Pubdate: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2014 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/mVLAxQfA Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Phil Latzman Page: 13A BUSINESSES LINING UP TO MAKE MONEY ON POT Recent polls indicate Florida's Amendment 2 to legalize medical marijuana right on the cusp of the 60 percent it will need for passage next month. Yet, in anticipation of its approval, the jockeying has already begun among businesses seeking to profit on this burgeoning enterprise. Educational seminars have sprung up in advance of the Nov. 4 vote. Advertisements for companies promoting the business education of pot have been splashed in the media everywhere. Advertising at advance prices below $200, the Green Rush Seminars Series is among the least expensive of full day information sharing events. Its website offers attendees a chance to "plant a seed and watch it grow" with presentations on the history of marijuana advocacy. Having made previous stops in Tampa and Orlando and coming to Miami this weekend, Green Rush partner Larry Kirschenbaum says it is simply about spreading awareness, not pushing pot sales. "We're involved in other things in the medical marijuana world. We're into the science of it, teaching people the medical uses of marijuana. Our product is awareness." On the other end of the spectrum at $459 for the day, Florida Medical Marijuana Treatment Center Institute's website promises "Fortune 500-caliber marijuana business education" for those looking to make their make their future living in the future field. His seminar comes to Miami later in the month. MMTC Founder Daniel Curtis, who calls himself "a serial entrepreneur," says his sessions are about education and arming attendees with knowledge as soon as possible in the run-up to the vote. "We're on the cusp of a multi-hundred billion industry that's going to rise rapidly." Running his fledgling operation with two partners from a converted condo overlooking Biscayne Bay, he calls it an incredible opportunity for Floridians to get in early. "[Florida] has a chance for significant social and economic change." But Curtis admits there's still mystery when it comes to the ways of the medical pot business in Florida if it does indeed become law. "The real unknown here is the regulation and how it will be done." Despite the lack of known framework, it's estimated scores of businesses are taking the risk, already applying for marijuana licenses. Successful companies with a history of doing business in Florida would be allowed to distribute based on a state licensed physician's recommendation. Opponents worry the State Department of Health, in charge of issuing licenses to dispensaries, will be overwhelmed as it attempts to implement the law in six months. Twenty-three other states and the District of Columbia have already legalized forms of medical marijuana. Ohio and Pennsylvania have ballot initiatives as well next month. Those in favor of Amendment 2's passage believe Florida could be the first Southeast domino to fall towards medical legalization in the entire region, leading to an even faster business expansion. As chairman of the United For Care Campaign, high powered and deep-pocketed Orlando attorney John Morgan has been medical pot's biggest proponent. However, after contributing over $4 million of his own money in the effort to get the required signatures for the ballot initiative, he's reticent of the pro-marijuana education campaign. Following an online debate on the measure at the Sun Sentinel last week, Morgan warned against jumping in too soon. "My advice to everyone looking to get in this business is to do absolutely nothing [before the election], because there are so many crooks and hucksters out there selling seminars and licenses and selling the dream." Morgan added, "you'd be better off lighting your cash on fire." At Green Rush, Kirschenbaum says there are no ulterior motives to his sessions beyond advocacy and awareness, and insists he is losing money on them so far. He claims to have only broken even during a trip to Tampa last weekend with 65 attendees and had even less booked for a recent Orlando event. He's counting on voters in South Florida to put Amendment 2 over the 60 percent threshold. "They don't know what our product is. Once the law is passed, we'll spread the message." Phil Latzman is a longtime South Florida journalist. You can email him at follow him on Twitter and listen to him online at http://www.SoundCloud.com/PhilLatzman. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt