Maine Marijuana Amendment Would Reduce Home Cultivation to 3 Plants

When Maine voters approved recreational marijuana, the home cultivation limit was six mature and up to 12 immature plants. That portion of the law may see a significant reduction. Amendments to the Marijuana Legalization Act include a reduction to just three plants.

Home cultivation has been permitted since January 1, 2017, according to the Press Herald. Governor LePage has threatened to veto the bill, however, lawmakers can garner enough support to prevent a veto. If the legislatively approved version of the bill becomes law, Maine residents would have six months from the date of implementation to comply with the new regulations.

The changes that would take place would be a reduction from six mature plants to just three. Home cultivators would still be permitted to have 12 immature plants and there would be no limit on seedlings.

Senator Roger Katz said, “We don’t want Maine to be out in front of other states on marijuana. Colorado had problems with home grow and cut theirs, so we did, too.”

The changes are to ensure that there is not an oversupply aiding the black market in the state. What some are having trouble with is regulating the amount obtained from the harvests as every home grower will have different results. Some may achieve about an ounce and a half while other, more experienced home cultivators may produce a pound per plant.

Some advocates are saying that the reduction is a “slap in the face”.

David Boyer of MPP said, “Self-reliance and sustainability are part of what Maine’s about. I don’t see the issue with Mainers growing for themselves. We should not go back and recriminalize something we just made legal.”

There is a benefit here for medical marijuana patients that cultivate. Their limits would not be changed, they would remain the same as their rules do not apply to recreational use.