Medical Marijuana: Michigan's New Cash Crop

Growing Weed Could Boost Michigan's Economy

Michigan's legalization of medical marijuana this year has spawned a huge interest in the growing medical marijuana for profit. The interest is so great that a new school in Southfield has formed to teach students the fine art of growing, the history, and the legal aspects of being a caregiver under the new medical marijuana laws of Michigan. The growing of medical marijuana could bring in millions of dollars to the state of Michigan in tax revenue.

Since Michigan's medical marijuana laws are so new many fear reprisals from prosecution so this new cash crop business is kept pretty low key. I have been spending quite a lot of time at the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association forum in preparation for this article. It seems there is a lot of confusion as far as determining the law, growing the marijuana and at what price to charge for growing the marijuana as a caregiver. This group of people does seem to be trying to form a standard at which all are working together for the compassion of the medical marijuana patient.

Growing medical marijuana is still a federal offense, but the Obama administration has informed the DEA to step back and let the states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana handle the legalities of its laws. No federal prosecution has occurred yet in Michigan.

According to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Program, a qualifying patient must get a written consent from a doctor that their condition meets the requirements under the Michigan law to obtain a patient medical card from the Michigan Department of Community Health. The application fee is $100. The patient can designate a primary caregiver that is 21 or older and does not have a prior felony drug conviction on their record.

Why would a medical marijuana patient choose a caregiver?