Pubdate: Sun, 18 Apr 2010
Source: Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO)
Copyright: 2010 The Gazette
Contact: http://www.gazette.com/sections/opinion/submitletter/
Website: http://www.gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/165
Author: Maria St.Louis-Sanchez
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

GROWING MARIJUANA NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES

Making a business out of growing and selling marijuana  is tougher 
than it used to be.

Many of the thousands of people who attended the first  Colorado 
Springs Medical Cannabis Expo found that out  Sunday. They were 
bombarded with information about  laws, zoning, restrictions and 
up-front costs.

"There's a lot more to it than what I had thought,"  said Loretta 
Duran, who had hoped to grow marijuana on  her family ranch and sell 
it to dispensaries. She found  out Sunday that she's not allowed to 
grow marijuana  where she lives.

"Now I'm not sure how it's going to go," she said.

She wasn't the only one disappointed. Several people  walked angrily 
out of a presentation on medical  marijuana laws when they realized 
just how tough it  would be to start their own business.

Shirley Garduno, event manager, said the purpose of the  expo was to 
give people reliable information, even if  it wasn't what they wanted to hear.

"A lot of people think it's a gold rush, but it really  isn't," she 
said. "They think they can get started  without a business plan or a 
business background. A lot  of these people will go away because they 
aren't good  business people."

Besides the overabundance of pierced noses and  long-haired men, 
Sunday's show was a typical trade  show.

Attendees walked from booth to booth and collected swag  from 
presenters who told them how to advertise their  business, get credit 
or get legal representation. No  marijuana samples were distributed, 
though some  dispensaries did hand out baked goods without cannabis.

"They taste the same with marijuana in it," Garduno said.

Mostly, the event gave professional advice to wannabe  entrepreneurs 
such as Bob Aubuchon.

He's grown marijuana and is sure he can make a business  out of it. 
Hearing about all of the laws and  restrictions worried him a bit, 
but he wasn't deterred.  He spent his day talking to dispensaries and 
finding  out how to grow marijuana.

"There's a lot of money to be made and a lot of good  that you can do," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom