Is Growing Cannabis In The US Legal?

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The US cannabis industry is now gargantuan with recent estimates valuing it at 38.5 billion dollars. Interestingly, it’s still classed as a Schedule 1 drug on federal level – making it technically illegal in the US. However, many states have overruled their own rules. In fact, recreational use is currently legal in 24 states, and medical use is legal in 40 states. 

But what about growing cannabis at home? While the 2018 Farm Bill has legalized the growing of hemp (a low THC cannabis variant) on a federal level, growing ‘marijuana’ (the high THC variety) falls into a gray area that is also enforced differently by each state.

Most of the states fall into one of three categories: permitting both medical and recreational cultivation, allowing only medical growing, or not allowing growing at all. This post delves deeper into the differences in legality for those who have been thinking of growing marijuana at home. 

Permitted for both medical and recreational use

21 states allow growing for both medical and recreational use. This includes pioneers in legalization such as California and Colorado, and highly populated states like Michigan and New York.

Many of these states have a limit as to how many plants you can grow for personal use, and some have additional rules such as keeping plants out of public view and not selling the harvest. It’s also worth looking out for quirky laws – for example, Missouri requires growers to apply for a license, and Nevada does not allow home growing if you live within 25 miles of a dispensary.

Permitted for medical use only

A further 4 states allow home cultivation – but only for medical use. These states include Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington. 

Be wary that some of these states have strict rules regarding how many plants can be grown. For example, growers in Illinois can only grow up to 5 cannabis plants and must be registered patients. 

No growing allowed

The remainder of states do not allow growing at home. It’s worth noting that some of these states like Texas and Florida do allow medical or recreational use, and others do allow commercial growing with a license. Others remain strongly anti-cannabis – both in terms of growing and use, for medical and recreational use – including Idaho, Georgia and Kansas. 

Getting into home growing

For those in permissive states, getting into growing is now easy. It’s possible to buy feminized seeds online or over-the-counter at many dispensaries across the US. You’ll find many handy growing guides online.

Make sure to always buy seeds from a licensed vendor. This ensures that any seeds you acquire are high quality and ethically sourced. 

Conclusion

Determining whether you can grow cannabis at home involves looking into your state’s laws. If growing is legal, make sure to look into the conditions – it is solely for medical use, do you need a license and how many plants can you grow? Always order supplies from a licensed dispensary and avoid selling what you grow at home