Growing Your Own Weed Could Land You In Jail In Washington State As Home Cultivation Bill Dies In House Committee

Washington state lawmakers recently killed a push to grant adults the freedom to cultivate cannabis at home.

How?

The House Appropriations Committee failed to vote on Rep. Shelley Kloba’s HB 2194 before the February 5 deadline set to advance bills through fiscal panels to keep moving in the state legislature.

The home cultivation measure cleared a separate House committee last month. It would have allowed people to grow up to four marijuana plants per person limited to not more than 10 per household, as amended.

Cultivating cannabis for personal consumption without being a holder of a state medical card is considered a Class C felony, punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years and fines of up to $10,000.

Washington and Colorado made history in 2012 when they became the first two U.S. states in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Since then, legislators have been polishing up their laws as viewed by Rep. Kloba and her colleagues’ attempt to legalize home cultivation.

"This bill is actually a long time coming," Kloba said last month at a House committee hearing, reported by Marijuana Moment's Ben Adlin. "This is something that many other states have done, and it is time for us to do it, as well."

Still, there remains opposition to the policy change. Rep. Kristine Reeves (D) said last month that there "are a lot of unanswered questions in this bill, with serious unintended consequences."

She raised concerns about the disposal of discarded cannabis material following the harvest and the lack of assurance that Black and brown people would be exempt from law enforcement discrimination.

Republicans are mostly worried about illegal cannabis sales and minors having access to marijuana.

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