CANNABUSINESS: MAJORING IN POT

No matter where you stand on the issue, there is something very
satisfying about seeing how much people can affect the world around
them, and medical marijuana is a prime example of the public changing
the law.

Twenty years ago, Nancy Reagan and D.A.R.E. were the leaders of
marijuana "education." This education, however, resulted in the
incarceration of millions for minor drug offenses over the next two
decades. But now, the U.S. has its first college devoted to the
history and agriculture of that little bud with all the
controversy.

MedGrow Cannabis College in Michigan is the first medical marijuana
trade school to open its doors within the United States, but outside
the walls of this institution exists a world that is confused and
frightened by its purpose. Though medical marijuana is legal within
the state, and the college only aims to help students find success
within the booming medical marijuana industry, there has been some
controversy over its legitimacy, and the pros and cons of medical marijuana.

The school wants its graduates to help revitalize the parts of the
local economy which have not yet been able to pick themselves back up.
Still, some stigmatize the program because of unending debate
regarding the medical benefits of marijuana.

In a recent New York Times article about the school, students would
not allow their names to be written down or their photographs to be
taken because of the grey areas within the new law.

But education is not something anyone should be afraid of. This
program consists of a series of biology, agriculture, history, cooking
and chemistry courses surrounding a plant and the culture that has
nourished it. The college and the legalization of cannabis provide an
honest education to anyone willing to enroll or listen and benefit
both the state and the people financially as well as medically.

The school charges a modest fee of $485 for a six-week primer and when
the student emerges, they're ready to take on the responsibilities of
being a "caregiver" under Michigan state law. They could also go
through the proper channels and open up their own dispensary and sell
marijuana to those with a prescription.

First, there is the money raised through the college, which is seeing
a tremendous amount of business already. Then there is the money to be
made as a caregiver - someone who grows and harvests plants for a few
patients with valid prescriptions and sells the buds to them.

Then, in addition to providing those jobs, if anyone taking the course
is looking to start a small business or move out-of-state to an area
where medical marijuana is legal but caregivers are not, they can open
up a dispensary for patients. Or if there is another service in the
field they may want to provide, they could expand it into something
else - like The Cannabis Cafe that just set up shop in Portland, Ore.

There are jobs, profits, small businesses, and even schools coming out
of the medical marijuana movement - sure, it may not be a cure for the
financial blues, but it is an indisputable boost to a local economy
and the spirits of anyone open enough to recognize and experience the
bud for what it is. So this raises the question: what is so wrong
about something so right?