A free academy that trains and certifies budtenders

The problem

A budtender helps shoppers choose products, and must follow Washington's rules at every sale. Most stores teach this on the job, so each new person learns it a little differently.

Shawn Kemp's Cannabis wanted every budtender trained the same way, with a certificate to show it.

What we built

The WeedUs Budtender Academy is free for budtenders and works on any phone. WeedUs is our own brand for cannabis retail in Washington.

• 4 courses, 112 lessonsFoundations, products and dosing, Washington law, and the retail floor. Each course has 28 lessons in 5 modules.
• 24 quizzesA quiz after each of the 20 modules, and a final for each course.
• CertificatesA certificate for each course, and a full certificate for the whole program.
• A hiring directoryCertified budtenders can be listed, and stores find them by city.
• Narrated lessonsWe are rebuilding the lessons as narrated, animated videos with a Gemini voice. 80 of the 112 were done on October 21, 2026.

How it works

1. A store invites its budtenders, or a budtender signs up for free.
2. They learn at their own pace, on a phone.
3. They pass a quiz at the end of each module.
4. They earn a certificate for each course, then the full certificate.
5. Certified budtenders can join the hiring directory.

What changed

By October 7, 2026, 21 learners had made progress, and 10 had finished all 112 lessons and earned the full certificate.

Shawn Kemp's Cannabis now trains each new budtender the same way.