LANSING INSTRUCTOR TEACHES HOW TO GROW MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Dustin Bohnett spent many years suffering from irritable bowel
syndrome and hoped marijuana would give him relief from severe chronic
pain.

But as the Onondaga Township man was about to receive state
certification to grow and use medical marijuana, the 25-year-old
realized one thing: When it came to a green thumb, he was all thumbs.

Bohnett knew he couldn't turn to Better Homes and Gardens. So he went
back to school. At HydroCollege in Lansing, he learned the craft of
growing marijuana indoors and now cultivates a marijuana "garden" in
his basement - under the nurturing glow of 1,000-watt lamps.

"I had never grown (a marijuana plant) on my own. I had never seen
anyone grow one," Bohnett said. "I never would have known how the
hydroponics system works."

When it comes to growing marijuana, course instructor Danny Trevino of
Lansing is the answer man. He's a self-proclaimed, self-taught guru of
green, a professor of pot. Trevino, 37, teaches the three-day course
at his business, HydroCollege, at 702 W. Barnes Ave. in Lansing.

The course - one of only a handful of such programs in Michigan -
reflects how entrepreneurs are filling the gaps in a new state medical
marijuana law. After a ballot initiative was approved in November
2008, the state launched a program last spring to certify patients and
caregivers but provided no resources on how to grow marijuana or even
acquire seeds.

"They call me Dr. Danny," said Trevino, who also has operated
HydroWorld, a hydroponics business, at the same location for four
years. Hydroponics is a system for growing plants without soil.

Trevino, who has no college degree, sees his business as a bright spot
in an otherwise dreary state economy.

"I think Lansing has a good chance of being a stronghold (in the
emerging marijuana economy)," he said. "The economy being so bad, a
lot of people are coming here to the class" for income
opportunities.

Since Trevino started teaching the classes a year ago, Trevino said
chatter on marijuana Web sites has led to students coming in from as
far away as Hawaii and Florida. In nearly all cases, he said, they
learn to grow the medicinal marijuana for themselves or for others
under state guidelines.

As of Friday, the state had authorized 6,844 patients to use medical
marijuana statewide and 2,856 as caregivers, said Kelly Niebel,
spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

During the course, students learn Trevino's own techniques for
cultivating an indoor marijuana garden and how to best nurture and
fertilize the plants. This is knowledge he says he has gleaned from 19
years of growing marijuana himself and educating himself on techniques
from books and magazines.

Trevino, who is state-certified to grow marijuana for back pain, uses
his plants in class as visual aids.

Without proper instruction, he said, it can take up to three years for
a novice to figure out how to successfully grow the plants. Novices
may not know when to start using high intensity discharge lamps in the
growth cycle or whether male or female marijuana plants offer more
buds.

Trevino insists his students aren't just learning how to grow
marijuana for recreational use, saying "90 to 95 percent of them have
the state (medical marijuana) card."

With medical marijuana now legal, Trevino is seeing his business grow
in new ways. In recent weeks, he opened HydroClinic in which he
contracts with a Detroit physician to offer physicals to determine
whether a person is eligible to use medical marijuana under state law.
Those applying for state certification to use medical marijuana must
have a doctor's recommendation.

Trevino acknowledges he used to deal marijuana illegally in his
younger days but said his business represents a new era in his life.

"I took so many bad turns," he said. "They said do what you love, and
the money will flow."

[sudebar]

ADDITIONAL FACTS

Going Green

The next available three-day class at HydroCollege is Jan. 12-14. The
total fee is $20. To enroll, call 999-3012. HydroCollege generally
offers the course three times each month.

BY THE NUMBERS

6,844

state authorized patients to use medical marijuana

2,856

state authorized caregivers, who grow medical marijuana for patients

3 days

length of course at HydroCollege