Cannabis education abuses medical marijuana rights

Marijuana. Weed. Cannabis. Pot. Most know this illegal substance as a purely extracurricular activity. That isn't entirely the case anymore, so stoners, listen up. Here is a college whose curriculum is purely rooted in marijuana.

Med Grow Cannabis College recently opened in Michigan, offering classes that teach students how to grow and use medical marijuana. At first this seems like a good concept: a school that is teaching the known, but sometimes ignored, advantages of medical marijuana. However, this college is nothing like any school I'm used to. With its pot leaf logo and its barely out of college, 24-year-old founder, Nick Tennant, who seems more a frat boy than a business entrepreneur, Med Grow just seems a bit too sketchy and lacking in any type of regulation to be a legitimate learning establishment.

What first tipped me off that Med Grow was a joke of a college was its curriculum. It offers classes on horticulture and legal matters, which are legitimate classes in this field, but it also offers a class on cooking with marijuana. Cooking with marijuana, come on. The Med Grow Web site's course summary describes the class as a hands-on way to "eat your work." In other words, let's come to class and get high on pot brownies.

Students at the college say that the school is a business investment, according to an article in the Nov. 28 issue of the New York Times. With the uncertain economy, getting into a new field where there are many interested patients seems like a no-brainer way to make money. However, many people interviewed in this article would not disclose their names, or they said they hadn't told their families about the college. This just further emphasizes my point of Med Grow's illegitimacy. Even the students are afraid to talk about it. When starting a new business or delving into a new field, most people are proud and want to make their name public. Not at Med Grow. Med Grow makes you ashamed of yourself.

After completing a six-week course at Med Grow, students become caregivers. With a care-giving card, in Michigan, one can have up to five patients to whom they legally distribute and for whom they legally grow marijuana. The law regarding the legalization of medical marijuana in Michigan regulates how much can be grown. However, this marijuana is being grown for supposedly medical purposes. Thus, two months of learning how to grow and bake with marijuana certifies you to give prescriptions for dosages of an illegal drug to sick or even terminally ill patients. Two months is just not enough preparation. If I'm ever terminally ill, I will most definitely not be taking my medical advice from anyone other than a trained professional doctor.

I'm by no means saying that marijuana does not work to help ailments. Joycelyn Elders, MD (note the MD) said on the Web site medicalmarijuana.procon.org, medical marijuana can alleviate all types of pain including nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of diseases, including AIDS and Multiple Sclerosis. Also, it is less toxic than many other prescription drugs. However, Elders is a doctor who has gone through numerous years of schooling to learn these facts. She is not some 24-year-old looking to make a quick buck.

Medical marijuana is a potential asset in the field of medicine. Once the legal issues are resolved and more research is conducted to learn all the pros and cons, the use of medical marijuana needs to be taught in medical schools and practiced among doctors. However, with schools such as Med Grow that give people a reason to think medical marijuana is a shady practice, the true advantages may just get lost in smoke.

Molly Skyles is a sophomore communication major from St. Louis, Mo.