Registered medical marijuana patients in Connecticut are now permitted to grow their own cannabis plants for personal use.
The law change took effect on October 1, 2021, as one of the provisions of Connecticut’s adult-use marijuana legalization bill which came into force on July 1, 2021.
Qualifying patients 18 years or older can now grow up to six marijuana plants at home, while households with more than one qualifying patient may grow up to 12.
Connecticut has around 54,000 registered medical cannabis patients who up until now could only legally obtain marijuana from one of the state’s few licensed dispensaries.
Recreational users in Connecticut will have to wait until July 1, 2023, when they will be legally permitted to grow their own plants for personal use.
The law states marijuana plants must be grown indoors at a patient’s home where they are not visible from the street and where they can’t be accessed by minors under 21 years.
NORML, one of the nation’s leading cannabis reform advocacy organizations, commended the move in a statement while many other medical cannabis states continue to prohibit patients from growing their own marijuana at home.
“NORML supports the right of individuals to grow their own cannabis as an alternative to purchasing it from licensed commercial producers. NORML maintains that the inclusion of legislative provisions protecting the non-commercial home cultivation of cannabis serves as leverage to assure that the product available at retail outlets is high quality, safe, and affordable,” the statement reads.
“Further, many patients respond best to specific strains of the cannabis plant. Permitting select patients the option to produce these specific strains at home assures that they will have an uninterrupted and cost-effective supply of the medicine that is best suited to their own particular therapeutic needs.”
Until cannabis cultivation for recreational purposes becomes legal in 2023, Connecticut residents who aren’t registered medical marijuana patients can still face sanctions for growing their own plants.
Adults 21 and older in Connecticut can legally possess up to one and a half ounces of marijuana, or an equivalent amount of concentrates, in public and up to five ounces at home.
However, legal adult-use sales in the state aren’t expected to launch until next year, but the gifting of small amounts of cannabis is permitted under Connecticut’s marijuana legalization law.
