Two Washington lawmakers announced a bill Thursday that would allow anyone 21 years old or older to grow as many as six marijuana plants and share their pot.
Two Washington lawmakers announced a bill Thursday that would allow anyone 21 years old or older to grow as many as six marijuana plants and share their pot.
Anyone growing their own marijuana, for recreational or medical purposes, would be allowed to possess eight ounces — seven more than the current recreational limit.
Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, sponsored the bill in the Senate; Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, introduced the bill in the house.
The home-grow provision was part of Senator Kohl-Welles’ vision for overhauling the marijuana market earlier this year, but lawmakers turned their focus earlier this session to a competing bill championed by Ann Rivers, R-La Center.
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Kohl-Welles attempted to amend Rivers’ bill with a home-growing provision but did not get enough votes.
In Rivers’ bill, medical-marijuana patients in a registry would be allowed to grow their own marijuana and combine their efforts in collective grow operations.
Kohl-Welles said she did not like the idea of a registry. She said her measure would cut out the cost of administering such a system, reduce bureaucracy and provide clear direction to law enforcement.
“They (law enforcement) can count up to six plants and don’t have to worry about these gardens with several people and are they really medical marijuana patients? Did they get an authorization? Are they in a registry?” Kohl-Welles said.
The bill was introduced after the Legislative session’s cutoff for policy bills, but Kohl-Welles said she was hopeful it could be part of a compromise.
“You never know what will happen with an issue like marijuana,” she said. “It could serve as part of the negotiation later on.”