Growing marijuana at home: Sativa Remedy educates community

Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) – As New York’s Cannabis Control Board approved the draft regulations for adult-use home cultivation of recreational cannabis last month, one Tonawanda hemp dispensary is looking to educate Western New Yorkers on the dos and don’ts of growing your own at home.

Sativa Remedy, a hemp dispensary located on Main Street in Tonawanda has recently launched the “grow center” side of their business, with all the equipment you need minus the cannabis seeds to start your grow once state cannabis regulators approve the finalized rules after a 60-day comment period.

“This has been a long time coming since we’ve legalized cannabis in the spring of 2021,” Nhi Kha tells WBEN, CEO and co-founder of Sativa Remedy.

“Recreational users have not been able to legally cultivate their own plants yet, but there was provisions in the MRTA (Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act) that approve the home cultivation of cannabis for personal use, but it wasn’t able to be fully realized until 18 months after the first adult-use recreational sale, so those set of regulations and guidelines are really what home growers have been excited and patiently waiting for.

We’re helping beginner growers to be able to start preparing by providing them not only with the equipments and tools to help them cultivate, but also the education, the guidance necessary and experts that can help them really get out what they put into their home grow.”

Sativa Remedy now have workshops you can sing up for, where they will teach you everything you need to know about growing.

“In Sativa Remedy’s brand new grow center, we have our Grow Expert, Casey Anderson, who has been growing for many years for his own medicinal and wellness usage, but also comes from a commercial background in cultivation. He’s here to teach, instruct and also provide guidance to the consumers. We try to make education and guidance accessible and affordable, so we will do free to low cost grow classes to be able to get consumers really excited about this and provide them with a source of information so that they know where they can go to if they’re really just interested in dipping their toes into this plant,” said Kha.

As the Cannabis Control Board approved draft rules and regulations in February and the 60-day comment period takes place until mid-April. Kha is hopeful that the regulations will be finalized and put through before May.

The regulations, as they stand now, will allow an adult to grow up to six plants (no more than three mature) in a private residence and to harvest up to five pounds of cannabis flower. Households with multiple adults will be permitted to grow a total of six mature plants, 12 plants total.

“There will be some safety provisions including making sure the flower is kept secure away from children but also not visible to the public as well. We also want to note that in these provisions, landlords cannot forbid cannabis home growing, although they can put provisions about odor mitigations on their property,” Kha notes.

It’s important to note that as far as buying marijuana seeds goes in New York State, you will soon be able to purchase them from registered nurseries. The state is still working to finalize authorization of those licenses.

With personal home grow something that was hard fought for by cannabis advocates in the state, coupled with the fact that the public continues to educate themselves on the benefits of cannabis, Kha believes that interest in home cultivation will only continue to bud.

“Once these regulations are finalized, we’re going to see a huge interest. Not that it will take away from the legal dispensaries at all, I believe the legal dispensaries are there to provide the convenience, the different form factors that this product can come in. But allowing consumers to cultivate and have a right to cultivate at home is like being able to grow your own tomatoes or stop into a grocery store to pick up a pack of tomatoes for the night.”