PREPARING FOR CANNABIS, A GROWTH INDUSTRY

The business of medical marijuana is rapidly evolving in Michigan,
with Royal Oak preparing to pass the state's first zoning law to
cluster professional growers and the opening in Southfield of a trade
school teaching plant cultivation.

On Tuesday, Royal Oak city leaders are expected to debate a proposed
zoning ordinance requiring all licensed medical marijuana caregivers
to grow pot in a dispensary in the city's general business district,
which encompasses the retail and commercial strip along Woodward Avenue.

Officials say the proposed law would not prohibit caregivers from
visiting the homes of patients to assist them with marijuana use or
possessing the patient's pot at the patient's home. It would not
apply to qualified patients who are physician-certified to grow the drug.

Royal Oak planning officials say their actions are an attempt to
avoid problems like those faced by Los Angeles, which put a
moratorium on new dispensaries in 2007 after they proliferated. Royal
Oak city planner Doug Hedges said he expects caregivers to act as a
consortium and possibly set up shop together in a storefront as a
medical marijuana dispensary.

Interest in Michigan's medical marijuana industry is flourishing, and
staff is having difficulty keeping up with voice mail requests on the
state's marijuana registry phone line, according to the state
Department of Community Health.

Since April, 10,393 applications have been received on behalf of
patients or caregivers wanting to take part in the registry. Of
those, 5,873 patient registrations and 2,440 caregiver registrations
have been issued. More than 1,800 applications have been denied,
according to the state. An average of 66 applications are received daily.

In Southfield, some 60 students have already graduated from the Med
Grow Cannabis College, where people can learn the trade of growing,
cutting and providing medical marijuana to sick patients -- all
within the law. The college opened in September after Michigan passed
its own Medical Marijuana Act and state officials began certifying
sick patients and caregivers to possess marijuana.

Cannabis College operator Nick Tennant, a 24-year-old entrepreneur
from Warren, offers a six-week course in all things cannabis:
horticulture, history, cooking, law and advocacy.

For $475, students learn how to legally grow, cultivate and provide
medical-grade marijuana to people who are eligible under Michigan law
to use the drug to treat their ailments.

On a recent class night, Tennant swung open the plain white doors of
a growing room inside the college. An array of medical marijuana
plants in various stages of growth stood thriving under a high-tech
system of ballast lights, vents and carbon filters.

Suddenly a warm woodsy aroma blanketed the classroom of spartan desks
and chairs. The glowing spectacle and the sweet bouquet were too much
for students to resist and several scurried around the doors for
closer inspection.

"Some of these plants are in the early stages of flowering and the
buds are developing. This one is ready to be cut," said Tennant,
touching the pale green leaves of one well-developed plant.

Tennant, whose auto detailing business evaporated in the state's
beleaguered economy, said he turned to medical marijuana because he
saw the opportunity to help people while creating a viable business
model that might bring jobs to Michigan.

"A school like this is necessary. It seems like something very simple
to grow marijuana. You put a plant in the ground and let it grow.
It's not that simple," said Tennant who is certified as a patient and
a caregiver. "There could be mold, pests, problems and tons of
variables. There is a ton of knowledge that needs to be sourced. When
you come to our school you have an expert to consult with at each stage."

Gwen Brown said she came to the school because she's interested in
providing more options to the people she already acts as a caregiver
for including a stroke victim, a person with AIDS, an anorexic
patient and a person suffering from glaucoma and diabetes.

"I've done the research and cannabis is the way to go. It's Mother
Nature's way of healing," said Brown of Wayne County.