Washington State lawmakers have once again abandoned an effort to legalize personal cannabis cultivation at home, choosing instead to maintain its felony classification. The proposed legislation, HB 1449, introduced by Representative Shelley Kloba, failed to advance past the House Appropriations Committee before the legislative deadline, effectively halting progress on the measure for this session.
Had it passed, the measure would have permitted individuals aged 21 and over to cultivate up to six marijuana plants at home, with a household limit of 15 plants, regardless of the number of adult residents. The legislation also aimed to allow individuals to keep the cannabis-derived from those plants, even though the state currently only permits possession of up to one ounce.
Kloba and her supporters have been pushing for nearly ten years to enact legislation permitting some home growing, but state agencies and other lawmakers have opposed the plan every year. A similar proposal from Kloba, HB 2194, failed last year. Despite these setbacks, she has repeatedly expressed her determination to continue pushing for reform.
Washington was among the first states to legalize recreational cannabis, approving a ballot measure in 2012. However, growing cannabis at home without a medical license is a Class C felony, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Attempts have been made to amend this part of the law since 2015, but no proposal has been approved.
This year’s bill gained backing from several cannabis businesses and encountered less resistance from state agencies like the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), which had opposed previous home cultivation initiatives. Despite this shift, Democratic lawmakers were unable to unite in support of the measure.
During a recent committee hearing, Kloba emphasized the importance of updating the law, stating that while Washington legalized many aspects of marijuana use through Initiative 502, home cultivation was not included.
The committee eventually voted to move HB 1449 forward after incorporating three amendments proposed by Representative Christine Reeves. Reeves’s amendments added regulations such as requiring the LCB to create a tracking system for homegrown plants, mandating that cannabis waste be mixed with other household waste for disposal, and establishing fees for those who wish to grow at home.
Additionally, commercial producers would be required to inform consumers about home cultivation laws, and the LCB would have to publish relevant legal information on its website.
One of Reeves’s changes also required liability insurance for anyone considering cannabis cultivation. Another stated that before enforcing home grow regulations, law enforcement should take into account the local availability of legal cannabis and provide a warning for first-time infractions involving plant restrictions.
Training on the history of marijuana enforcement and its disproportionate impact on specific populations would be mandatory for all law enforcement officers. Despite these additions, Reeves remained hesitant about the bill, noting that her constituents do not support the presence of marijuana businesses in their communities.
The marijuana movement, including entities like Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQ; CGC) (TSX: WEED), will likely be unhappy that the repeated efforts to reform the legal cannabis industry in Washington State are not registering the success intended to give adults in the state an opportunity to grow their own marijuana if they so choose.
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