As I’ve often said, there are several central things that legalization must include if it is to live up to the name. One of the main components legalization must come with is allowance for home growing.
As lawmakers in New York continue to battle over adult-use legalization as time runs out, one of the new bills put forward would include home growing of up to six plants by those 21 years of age and older – something not included in Governor Cuomo’s legalization plan.
Not only is home growing a necessary part of legalization, it is inevitable. In a world where marijuana is being sold out of stores all across town, how would a prohibition on home growing be enforced? A ban on home growing is hard enough to enforce under full prohibition, how would it work under quasi-legalization?
And along with legalization comes advances in cultivation technology like automated grow boxes, making stealth growing even easier, if necessary. But it shouldn’t be necessary. What purpose is served by trying to track down those growing a few plants in their house in an era of retail shops and home delivery and social consumption lounges?