Higher education for pot growers

November 29, 2009

SOUTHFIELD, MICH.–
At most colleges, marijuana is very much an extracurricular matter. But at Med Grow Cannabis College, marijuana is the curriculum: the history, the horticulture and the legal how-to's of Michigan's new medical marijuana program.

"This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars," said Nick Tennant, 24, founder of the college, which is actually a burgeoning business in this Detroit suburb.

The six-week, $475 (U.S.) primer on medical marijuana is a cross between an agricultural extension class ("It's harvest time when half the trichomes have turned amber and half are white") and a gathering of serious potheads. The only required reading: Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes.

Growing medical marijuana is legal under Michigan's new law, but there is enough nervousness that most students – and one instructor – recently did not want their names or pictures used.

For Tennant, who is certified as both a caregiver and a patient, Med Grow replaces the auto detailing business he started out of high school, only to see it founder when the economy contracted.

Students say they are getting all kinds of extra help and ideas from going to class.

"I want to learn all the little tricks, everything I can," said Sue Maxwell. "It's a big investment, and I want to do it right."

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfea ... ot-growers