3 in 5 Americans support growing weed.
That's a really cool stat if you're a Hobby Grower.
New findings by The Harris Poll suggest public sentiment is in favor of home cultivation.
This news comes on the heels of Germany's first day of legalization (including the right to grow). When Canada legalized, ~9% of cannabis consumers grew their own. Rough math translates that to more than 500,000 German home growers.
The more growers the better.
Here's some other cool stats from The Harris Poll findings:
81% of cannabis consumers agree all Americans should have the right to grow at home
37% of respondents (66% of consumers) said they'd consider buying pot seeds as a gift for 4/20.
34% of consumers who have grown say it's because they consider the product safer than store-bought products
62% of consumers would rather grow their own cannabis than buy it
29% of consumers have grown their own plants (21% would like to try).
Study Notes: 2000 respondents, 713 of which consume cannabis.
Of the cannabis consumers who have grown at home:
49% say doing so gives them a sense of confidence; 48% a sense of joy; 46% a sense of pride; 34% a sense of ease; 44% a connectedness with nature or Earth
47% say they do so because it is fun
43% said it is more cost-effective than buying cannabis flower in a store
39% said the quality of the flower is better compared to store-bought
Those stats alone are enough for a victory lap for the home grower.
But there's some unfortunate context that isn't touched on:
Just because pot’s legal, doesn't mean growing is.
24 states have Adult-Use, "fully legal" markets.
37 States have some form of a medical program.
Out of all 37 states with some form of legal access, 11 still have no right to grow.
Just because it is legal, doesn't mean it's legal.
What States Allow Home Grow (In Some Form)
When I started GrowHort, I built a document with legal limits for each state.
I wanted to know where I could legally teach people to grow 1-2 plants.
When I saw the poll news, I went in and updated that document with new laws that had changed in the last year:
Don't worry, I know that's a little hard to read (had to fit all 50 states). You can access the spreadsheet directly and dive into the nuances (or just read it in a bigger size).
Thoughts: Great to see progress being made.
It's about status quo for 26 out of 37 states overall.
I was pleasantly surprised by 21 out of 24 Rec states.
With every new study, we get new stats that seem to back up home grow, but the laws don't reflect that yet.
And when I tell people who don't spend their days working in weed that growing isn’t always legalized, they're often surprised to learn that home grow isn't automatically included.
(But, let's be honest, it’s not surprising either; the precedent set by alcohol and home brewing trends this way, too. We can't expect it to happen overnight for home grow whe it took 80 years after prohibition was repealed for home brewing to be 50-state legal.)
Why Home Grows Aren't a Priority
As I have discussed previously, in order to change laws, you have to dangle the right carrot in front of those charged with writing and passing said laws.
For years, the carrot that worked best was Tax Revenue.
"There's BILLIONS of taxes to be made on legal weed!"
"If people buy legally, we can pay to fix roads and fund schools!"
"You can balance the budget with the sin-tax excise fees we'll levy!"
Tax-incentivized reform does not benefit from home cultivation rights.
There's no tax revenue from your grow, so it is not important.
Home Grow is a "bonus" advocates have to fight for, far from a given.
So we have to keep it top of mind.
We have to remind people, even non-cannabis people, that "legal" has to include the right to grow.
We have to show them that legal home grows don't result in black market operations and underage use.
We as Hobby Growers have to demonstrate that normal, tax-paying, responsible adults can grow their own weed at home without society imploding.
And we also have to stress how important it is that "legal" includes growing.
How We Fix This For Future Hobby Growers
In the future, we won't have to worry about the right to home grow.
It'll eventually be legal everywhere.
But, until that time, there are ways that growers can help move the needle.
I brought this up on the Homegrown Hashishin episode I was on last week:
On more than one occasion, growers and licensed operators have approached me and asked if I'd head up a Home Growers Association.
The purpose of an association would be to advocate on behalf of the home grower, something that is desperately needed.
In order to do that successfully, growers need a platform to stand on, an example to point to, a plan to implement.
You see, especially in politics when discussing controversial topics like weed, no one wants to be the fall guy; it's easier to point fingers.
When it comes to policy, you need a precedent.
You need to be able to point to a city, state, or country that has attempted to do what you are doing and did so both successfully and without the negative consequences that opponents feared.
And that works both ways:
States want laws that have proven to work
Growers want proven laws that protect their right to grow
Ideally, there'd be one universal statement that reads:
"Adults 21 or older have the legal right to possess, consume, and cultivate cannabis."
Period. That's the end. No restrictions.
But we all know that's not how this works.
Legislators need to put a nice sandbox around things.
And they also like to have the heavy lifting done for them.
We need to analyze existing home grow laws:
What are the best laws on the books for growers? What states/markets have legalized home grow in the most permissive way? This language should be used as a model.
What are the most protected laws for growers? If opposition rallied tomorrow, which states' grow laws have the most protection from change? The most protected should be the priority.
From there, language can be developed and tweaked as needed. Some tweaks will have to happen AFTER laws are passed, that's just part of the process.
Then, we will use a 2-Prong advocacy approach:
Proactive in New Markets: Implementing new laws using developed language permitting and protecting home grow.
Reactive in Established Markets: Working with policymakers, lawyers, and advocates to revise and amend existing laws to incorporate, permit, and protect home grow.
Once we have language, growers can advance the issue.
By then, if trends continue, we’ll have even more support on our side.
It’s not (fully) legal if you can’t grow it.
So let’s work together so everyone can enjoy that freedom.