, Magnus realized the reason he hadn’t enjoyed it, was because he’d gotten way too high. “There was no information about what we were supposed to do, how much to consume, or what we were consuming.”
Back in Oregon, the euphoria around legalization piqued his curiosity. Heading to a dispensary, he quickly found himself embroiled in conversations about ‘trichomes’ and ‘cannabinoids’ – terms he’d never heard of before. “To me, the staff were speaking in code. I just wanted to understand how to use cannabis. I’d never even seen a flower before at that point in time. So when I asked if I needed to peel it or not, they thought I was crazy!”
For an academic with a professional interest in what he terms ‘consumer choice infrastructure’, it was clear to Magnus that, like him, many other cannacurious customers would also feel overwhelmed and confused by a dispensary experience.
“The language and signs being used by those who’d regularly consumed cannabis for years reminded me of cult behavior. Considering it was illegal for so many years, it made total sense that this was the case. However, now that it was legal, things would need to change if the industry wanted to attract new consumers.”
Cannabis Course Correction
On his return to the East Coast, he set about pulling together a study program. And in 2021, he launched Johnson & Wales University’s Cannabis Entrepreneurship Major: a 4-year degree program; the first of its kind in America.
Now in its fifth year, the program continues to be as popular as ever, with about 40 students currently enrolled.
As well as continuing to teach and conduct research at the intersection of cannabis, consumer culture, and behavioral psychology, Magnus is the brains behind Canna Curious Wellness – his own brand of cannabis products – where he puts into practice all of the things he’s learning; focusing on helping consumers make informed, stigma-free choices in this rapidly evolving space.
“It’s based on the simple philosophy that consumer decision making can – and should – inform how we design cannabis education, retail experiences, and product narratives. There are a lot of market misconceptions – the primary one being that customers want high THC products. From personal experience, I know that’s not always the case (!).
“Of course, there’s always going to be demand for 30% THC flower, but it’s by no means representative of the entire cannabis consuming population. Like any industry, we have to split consumers into different demographics, and it’s clear that there’s a whole cannacurious group who are looking for lower dose products and non-smokable form factors.”
In line with these sentiments, Magnus has developed the Experience Framework™ (EF) – a retail system designed to simplify cannabis shopping by focusing on how consumers want to feel rather than on strain names or raw THC percentages.
Essentially, products are grouped: Wellness (<10% THC), Lifestyle (10–20% THC), and Recreational (>20% THC) and tagged with plain language labels, such as Calm, Focus, or Relief. In store, along with clear shelf visuals, he provides retailers with QR-linked product data sheets; designed to give shoppers product data, dosage guidance, and terpene information – everything they need to make an informed decision about their cannabis purchases; in a simple, accessible way.
Early pilots show EF can boost sales performance – yielding increases of 10-15% in terms of basket sizes and upping dispensary visits by 20% – while appealing to underserved demographics such as older adults and wellness seekers.
Bringing It Home To Iceland
Although he’s been in the US for over 35 years, as a proud Icelander, Magnus is always keen to impart the knowledge he’s gained working in the US cannabis industry to his motherland. The upcoming Hemp4Future conference will mark his second time being involved. This year, he’s set to deliver a keynote speech on wellness and plant medicine entrepreneurship and will also be running a workshop on women’s health and wellness with cannabis, along with medical cannabis expert and author of Cannabis Queens, Melanie Wentzel, and award-winning podcaster and cannabis consultant, Sara Payan.
While the Icelandic market might not yet be primed for legalization, as a nation of less than 400,000 people, the layers between politicians and voters aren’t as vast as in the US. It’s more accessible, and given that a women-led, left-leaning government is now in office, the opportunity to showcase the benefits of cannabis for health and wellness for all could have a big impact.
“However you look at it, education isn’t just key in cannabis; it’s transformative – from a legal, medical, social, and cultural standpoint,” says Magnus. “With the world now waking up to the power of plant medicine, and given Icelanders’ strong connection with the natural world around us, there’s every chance we can create some positive momentum.”
Hemp4Future takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 2-3, 2025. For more information on the event and Magnus’ keynote, visit https://hemp4future.is/.
