Denver • Students at the prestigious and private University of Denver are already studying marijuana law. (For reals, they are.)

In a few months they'll have the opportunity to study cannabis journalism.

"They approved the class, which tickles me a little bit," said Andrew Matranga, who will teach the interterm class "Cannabis Journalism: Covering and Reporting on America's New Normal" starting in mid-August. "That's cool to have that latitude."

The course, a four-credit five-day intensive, will have the students "investigating the scope of the marijuana legalization movement and its many political and practical intricacies," according to course materials. "We also will be presenting this project with original data and multimedia elements conceived and designed to push and promote enterprising storytelling on a national level.

"Students will visit and interview dispensaries, industry professionals and private citizens to produce a portfolio piece of narrative journalism using the modes and methods of their...