A lot more states and countries around the world are permitting the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal use and they are turning to marijuana-growing schools to get started. There are a lot of medical marijuana dispensaries that provide marijuana to patients as recommended by a medical doctor.
There are several countries around the globe where the use of medical marijuana is lawful (ex. European Countries, Canada, etc.) and now it is becoming 100% legal for citizens in countries (ex. Uruguay, the Netherlands, etc.) some states in the United States currently (Colorado & Washington).
Yet, it remains illegal on the Federal Level (even for medical use), yet there are more and more medical marijuana patients learning at marijuana-growing schools every day. There are numerous methods to grow medical marijuana and our growing marijuana school wanted to do a quick overview so new patients can get started growing immediately the correct way.
Step 1 – Find A Medical Marijuana Strain To Grow
The Indica strain (scientific name: cannabis indica) is a relaxant, generally taken to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, muscular tissue spasms, tremors, mobility issues, and pain management.
Sativa strains (scientific name: cannabis sativa) are more of a stimulant, even more, appropriate for appetite stimulation, migraines, aches, and nausea, and are commonly taken by HIV/AIDS and cancer patients.
Step 2 – Natural Sunlight 
vs Artificial Lighting
You will learn in our marijuana-growing school that you need to find a place that will provide adequate light for your plants to grow healthy. A general rule is the more light the plants receive the larger the yield will be at harvest.
If you are growing outdoors or in a greenhouse then at the very least your plants will need at least 3 hours of direct sunlight every day (6 hours is the most ideal). If you are growing indoors, you will need a ballast and a High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulb for the vegetative growth stage for the plants to grow large enough, use a light cycle of 18 hours of “daytime” & 6 hours of “night time”.
When you want to transition from vegetative growth to start blooming your medical marijuana, you will need to change your light bulb to a Metal Halide and the light cycle to 12 hours of “daytime” & 12 hours of “night time”. The best way to manage your light cycles is to purchase a high-quality timer, it is very easy to set up and you don’t need a medical marijuana growing school to learn how to use it.
Step 3 – Germinate Your Medical Marijuana Seeds
There are many methods to germinate seeds, here are the 2 easiest ways that we teach to germinate seeds at our medical marijuana growing school are:
1. The first technique requires you to soak your seed(s) in a cup filled with water and to keep them in a dark place (like a kitchen cabinet) for 1 to 3 days until you see a white root sprouting from the seed. Once the seed sinks to the bottom of the glass, then you know it is time to plant your seed(s) into a growing medium.
2. The second way is to moisten a paper towel with water then place the seeds on the towel and fold it around the wet towel the seeds.
Place the paper towel on a plate and keep it in a dark location for around 1 to 3 days until roots appear.
Step 4 – Plant Your Germinated Seeds
After germination, your sprouted seeds need to be immediately planted in whatever growing medium (or system) you are using, and make sure the roots stay moist until the sprouted seed transforms into a seedling (a very small plant).
Our marijuana-growing school recommends that you provide the seedlings with 18 hours of “daylight” and 6 hours of “nighttime” each day for vegetative growth.
You will learn in our medical marijuana growing school, if you start growing your seedlings indoors with artificial lighting, be sure to use fluorescent lights in the beginning with less light intensity so the plants don’t burn from the light and dry out.
If you are growing outdoors then you will need to wait to plant your marijuana seedlings until after June 1st so they can enjoy an entire summer of vegetative growth. If you plant before June 1st the marijuana seedlings will immediately start blooming since the sunlight cycle is closer to 12 hours a day (remember, vegetative growth requires around 18 hours of light).
Also, if you are growing indoors, do not let the plants get too hot or too cold because it will slow their growth, 70 to 75 Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature range. A medical marijuana growing school needs to teach students they should provide fresh and strong air circulation with oscillating fans for indoor growing rooms so plants receive the necessary CO2 to rapidly grow.
Step 5 – Use Organic or Chemical Nutrition
Determine if you want to grow your medical marijuana using natural or organic nutrition (our marijuana growing school highly recommends you grow organically and soil is the easiest way) or you can use chemical nutrition (typically used in hydroponic systems).
Your medicine will either be smoked or ingested once you have harvested it and so it is healthier (and safer) to use organic nutrition to grow your medical marijuana. Also, when using chemical nutrition it can potentially give the bud (or flowers) an undesirable chemical flavor and the only real benefit is it costs less to grow and is easier to measure nutrition levels.
Step 6 – Plants Grow BIG During Vegetative Growth
When marijuana plants receive (at least) 18 hours of lighting a day, it is considered that the plant is in vegetative growth. It will NOT flower (so it is not producing the buds used for medicine yet) until the plant receives 12 hours of light a day.
The fastest growth for marijuana plants happens when they receive 18 to 20 hours of light per day. If you are growing indoors, never give your plants 24 hours of light because they will need time to rest each “night” during the vegetative growth period.
Plants grown outdoors should receive at least 3 hours of direct sunlight every day, with 6 hours being ideal, and must be watered whenever soil (or roots) is dry. When you water the soil, be sure to not over-water since it will cause more issues and can easily kill plants…it is very easy to over-water and most growers do so.
If you are using hydroponics or an automatic watering system then you will want to be sure to read their manual and use its recommended watering cycles to be sure you are not under or over-watering. Use high-nitrogen nutrition during vegetative growth since your plants will need the food to grow rapidly, but be sure to learn from a marijuana-growing school and do not add too much nutrition.
Step 7 – Inducing Marijuana To Flower
When you’re growing outdoors the sun will induce your plants to flower as the days get shorter and the fall time begins so you will want to know your region’s seasons. If you are growing indoors with artificial lighting, you will need to induce flowering by changing the light cycle to 12 hours a day.
Use a low nitrogen, high phosphorus, and potassium (potash) nutrition during the flowering stage.
Step 8 – Harvest Your Medical Marijuana
It takes about 8 – 16 weeks when you transition from vegetative growth (18+ hours of light a day) to start flowering marijuana (< 12 hours of light a day). To grow the same quality of medical marijuana that you will find in a dispensary, you will need to harvest when half of the trichomes are milky on the plants.
Examine the trichomes with a 30 – 60x magnifying glass or with a jewelers loop to see if your plants are ready for harvest (remember some plants will be ready before others). Cut the mature plants at the main stem just above the soil and remove all of the large fan leaves or any smaller leaves (other than flowers/buds).
After you have removed the larger leaves, hang your plants upside down on a clothing line to dry for 6 – 7 days @ 65 – 70 degrees Fahrenheit & around 50 – 55% humidity. When the stems no longer contain a high level of moisture and they can be easily snapped or broken from the stem then it is time to begin the curing process.
You can easily cure your medical marijuana using turkey bags, Mason jars, or paper bags (in our marijuana growing school we teach to NEVER use plastic bags or containers) and it will gradually begin the curing process for your medicine.
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