Homegrown cannabis plants may soon be legal in New York

Nearly three years after cannabis was legalized in New York, regulators are poised to adopt rules that will allow anyone 21 or older to lawfully cultivate their own plants.

The proposed regulations, which are expected to be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting of the state Cannabis Control Board, include a provision that would allow retail cannabis store owners and operators to sell starter plants to customers.

If the draft regulations are adopted, it could set up a timeline for individuals to have up to six cannabis plants — three mature and three immature — in their gardens this year. New York is a few months away from its fourth outdoor growing season since cannabis was legalized in the spring of 2021, a law that led many people to wrongly believe they could grow their own cannabis without a license or — as of October 2022 — without a medical prescription for cannabis.

The proposed rules specify that each private residence, no matter how many adult residents live there beyond one person, can have no more than six mature plants and six immature plants growing at once. It also limits the amount of cannabis that someone can possess to up to 5 pounds of “cannabis flower that has been trimmed from plants, which have been cultivated in or on the grounds of said person’s private residence.”

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