CANNABIS ON THE SYLLABUS

Entrepreneur Trains Caregivers on Issues of Medical Marijuana

Nick Tennant intends to cash in on what he believes is literally a
booming "green" growth industry: medical marijuana.

Tennant is the founder and president of Southfield-based Med Gro
Cannabis College, a new trade school offering training courses for
adults interested in becoming state-qualified caregivers under the
medical marijuana law.

His idea to open such a school was in anticipation of voters last
November approving state-regulated therapeutic use of marijuana for
people suffering from specific chronic medical conditions. He began
organizing the school in December.

Med Gro's first class of 25 students launched in September, and a new
class began Thursday night. The six-week curriculum, which is 25 to
30 class hours and meets one night a week, covers legal and business
issues, pot history, cultivation, cooking and medical/caregiving training.

Degreed botanists and lawyers teach the classes, Tennant said, and
the student body ranges from recent high school graduates to church
pastors who minister to people suffering from AIDS and other diseases.

The Michigan Department of Community Health this year has issued
nearly 1,800 cards to caregivers that allow them to grow marijuana
for more than 4,400 qualified patients who also have state-issued cards.

Tennant wants to capitalize on what's a growth industry elsewhere. In
California, where medical marijuana has been legal since 1996, it's
estimated to be a $14 billion industry. A dozen states have similar laws.

"We saw the market opportunities and did some research" into what he
calls a recession-proof industry.

Thus far, Tennant's risk has paid off. He said the school was in the
black in its first month, and its first-year revenue is projected at $500,000.

A full semester at Med Gro Cannabis College costs $475 (payable in
three $183 installments) and two-day weekend seminars are $250.

Tennent said his venture also will sell related supplies and services
to students and those in the medical marijuana field.

Because the school isn't providing a state-recognized certification,
it doesn't need a state certification to function, Tennant said.

"We are going through the process of becoming a state-registered post
secondary school," he said.

Tennant would like to see the law changed to regulate medical
marijuana training to ensure it's professional.

"There is nothing written in the state law that requires caregivers
to have a formal education like we are offering," he said. "This is
no doubt a young industry, and the law needs amending. We really have
to be pioneers and set precedent. Like I said before, a little
professionalism goes a long way."

Tennant, a business major at Walsh College, previously ran an auto
detailing shop before turning to his current endeavor.

"I always had interest in the medical-marijuana field. It seemed like
it always had a place in my life, marijuana in general," he said.
"When we knew this law was coming through, we knew we wanted to get
into this industry."

The school is marketing itself through a Google Adwords campaign,
print advertising in alternative publications such as Metro Times and
Real Detroit, and through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

"We're trying to do whatever we can to make a name for ourselves,"
Tennant said.

He's not alone. Since Michigan's law went in effect, there's been a
budding interest in medical marijuana.

Most recently, student chapters of the National Lawyers Guild and the
Police Officers for Drug Law Reform jointly hosted a medical
marijuana symposium last week at Wayne State University with the goal
of educating medical and legal professionals.

In December, nonprofit The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation opened a
clinic in Southfield that pairs qualified patients with physicians
willing to handle the state's medical marijuana paperwork.

Marijuana is Michigan's third most valuable cash crop behind corn and
soybeans at $350 million annually, claimed Greg Francisco, executive
director of the Paw Paw-based Michigan Medical Marijuana Association,
which also has an office in Detroit and claims 1,000 paid members.

Francisco is also part of Oaksterdam University, an Oakland,
Calif.-based organization that does traveling medical marijuana
education events and has been operating out of Ann Arbor since May.

"It's a friendly competition (with Med Gro Cannabis College)" he
said. "We need to get this information out. There's a huge need to
grow this medicine and to train entrepreneurs to operate an ethical
medical marijuana business."

He likened the industry to the 1849 California gold rush and noted
that the real money is to be made from businesses that provide
supplies and information rather than the pot itself.

"It's not really the caregivers, per se, but the entrepreneurs,"
Francisco said.

Tennant and others in the medical marijuana business know there is a
stigma to overcome.

The "higher education" jokes are obvious: Do course materials include
"High Times" and Twinkies? Will Cheech & Chong be teaching?

The school intends to counter that.

"Professionalism goes a long way. Our teachers are not just some
stoner off the street. These are degreed botanists and attorneys
teaching classes," he said.

Educating the public on what he believes are the benefits and safety
of medical marijuana is part of his school's mission, too.

"The fact we don't embrace (marijuana as a growth industry) is silly.
It's a safer substance than alcohol," he said. "We could be grabbing
a significant share in tax revenue and income."

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THE LAW

About the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (the unusual spelling stays
consistent with that in a 1978 Michigan law), approved by voters in November:

Permits physician-approved use of marijuana by registered patients
with medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS,
hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and other conditions as may be
approved by the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Permits registered individuals to grow limited amounts of marijuana
(up to 60 plants for the limit of five qualifying patients) in an
enclosed, locked facility.

Permits registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers
to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any
prosecution involving marijuana.

The state charges $100 for a medical marijuana card for qualified
patients age 18 and older.