There is a big misunderstanding among the general public regarding medical marijuana, although most American support the idea of medical marijuana – there is always room for improvement in public relations regarding understanding medical marijuana.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Like other universities, Oaksterdam offers wide-eyed students an enlightening classroom experience to spark their curiosity.

In this case, though, they learn how to greet DEA agents after a residence is forcibly entered and how to make the perfect pot brownie for a homework assignment.

And the diploma confers the status of certified “budtender.”

Marijuana devotees pack classes at a unique trade school that teaches how to grow and process marijuana, use the drug in baked goods and manage medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Ilia Gvozdenovic, chancellor of the school, describes the non-accredited institution as a much-needed source of knowledge about marijuana in an age of misunderstanding.

“It’s kind of like the wild West,” said Gvozdenovic, alluding to the conflict and confusion surrounding the California law allowing the sale of medical marijuana, and the refusal of the federal government to acknowledge it.

“To me, the issue is we need better training for folks.”

The school, founded in November, already boasts about 500 graduates. It stands in a part of downtown Oakland nicknamed “Oaksterdam,” where pot clubs and cafes line the streets as in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where smoking marijuana and hashish is tolerated.

Just teaching people how to grow and use marijuana isn’t enough to draw the wrath of the federal government, said Sarah Pullen, a Los Angeles spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“If they’re not distributing, selling or cultivating marijuana, I would imagine they’re not violating any federal laws,” she said.

There should also be more info out there regarding the use of vaporizers instead of “smoke” related methods of consuming medical cannabis.

The bottom line is Americans believe doctor’s should be able to prescribe medical marijuana to patients and we should all help do our part in helping the general public understand medical marijuana and why it not only should be allowed, but supported.

(Oregon) – With a doctor’s prescription and a little backyard space you can turn your backyard into a medicinal garden providing patients with medicine. Here is something I found this morning regarding a patient having to protect and defend himself against people trying to stop him from growing his own natural and 100% legal medicinal cannabis.

Stephen Vinzant says he has been growing marijuana at his residence legally for three years and has a state-issued medical marijuana card to prove it.

His next-door neighbors — who run a counseling center for recovering drug addicts — are not impressed.

Their differences will get a public airing Monday when Phoenix Counseling Center owner Keziah Hinchen will attempt to convince City Council members that they should put an end to Vinzant’s outdoor pot crop.

Hinchen plans a presentation to the council outlining the difficulty of assisting people with substance abuse issues while a “fresh crop is growing right next door.”

Vinzant said he moved to the property three years ago, at which time he began growing the state-allowed crop of 12 mature plants and 36 immature plants.

Half of the plants are for Vinzant’s mother, who suffers from chronic restless leg syndrome and the other half are for Vinzant, a Vietnam-era vet who said he suffers from post-traumatic stress, a bad back and arthritis.

During the past two growing seasons, Vinzant said, “no one squawked about anything.”

Then the treatment center changed ownership, a client discovered the plants during last year’s harvest and, Vinzant said, “totally freaked out.”

Hinchen said the counseling center serves as an extended campus for local schools by providing services to adolescents with substance abuse issues “and something like 85 to 95 percent of them have issues with marijuana.”

“So here’s this guy and he’s got this great big marijuana garden in his backyard,” Hinchen said. “The plants are 20 feet away from the fence — 20 feet away from people who have addiction issues. When it starts getting ripe, you can smell it. So here we’re saying, ‘Stay away from marijuana’ and here it is. They smell it, they see it . . . it’s right there!”

The problem with the above way of thinking is that just because medicinal marijuana is there, does not mean they should show no control and forget about it. Alcoholics enter grocery stores all day long and alcohol is available everywhere that ex-drinkers frequent. Marijuana is medicine, these people cannot stop a patient who is within his legal rights and within state law from gowing his own medicinal cannabis. He even built a cage around the plants and there are fences and locks in place!

And the local police agree with me, he is within his rights and state law…

Jackson County sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Rick Valentine said state laws regarding medical marijuana use are tricky to navigate.

“I don’t know of anything in the statutes that prohibits having a medical marijuana grower next to a rehabilitation center,” he said.

“We’ve had calls where people complained about their neighbor growing medical marijuana but they’re within state law.”

And this is exactly the reason we need safe access to medicinal marijuana and regulation – to not only protect patients and users, but those citizens who live next door to patients, as well as, the officers who are caught in this drug war that is plagueing and destroying our society. Marijuana is medicine and not the evil “street drug” it has been made out to be, by forcing it underground and into the hands of the drug czars.

Patients should never be required to turn to the black market for medicine, the same way anxiety, depression, pain medicine is prescribed to Americans every day… marijuana should be available to anyone who needs it. Especially Migraine sufferers who suffer daily pain and anxiety regarding when and if an attack will occur and cause nausea at the workplace and interfering with work hours the way it has me for decades.