Washington State Proposes Bill Allowing You to Grow 15 Pot Plants

It may seem like a strange bill proposal, but supporters of the bill say it would make the legalities of marijuana in Washington State much more like alcohol.

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Washington State Bill Proposes Legal Marijuana Grows at Home

Cannabis or marijuana has been legal in Washington State for quite a while now, but not everything has been allowed. Anyone 21 and over has been able to walk into their local cannabis shop and buy legal products since the law was changed in 2012. Even though it has been legal to buy cannabis products in licensed stores and consumed in your home, only medical patients with a special license have been able to grow marijuana legally. Over the years, multiple bills have gone through the Washington State legislature to try and legalize home growing for anyone legally old enough to purchase it but they have all failed to become law. Now, the Washington State Legislature is looking at a new bill that would do just that. What are the details?

The Details of Marijuana Home Grow Washington State Bill

Even todayin Washington, it is a felony for anyone caught growing cannabis, also known as marijuana, basically anywhere unless you are a medical patient with a special license from the state to do so. Now HB 2194 would make it legal for adults 21 and over to grow legally up to a certain number of plants. The proposal would allow for 6 plants to be grown legally per adult 21 and over in each household, but with a cap limit of 15 plants total. That means if 4 adults live in a household, they would still only be able to grow the 15 cap limit. Most Washington State households would be able to grow a total of 12 plants with an average of 2 adults per house. The bill also proposes to make being caught growing between 7 and 15 plants per adult only a civil infraction, while growing 16 or more plants would be a class C felony. That class C felony charge has a maximum of five years imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine. It is also the current charge for growing any amount of marijuana currently in Washington State without a medical license.

Does This Bill Make Sense?

I personally think that this bill is less about giving people more "drug" rights and more about being able to focus on large illegal growers inside Washington. Even though the term weed is commonly used, marijuana is not easy to grow, is complicated, and can be very expensive and counterproductive unless you are an expert. Most people will continue to just purchase products at legal retail stores with only a few exploring this newfound proposed freedom. Rep. Shelley Kloba (D) who is the lead sponsor of the bill told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview, "I just see it as a fundamentally illogical thing that we’re doing. We’ve made it criminal to grow a plant whose products you can walk into a retail store and purchase.” Both beer and wine are legal to brew at home and Kloba thinks this bill just makes sense for the citizens of Washington State. Marijuana plants take at least 4 to 5 months to grow and harvest and they usually do not produce much product per plant. The proposed amount of allowed plants might be enough to provide an average adult's usage, but it might also not produce enough. The proposed bill has 4 other sponsors including Sharon Wylie, Beth Doglio, Roger Goodman, and Nicole Macri. All are Democrats.