Grow your own pot seminar coming to Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — Atlantic City is hosting a grow-your-own marijuana seminar.

While medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, growing your own is not.

The $1,000, four-day course will be offered by a California-based marijuana school at Bally's Casino this weekend, starting Saturday.

Oaksterdam University chancellor Dale Jones told The Philadelphia Inquirer  basil will be used in demonstrations.

"New Jersey didn't offer us any wiggle room to use live plants, and we didn't want to put anyone at risk for arrest," she said.

Discussions will also include the business and legal aspect of the marijuana industry. Students who earn high scores will receive certifications that could lead to jobs, Jones said.

The school anticipates that about 100 cannabis devotees, patients, entrepreneurs and even regulators from around the region will attend the class.

"More than 50 percent of the students at Oaksterdam come from outside California," Jones said. "So we thought that rather than making you guys come to us, let's find a great town and bring it to the East."

Medical marijuana has gotten off to a slow start in New Jersey. It took nearly three years from the time medical marijuana was legalized in 2010 until the first dispensary opened.

There were delays in getting regulations in place and struggles finding communities willing to host the centers. Some people have complained about the state's restrictions of the potency of cannabis that can be sold legally and the short list of qualifying medical conditions.

The president and CEO of one of New Jersey's three medical marijuana dispensaries quit

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)