A Washington State House committee has advanced a bill that would allow adults 21 and older to grow up to six cannabis plants at home for personal use.
On Friday the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee passed the legislation, HB 1449, from Rep. Shelley Kloba (D), on a 9–6 vote along party lines.
“This is an important bill,” Kloba said before the vote, noting that supporters have introduced the proposal year after year for nearly a decade.
“We legalized so much with regard to cannabis back when we passed I-502, but what we didn’t allow for was this,” she said, referring to the state’s voter-approved legalization law that was enacted at the ballot in 2021. “The fact is, today it remains a Class C felony to grow a plant at home whose products you can buy legally in a store. It’s time to make this change.”
If enacted into law, the bill would allow adults 21 and older to grow up to six cannabis plants at home for personal use, with households capped at 15 plants regardless of how many adults reside on the premises. People could also lawfully keep the marijuana produced by those plants despite the state’s existing one-ounce limit on possession.
Kloba has repeatedly sponsored cannabis homegrow legislation in recent years, but each time the proposal has fallen short. A similar effort last year died in committee without getting a vote.
The sponsor noted on Friday that a state task force that examined equity in Washington’s cannabis system specifically endorsed the legalization of home cultivation.
Washington was one of the first two U.S. states to legalize adult-use marijuana, with voters approving Initiative 502 in 2012. Unlike most other jurisdictions to have adopted the reform since then, however, the state forbids home cultivation of cannabis for personal use—classifying it as a felony offense.
Legislative efforts to allow personal marijuana cultivation stretch back to at least 2015, but so far each has failed. Currently, only state-registered medical marijuana patients may legally cultivate the plant.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
Prior to the vote to advance HB 1449, the panel adopted three amendments to the proposal, all of which came from Rep. Christine Reeves, a Federal Way Democrat who has repeatedly opposed efforts to legalize home cultivation.
Reeves’s changes include requiring state marijuana regulators at the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to establish traceability requirements to track plants, cannabis harvested from those plants and also waste created by homegrown marijuana. LCB would be further authorized to establish a fee that would be paid by adults interested in growing at home.
Cannabis waste would need to be ground and incorporated into other household waste in order to be legally disposed of.
Commercial cannabis producers would also need to post information for consumers about state law around home cultivation, and LCB would need to publish comprehensive information on its website about home cultivation, including related civil and criminal risks.
A separate amendment from Reeves would require that people engaging in home cultivation in cannabis first obtain liability insurance, such as renter’s insurance.
Reeves’s third amendment specifies that an individual would initially receive a warning from law enforcement if they grow more plants or possess more marijuana than allowed under state law. It also directs law enforcement to consider whether legal marijuana is accessible within a jurisdiction when deciding whether to enforce the state homegrow law.
All law enforcement personnel who currently go to basic training would also need to complete bias training around the war on drugs and the history of cannabis enforcement, including its disproportionate impact on certain communities.
Even after all of Reeve’s amendments were adopted by the committee, she still emphasized that she was “a reluctant yes” on the underlying proposal to let Washington adults grow cannabis plants at home.
Reeves said during the hearing that “communities like mine do not want cannabis in their communities,” noting that marijuana businesses are not currently allowed in Federal Way. Possession and use by adults nevertheless remains legal statewide.
The panel rejected a fourth amendment, from Rep. Jeremie Dufault (R), who sought to add a provision that would allow property owners and landlords to ban home cultivation by renters.
Dufault said at Friday’s hearing that the measure would help prevent home cultivation from being seen or smelled by people in nearby units, but Kloba pointed out that her bill already contains provisions meant to address those concerns.
Friday is the deadline for Washington legislation to clear policy committees.
Washington Bills To Legalize Psilocybin Get Critical Reception During Public Hearings
Read the full article here
