GROUP PLANS CANNABIS GROWING SEMINAR IN REDDING

This weekend at the Redding Holiday Inn, Cannabis Industries Training
Center will hold a two-day seminar and lecture series on how to enter
and stay in the medical cannabis business.

"It's an industry overview designed to enlighten whoever might be
interested in either getting into this industry, taking it to the
next level, (learning) what's legal and what's not," said Chris
Staffin, first officer at Medicine Man Collective in Burney and
co-founder of CITC.

At the event, well-known medical cannabis grower Ed Rosenthal will
have a book signing and court-qualified medical cannabis expert Chris
Conrad will give advice. Representatives from local collectives,
health professionals, growers, brokers and law experts will also speak.

Speakers from Oaksterdam University, the first medical cannabis
educational institution in the country with campuses in Oakland, Los
Angeles and Sebastopol, will also provide business pointers.

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, allowing
patients with valid doctors' permission and designated caregivers to
possess and cultivate cannabis for medical purposes. In Shasta
County, there are about 25 medical cannabis collectives. Last year,
the state issued a total of 12,659 medical cannabis identification
cards to California residents, including 51 cards to Shasta County
residents. That's the highest number of new cardholders in the county
since 2004.

The first day will feature lectures by guest speakers familiar with
the business side of medical marijuana. Staffin said the main goal
for Saturday is to motivate the audience.

"Everybody's going to walk out of there jacked up and wanting to go
into the business. We have to light a fire, and a big one," he said.

The second day will focus on the mechanics of indoor and outdoor
harvesting the plant and processing its potential. Bliss Edibles, a
nonprofit organization that infuses sweets with medical cannabis,
will have its main representative and Oaksterdam professor, Miss
Bliss, speak on how to effectively market the crop and how to cook
and bake it. Also, a local doctor will discuss the medicinal part of
cannabis, which lies in cannabinoids, the compounds responsible for
alleviating distressful symptoms. Certain strains of medical cannabis
show better results for certain illnesses.

"There's a lot of (Prop.) 215 patients up here that are growers and
we want to help educate them how to grow better medication and
actually show them how to grow," said John Coonradt of Medicine Man
Collective in Burney and co-founder of CITC.

Coonradt's been using medical cannabis since 1967 after returning
from the Vietnam War. With having cancer twice, arthritis and
post-traumatic stress disorder, he said it's helped him lead a more
productive life. He said he wants people to understand how medical
cannabis can soothe the hardships of living with chronic diseases
such as glaucoma and arthritis.

The controversy surrounding marijuana in general has stigmatized the
medical aspect, but the host venue said it doesn't expect anything
out of the ordinary from the event.

"We hold lots of different events from a lot of different groups,"
said Lori Nipar, director of sales and events at the Redding Holiday
Inn. "We don't have the luxury of discriminating against any group.
It's a training or seminar of some sort, and we do all kinds of
medical and nursing training. This is just one more event."

This will be CITC's first event, and the center plans to expand to a
classroom and nursery facility that would better benefit those
interested in the medical cannabis industry.

IF YOU GO

What: Cannabis Industries Training Center Launch Seminar

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Where: Redding Holiday Inn, 1900 Hilltop Drive, Redding

Cost: $100 a person. Call 866-416-CITC or 276-5460.