Cannabis, or marijuana, is credited with relieving pain and suffering from cancer to HIV/AIDS. KC Stark of the Marijuana Business Academy remembered how the recreational drug helped an uncle who died of AIDS in the 1980s.
"I saw how the medicine he took would turn him into a zombie," Stark said. "When he rolled a joint, he could get up and cook [and] play music."
Medicinal marijuana has not only become available, but it has ( and will ) become big business in several states, including Illinois, according to Stark.
Current medical research reveals that synthetic marijuana compounds just might fight the HIV virus, according to a Louisiana State University study.
Monkeys were given THC ( tetrahydrocannabinol ), marijuana's main ingredient, over a 17-month period, leafscience.com reported. Research revealed THC minimized damage to the gut's immune tissue, leading to the possibility this could happen at the genetic level.
"It adds to the picture and it builds a little bit more information around the potential mechanisms that might be playing a role in the modulation of the infection," Dr. Patricia Molina, the study's lead author.
Stark and his attorney, Charles Houghton, founded the academy in 2009, after Stark sold his Colorado-based canna-business.
"It was really started to solve a problem," Stark said.
The academy's mission, he said, is to teach canna-business owners the rules to success. Learning the various U.S. Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) and Drug Enforcement Agency ( DEA ) rules is vital to that success. It's success that anyone can achieve, according to Stark.
"It doesn't matter if you're Black or white," he said. "Knowledge is available to everyone."
Acknowledging racial stereotypes in relation to marijuana, Stark said prohibition has "created wars in our inner cities" as a well as "incarceration nation."
However, scaling back regulations on marijuana equals economic development. Stark said the industry has created 10,000 jobs, $200 million in sales and $40 million in sales taxes for Colorado.
"Marijuana is going to make the cotton gin and Internet look like an afterthought," he said.
But, launching a canna-business is far from easy. Stark said people still plagued by "reefer madness" can be formidable obstacles. However, he, again, stressed the potential financial rewards, adding that canna-business owners in the Windy City could see the same type of success. Touring his company, Stark said the Marijuana Business Academy provides the perfect preparation.
"Let them train you. Life is not easy," he said. "It's marijuana, money and politics."
The academy has more than 2,000 alumni, and has room for 50 participants at the Chicago event. Stark said the events have consistently sold out since 2012 and draw a cross-section of people.
"This is a very unique group of people," he said. "They have courage."
The Marijuana Business Academy is slated to hold a conference Aug. 23-24 to educate potential canna-businesspeople. Hotel Magnificent Mile, 165 E. Ontario St., will host the event.
Canna-business owners include farmers, landowners and insurance agents. For more information, visit www.howtomarijuana.com .