A new college has been set up in the US to teach students how to grow, use and profit from marijuana.

The Med Grow Cannabis College in Detroit runs six-week courses on producing the drug for medicinal use for about £300.  They cover the horticultural skills required to grow the plants, as well as recipes for cooking and the legal pitfalls and loopholes.

College founder Nick Tennant, 24, said: "This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars."  A new law in Michigan, the 2008 Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, has made growing marijuana for medicinal purposes legal.

Patients can grow up to 12 plants for themselves, or buy it from a licensed "caregiver" who can grow for up to five named patients: i.e. a total of 60 plants.  Anyone aged 21 or over with no criminal record can be licensed as a caregiver. So far 5,800 people have registered as patients in the state, while 2,400 have registered as caregivers.

However, despite the new legal status of cannabis, Med Grow Cannabis College students were not generally telling their friends and families too much about the course.  Jeffery Butler, 27, said: "I've just told a couple of people I can trust. It's a business opportunity, but some people are still going to look at you funny. But I'm going to do it anyway."

And the good news is that if you can't sell the stuff you can always smoke it!


Dude... a first!

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