With New Yorkers now legally able to grow marijuana from their home, some worry about how rules regulating at-home growing will be enforced.
The Cannabis Control Board passed the measure during a meeting on Tuesday. The new regulations come with some restrictions. Only adults 21 and older can grow the plant at home. A person cannot have more than six plants. Growers have to ensure anti-theft measures and keep the plants from public view.
Craig Zaffe is the founder and CEO of Hemp For Wellness and teaches people how to safely grow cannabis to treat various ailments.
“Once they learn how to grow, they enrich their lives and they take charge of their own health,” he said. “You don’t want to have it just out in the living room. You want to have it in a grow tent [or] closet. And you don’t want to just advertise it.”
Joseph Ortiz is the founder of Private Caregivers Collective, which specializes in cannabis education. He says the new regulations allow for people to comfortably try growing in their homes.
“This now allows them to confidently cultivate in their house,” Ortiz says.
Not everyone is on board. Steven Chassman is the executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence. He worries about what enforcement measures are in place to make sure homegrown cannabis stays out of the hands of kids and teens.
“Law enforcement has absolutely no tools for enforcement to ensure that a certain number of plants are being grown per household and that the product or the fruits of those plants are being secured by responsible parents,” said Chassman.
Advocates say parents need to be responsible.
“Parents need to talk to their children if they’re going to be cultivating at home,” said Ortiz. “Whether it’s a medicine or this is mommy and daddy’s relaxing medication.”
At-home growers also need to make sure cannabis odor doesn’t become a nuisance to their neighbors.
“Even though it’s legal, you still have to be very cautious,” said Zaffe.
It’s still illegal to sell or trade homegrown cannabis.
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