BUSINESS FOUNDER WANTS TO SELL MEDICAL MARIJUANA, BUT GRAND RAPIDS HAS
OTHER PLANS

GRAND RAPIDS - Olon Tucker says he is an entrepreneur and wants to
take advantage of the state's new medical marijuana law by opening The
Medical Marijuana Learning Center.

The center, at 2012 28th St. SE, would sell marijuana to registered
customers in the form of pastries, butter, pills or smoking products.
The center also would teach customers how to grow their own marijuana.

"This is a $1 billion industry in California," said Tucker, 37. "I'm
here to educate people; I'm here to help them get their recommendation
from a medical doctor."

That's not what city planners will have in mind Thursday, when the
Planning Commission reviews proposed rules for the distribution of
medical marijuana.

The rules are being created in response to last year's passage of
medical marijuana legislation by 62 percent of the state's voters.

Planning director Suzanne Schulz is proposing rules that would allow
medical marijuana to be dispensed in more clinical settings, such as
pharmacies and doctors' offices.

Last month, she asked the City Commission to pass a six-month
moratorium on medical marijuana permits while an ordinance is created
that would outlaw dispensaries such as the one Tucker hopes to open.

"Their proposal for a stand-alone dispensary doesn't jibe with what
we're proposing," said Schulz. "If it's for medical purposes, then
it's going to be distributed just like any other controlled substances
for medicinal purposes.

"Our plan is to allow it 'by right' in medical offices, hospitals,
institutional medical facilities, pharmacies or other similar
facilities. We're not going to allow stand-alone dispensaries like
they do in California."

Tucker, who owns several rental properties and recently closed a
restaurant on the city's Southeast Side, has no medical credentials.
He said his recent conviction for selling pirated DVDs and CDs from
his restaurant came out of a failed search for drugs by police.

To prepare for his business, Tucker said, he received training from
Hydro College, a Lansing business that specializes in hydroponics, a
system of growing plants indoors using nutrients rather than soil.

As a "master grower" and "primary caregiver," Tucker said, state law
allows him to grow 12 marijuana plants each for as many as five
patients. With a dispensary, he said, he would be able to serve more
customers who are registered to use medical marijuana.

Tucker, who said he will register his business as a nonprofit
enterprise, said medical marijuana offers compassionate care for
patients with cancer, chronic pain, AIDS or seizures.

Allowed to flourish, medical marijuana dispensaries will provide jobs,
increase tourism, inspire spinoff businesses and raise tax revenues in
local communities, Tucker said.

He said he will not be dissuaded by city rules that limit the business
to pharmacies and medical specialists. His school will teach others
how to work around the rules, he said.

"If I have to, I'm going to get a doctor or pharmacist and work around
it," he said. "If they want a pharmacy, I'll open a pharmacy."

If the rules prevent him from opening a dispensary, Tucker said, he
will not move his Medical Marijuana Learning Center out of the city.
He'll just find another location for dispensing marijuana.

"I'm here to educate people," he said. "I'm here to help people get
their recommendations."