COUNTY NATIVE'S WORK GOING TO POT

An LVC graduate is testing medicinal marijuana products with his
company in California.

Jeff Raber describes himself as a "serial entrepreneur."

While he was a student at Lebanon Valley College, he was a systems
administrator for Lebanon MobileFone, an Internet provider, and began
his own IT consulting business, Creative Technology Solutions. He's
helped to launch other companies since moving to California more than
a decade ago.

His newest project, The Werc Shop, is a laboratory devoted to
developing testing procedures for cannabis products used for medicinal
purposes.

That Raber chose April 20 to launch the website thewercshop.com/index.html
is just a coincidence, of course. (For a 4-20 explanation, here's a
pretty good site: concept420.com/what-is-420.htm).

But we digress.

A 1993 graduate of Cedar Crest High School, Raber obtained his
bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Lebanon Valley College before
heading to California, where he earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at
the University of Southern California in 2002.

Medical use for marijuana became legal in California in 1996; since
then, 13 other states have enacted similar legislation, with New
Jersey being the latest to join the list. There are bills in the
Pennsylvania House and Senate that propose marijuana's legalization
for medical use.

"We're here to help bring self-regulation to that industry," Raber
said from his Los Angeles home. "A lot of people utilize this
medication. It has tremendous potential. The scientific evidence is
overwhelming and compelling. We're scratching the surface."

The Werc Shop seeks to develop "good, solid, accurate information ...
to help doctors and patients," Raber said. "We want to improve patient
care."

Raber's younger brother, Mark, a 1996 Cedar Crest graduate, is working
with him. Their father, Timothy, still lives in Lebanon.

Mark "helps with laboratory work, bookkeeping, accounting and clerical
work," his older brother said.

For 30 to 40 years, marijuana plants have been bred for one activity,
Raber said: psychoactivity.

The Werc Shop's services can help researchers "start to develop
strains that do not have psychoactive affects," Raber said.

For example, researchers have discovered that cannabis has anti-aging
and antioxidant properties. Endocannabanoids (marijuanalike
substances) regulate many bodily functions.

There are a variety of methods of ingesting cannabis besides
inhalation, including edibles, tinctures, ointments and creams, Raber
noted.

Although Proposition 215 legalized medical marijuana in California in
1996, "now, there's a second wave of individuals who think this is a
good opportunity," to start cannabis-related businesses, Raber said.

"I think the potential for sustainable medication -- being green and
environmentally friendly -- could be tremendous," he said. "It's a
natural resource. It can keep jobs here and be local-community based."

Marijuana is the top cash crop in California, with an estimated annual
value of $14 billion, according to published reports. As a point of
reference, the state of Pennsylvania's 2010-11 budget is $28 billion.

Raber's focus "is on the potential of the plant and where it can go,
rather than where it is today," he said. "It's a natural resource, and
we should develop it."