“I’m a veteran and I cannot see any reason that I can’t grow a few plants in my own house for my personal use.”
By Aspen Ford, Washington State Standard
After more than a decade of failed attempts, supporters of amending Washington State law to allow for homegrown marijuana are growing frustrated, but not giving up.
They’re back at the Legislature this year, pushing lawmakers to make the change. They argue that homegrown cannabis would not put a significant dent in regulated retail marijuana sales and that state penalties for growing at home fall disproportionately on people of color.
Law enforcement groups and cities are among those opposed, citing concerns about kids getting exposed to the drug and added burdens for local police.
Senate Bill 6204 would allow adults 21 and over to grow up to six cannabis plants in their home. Two adults living together could grow up to 12 plants and households with three or more adults could grow up to 15. The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the bill Monday.
The proposal marks the 11th year lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow for home cultivation since Washington legalized recreational cannabis in 2012.
Washington is one of only three states to have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, yet prohibit homegrown marijuana. When Colorado legalized recreational cannabis the same year as Washington, it also allowed for home cultivation.
“I’m a veteran and I cannot see any reason that I can’t grow a few plants in my own house for my personal use,” Erik Johansen, resident of Tumwater, told the Senate committee. “There’s no children there.”
Some critics of the bill contend that the state would lose millions of dollars a year in tax revenue if consumers opted to grow marijuana at home instead of paying a 37 percent cannabis excise tax when buying products in stores.
Advocates say that’s unlikely because growing cannabis is especially difficult.
“We are not your competition. We’re your neighbors and your customers,” John Kingsbury, chair of the patient committee for the Cannabis Alliance, said during this week’s hearing.
“If you’re willing to make felons of your neighbors to protect a half a percent of your sales, then the promise of I-502 has gone terribly wrong,” added Kingsbury, referring to the ballot initiative that voters approved in 2012, legalizing recreational marijuana sales.
On average between 2013 and 2019 in Washington, Black people were five times more likely to be arrested for home growing than white people and Hispanic people were 2.4 times more likely, according to a 2022 report by the state’s Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force.
Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, the lead sponsor of the bill, pointed out that even if the smell disturbed homegrowers’ neighbors, it could be reported and handled by law enforcement.
As written, people who don’t control the odor of their marijuana plants or who do have them in places that are visible to the public could face a class three civil infraction. Law enforcement could seize and destroy plants from a household growing more than the legal limit.
The Liquor and Cannabis Board would not be involved in home grow regulation.
James McMahan, policy director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said law enforcement would need a search warrant and probable cause to carry out a seizure.
The association is opposed to the bill. “We are concerned about the continued normalization of marijuana to our young people,” said McMahan.
The Association of Washington Cities is also against it. “It creates a lot of burden on local law enforcement,” said Derrick Nunnally, the group’s government relations advocate.
The bill prohibits cannabis cultivation for households seeking to foster children and in homes with family day care. There is no restriction for households with children.
In places where marijuana businesses are banned, residents would still be able to grow at home.
House Bill 2614, a companion bill, was scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Business on Friday, but its consideration was removed from the agenda. Its prime sponsor is Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Bothell.
“The legalization of home cultivated in Washington state is inevitable,” Kingsbury said. “My only hope is to live long enough to see it happen.”
“It would be disappointing if legalization just turned into corporate weed,” he added.
This story was first published by Washington State Standard.
