This article was originally published on The Bluntness, and appears here with permission.
The desire for home cultivation laws in New Jersey continues to be an important issue for cannabis advocates as state lawmakers rush to shape legislation after voters overwhelmingly approved the sale of adult-use cannabis on Nov. 3, 2020.
While most adult-use and medical cannabis laws in other states allow or at least decriminalize growing cannabis at home, New Jersey cannabis laws continue to overlook the issue.
This is an especially sensitive concern for medical cannabis patients in New Jersey, where medicinal use of the plant has been permitted for ten years now.
One of the most active supporters for home cultivation in New Jersey is Jo Anne Zito, a board member of the Coalition of Medical Marijuana of New Jersey (CMMNJ). The initiative to allow home cultivation is named “Jeff’s Law” after Jeff Oakes, a veteran cannabis activist who is dying of cancer.
Zito believes that New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) – co-sponsor of the state’s adult-use bill – is against cannabis home grows, making passage of Jeff’s Law difficult.
Meanwhile, New Jersey Senate Majority Whip Nicholas Scutari made a statement on home cultivation in April 2019: “I’m personally not against home grow, but we have to walk before we can run,” he said. “In the future, it’s something we can consider, but we’re not putting it in now.”
Scutari also added that: “It’s hard to police gardners.”
Some want to wait for the adult-use market to be established before homegrow is legalized, Zito said, “But [patients like] Jeff Oakes can’t wait.”
The need for home cultivation laws stems from a widespread agreement that the NJ medical cannabis produced by dispensaries is oftentimes too expensive or mediocre for patients, who would like the option of growing their own.
Zito also lamented how one of the issues is that many New Jersey medical marijuana patients see the strains (aka cultivars) they love and need discontinued by the dispensaries.
Even though there are a lot of different strains to choose from, many people find that one specific strain works for them best. Distinct effects of various cannabis cultivars come down not only to THC levels but terpene profiles as well.
To build public support for home cultivation, Zito launched a petition for Jeff’s Law and spoke at a masked cannabis rally in Trenton this past August. She has also lobbied state lawmakers.
“Hopefully, with the work we’ve done by patients, it can’t be denied even by him,” she said of Sweeney’s stance on home cultivation.
Would Home Cultivation Harm NJ Cannabis Businesses?
Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles facing home cultivation cannabis laws in New Jersey is that some in the industry are afraid it would interfere with revenue from legal sales.
In 2019, New York medical dispensaries sent Governor Andrew Cuomo a letter stating that home cultivation laws would cut into their profits and urged him to ban homegrow.
Kris Krane of 4Front Ventures, a multistate operator (MSO) in five states, supports homegrow and has watched the states’ policy evolve.
“I think if people want to cultivate their own, they should have every right to do so,” Krane said.
Krane wrote a column in response to the Cuomo letter on Forbes.com saying the industry shouldn’t be greedy. He said it is a bad business decision to discourage the regulation of growing cannabis at home because people who grow generally are cannabis enthusiasts and consumers of dispensary products.
“I think it’s a good business decision to advocate for it,” said Krane, who was also a founder of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and worked at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Krane also noted the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) came out publicly against the letter from New York dispensaries.
Industry stakeholders might also note that there are economic benefits to passing home cultivation laws, Zito explained. For example, many seeds, plants, and clones are sold along with gardening tools specifically for growing cannabis at home.
“Legalizing fosters safety, business, innovation, and promotes compliance,” Zito said of home cultivation.
Home Cultivation Not an Issue in Other States
Krane explained the only issue with allowing home cultivation was in Colorado, where caregivers grew for multiple patients and began selling across state lines. Krane said this has been addressed. Thus, it is no longer an issue in Colorado, nor has it become a problem elsewhere.
Krane further explained how politicians have raised concerns that homegrow would lead to an increase in home invasions and bolster the size of the black market.
“I haven’t seen any issue with home grow laws. These laws have gone on just fine,” Krane said.
Thus, despite the hand wringing, none of the fears a
Read the original Article on The Bluntness.
Benzinga’s Related Links:
© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.