Truesee's Daily Wonder

Truesee presents the weird, wild, wacky and world news of the day.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

 

New growth industry: Marijuana State University

Posted: April 12
Updated: Today at 10:27 AM

New growth industry:  Marijuana State University

The latest business offshoot of a new law teaches medical cannabis cultivation at home.

John Richardson

Staff Writer

PORTLAND — Ray Logan has been growing marijuana for 30 years.

 

Instructor Ray Logan talks about the germination process during a Marijuana State University class held earlier this month. Students Bill Lessard of Saco, left, and Rick Adjutant of Kennebunk look on.

Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Logan uses a cayenne pepper plant for demonstrations.

Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

 

Visit the Marijuana State University website at http://marijuanastateuniversity.com

When he started, it was a purely recreational -- and illegal -- hobby, and one he naturally kept as quiet as possible.

Now, Logan is turning his experience and knowledge of the plant into a very public business: Marijuana State University.

Logan is offering three-hour workshops for people who want to learn how to grow high-quality marijuana in their homes. It is the latest business to sprout from Maine's medical marijuana law, which allows registered patients, caregivers and dispensaries to grow the drug to treat specific medical symptoms and conditions, from intractable pain to AIDS.

Although marijuana can grow like a weed under the right conditions, cultivating medicinal-quality plants indoors takes some know-how, Logan said.

"There's a huge need for (knowledge), and some people aren't sure where to get it," he said.

Logan, 56, taught the first Marijuana State University class earlier this month in Portland. About 15 men attended, most of them registered medical marijuana patients who want to grow their own drugs instead of paying hundreds of dollars an ounce to registered caregivers or licensed dispensaries.

"We'd like to double that (class size), but we were very happy. It was our first time out," he said.

His second workshop is scheduled for May 7 in Auburn, and he plans to hold future classes in Augusta, Biddeford and Portland.

Marijuana State University is mostly a one-man show, although an indoor garden shop -- HTG Supply in Portland -- provides equipment for the demonstrations.

The class costs $79, or $59 for students, senior citizens and veterans. It will be a while before Marijuana State University becomes a self-supporting business, even if class sizes do double, Logan said.

"For right now, I just enjoy doing it (and) helping people learn how to grow," he said.

To prevent conflicts with police, he uses basil and other legal household plants to teach the class. State regulators and police took note of his recent class in Portland, but nothing more.

Although medical marijuana does create some gray areas for police, "it is possible, certainly, to grow marijuana legally," said Portland police Lt. Gary Rogers.

Education itself is not a concern for the state, although there is some concern that marijuana entrepreneurs could push the law's limits.

"This program was designed to get patients access to quality medical marijuana; it wasn't intended as a business for people to make money," said Cathy Cobb, director of the licensing division for the Department of Health and Human Services. "We don't want to set up a supply network that exceeds the demand of registered patients."

So far, the state has issued 982 registration cards for medical marijuana patients. Each patient must have a medical condition specified in the state law, and a recommendation from his or her doctor.

Logan is one of the 982.

He has been a legal marijuana user for years under Maine law, he said, because of a skydiving accident in 1996 that nearly paralyzed him and left him needing daily prescription painkillers that have various side effects.

"I still get a small amount of the meds, but I don't like being on them," he said. "I usually just use (marijuana) at nighttime. It helps me sleep, takes the pain edge away."

Rick Adjutant, one of Marijuana State University's first students, can relate to that.

The 48-year-old Army veteran has been disabled for seven years because of herniated discs and degenerative disc disease. Doctors prescribed a range of prescription painkillers, which he said gave him violent mood swings.

"It didn't help with the pain, it just messed my head up," he said.

Two weeks after trying marijuana, he got rid of the addictive painkillers, Adjutant said.

"I haven't touched the narcotics in almost two years now," he said.

Adjutant attended Logan's first workshop because he wants to grow a few of his own plants and save money. The class answered all of his questions, such as how to raise the humidity in his growing room, he said.

"Anybody can grow it, but to grow a good, medical-quality marijuana you've got to know the tricks and you've really got to do your research," Adjutant said.

He hopes the school will show people that there is a legitimate use for the drug. "This isn't just fun and games for a bunch of drug addicts," he said.

Marijuana State University is based somewhat on Oaksterdam University in Oakland, Calif., known as America's first "cannabis college."

The school, which offers a range of courses for growers, has enrolled more than 17,000 people since 2007. The money it has made for its founder, Richard Lee, helped finance last fall's unsuccessful referendum campaign to legalize recreational marijuana use in California.

Logan said he doesn't see himself becoming the Richard Lee of the East Coast, financially or politically.

"My political views are definitely not attached to this class. I don't talk about the politics of it or the laws or anything," he said. "Yes, I'd like to see it legal, but that's not our focus."

Logan does share Lee's goal of making medical marijuana more public and more respectable. He recently took a reference to "higher learning" off the Marijuana State University website (http://marijuanastateuniversity.com), saying it didn't promote the right image.

"Because of things like my school, people will say, 'Oh, wow, maybe there is something more to this medical marijuana,'" he said. "I think folks are going to see what an amazing plant cannabis really is."


Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

Archives

March 2024   February 2024   January 2024   December 2023   November 2023   October 2023   September 2023   August 2023   July 2023   June 2023   May 2023   April 2023   March 2023   February 2023   January 2023   December 2022   November 2022   October 2022   September 2022   August 2022   July 2022   June 2022   May 2022   April 2022   March 2022   February 2022   January 2022   December 2021   November 2021   October 2021   September 2021   August 2021   July 2021   June 2021   May 2021   April 2021   March 2021   February 2021   January 2021   December 2020   November 2020   October 2020   September 2020   August 2020   July 2020   June 2020   May 2020   April 2020   March 2020   February 2020   January 2020   December 2019   November 2019   October 2019   September 2019   August 2019   July 2019   June 2019   May 2019   April 2019   March 2019   February 2019   January 2019   December 2018   November 2018   October 2018   September 2018   August 2018   July 2018   June 2018   May 2018   April 2018   March 2018   February 2018   January 2018   December 2017   November 2017   October 2017   September 2017   August 2017   July 2017   June 2017   May 2017   April 2017   March 2017   February 2017   January 2017   December 2016   November 2016   October 2016   September 2016   August 2016   July 2016   June 2016   May 2016   April 2016   March 2016   February 2016   January 2016   December 2015   November 2015   October 2015   September 2015   August 2015   July 2015   June 2015   May 2015   April 2015   March 2015   February 2015   January 2015   December 2014   November 2014   October 2014   September 2014   August 2014   July 2014   June 2014   May 2014   April 2014   March 2014   February 2014   January 2014   December 2013   November 2013   October 2013   September 2013   August 2013   July 2013   June 2013   May 2013   April 2013   March 2013   February 2013   January 2013   December 2012   November 2012   October 2012   September 2012   August 2012   July 2012   June 2012   May 2012   April 2012   March 2012   February 2012   January 2012   December 2011   November 2011   October 2011   September 2011   August 2011   July 2011   June 2011   May 2011   April 2011   March 2011   February 2011   January 2011   December 2010   November 2010   October 2010   September 2010   August 2010   July 2010   June 2010   May 2010   April 2010   March 2010   February 2010   January 2010   December 2009   November 2009   October 2009   September 2009   August 2009   July 2009   June 2009   May 2009   April 2009   March 2009   February 2009   January 2009   December 2008  

Powered by Lottery PostSyndicated RSS FeedSubscribe