SYDNEY, N.S. -- A new class has cropped up in Cape Breton that aims to teach people how to grow marijuana for medicinal use.
Fernando Henriques of Toronto has started the Sea of Green Grow School along with an anonymous partner.
Henriques, who says he is licensed to grow marijuana, plans to teach the two-day course Saturday and Sunday in Sydney, and another in Halifax later this month.
He says students must be 18 years and older, and stresses the program isn't for illegal purposes.
No marijuana will be used during the class.
Staff Sgt. Max Sehl of the Cape Breton Regional Police drug unit says he doesn't believe the class will lead to a sudden increase in illegal grow-ops.
In Nova Scotia, nearly 2,000 people hold a licence to possess dried marijuana, while more than 1,400 hold a personal-use production licence.
Henriques says students will be taught to file paperwork necessary to obtain a grower's licence from Health Canada in 12 weeks or less.
He says the course will also teach people how to reduce the amount of heat used to grow marijuana, which reduces the risk of fire and helps avoid unnecessary attention from police.
Sehl says police are advised of people with medical licences to avoid unnecessary investigations.
Stephane Shank, a spokesman for Health Canada, says the federal department can't endorse or speculate on the school's legitimacy.
