Growing marijuana on the cusp of legal in NYS

General Gardening
#1

For those of us in states where growing for personal use is or will soon become legal, I thought this might be an interesting topic. A close friend of mine who has long used cannabis medicinally recently told me growing up to six plants was now legal here, but when I looked it up, it turns out that it hasn’t yet gone into affect. It is going to be legal to grow 3 mature plants and 3 immature ones, or up to double that in households with more than one adult- such as married couples.

5 pounds will be the limit of the amount one can possess on their own property, but only an amount less than an ounce can be transported. It is pretty hard to know how much weed is on a plant in the ground, and with the best techniques and some strains, getting several pounds from one plant is entirely doable. Enforcement will certainly be complicated. I’m assuming they mean 5 pounds dried, but a lot of the weight of recently harvested plants will be leaves.

I’m glad I’m not in the underground pot growing business- you can be sure prices are going to drop precipitously. They already did when CA legalized recreational use and black market CA pot started flooding NY.

I’m no longer a pot smoker, but my 30 year old son keeps me well informed. I can’t wait to be able to grow some for him legally.

If you’d told me 50 years ago that it would take half a century for society to get to this point with this relatively benign drug, I would have asked for some of what you were smoking.

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#2

Things happen during emergencies, real or imagined. Georgia lowered beer drinking age to 16 back during the VietNam war…I bought my first 6-pak in Georgia…although I was already in college at the time. (If you’re old enough to fight and kill, you’re definitely old enough to buy a beer!)

i’m not an advocate of a bunch more of our population working, driving, or going to school high–
but, the “war on drugs” was a colossal failure…and I knew at the time it was wasting taxpayer money.

There is no point in fighting un-winnable wars, be they on drugs or Asian nations.

So, it’s about time to cut bait and ‘bring home the troops’ in the drug battles…past time.

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#3

Sounds like pretty reasonable limits. It’s strange how here in WA it’s legal and easy to buy it at a dispensary, but still illegal to grow without a commercial license. It is a beautiful plant, but like you it’s not something I indulge in anymore. If it were legal I’d probably throw a couple in the greenhouse for my neighbors, though.

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#4

I suspect that is to assure maximum revenue for the state, but I’m surprised there isn’t strong negative reaction to that- enough to threaten some political careers.

Of course, laws aren’t really laws unless they are enforced. Which also brings to mind the fact that the stuff is still federally illegal so all these laws could be overridden by fed. enforcement.

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#5

The fed is talking about legalizing it in all 50. Far better substance than alcohol. Here fields are quickly being planted with weed. The prices are going up not down. That’s why only a percentage buy from the stores. It’s still cheaper to get it illegally.

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#6

And that is where prices have likely dropped precipitously. I doubt black market growers will be treated with the same severity as before.

#7

Most of the black market growers are now the ones supplying the stores. I have friends desperately trying to get a growing license to sell to the stores. In my state you can go to any vape shop and buy weed oil, wax, bud, and more as long as you are over 18.

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#8

Grow Hydroponic. Easy to weigh buds on plants indoors in a Hydroponic atmosphere. Read up on the Hydroponic Weed. The best by far from what I’ve read.

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#9

Some like natural weed and some like hydroponic. I have a client that grew some for her son right by the river in her garden an hour from Manhattan that achieved about 35% THC (she sent it to a lab). This was her first attempt (she looks more like a grandmother than what you’d picture as a pot grower). In my day (my pot days) that was unheard of. There’s been a lot of selective breeding since then, some strains especially for growing outdoors and some for indoors. What happens in Amsterdam doesn’t stay in Amsterdam- also lots of attention to this in CA.

Greenies have to prefer the outdoor stuff.

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#10

Well. If your growing for the high. Hydroponic is so much more controllable it’s ridiculous. I suppose if you want to smoke a whole joint at a time versus one hit that’s anyone’s choice. I would think greenie would be thrilled with the one hitter. Very lowsmoke. Better on the lungs. Better for the air. Etc. Etc. IMO.

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#11

@dutch-s , I have to respectfully disagree. I have lots of friends and coworkers that used to grow hydro until they sampled what I grow. My setup is very high tech and low maintenance once it goes into the flower room. I would venture to guess that it is all about paying attention to the details and following the scientific data to the letter.

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#12

Hydoponic weed is grown either under lights or under plastic with lots of stuff that wears out and ends up in landfills. It also requires a great deal of electricity. However, it seems the debate about which is better is something that probably goes on for hours between potheads. I really cannot provide any anecdotal evaluation, but I never had any desire to grow anything indoors. Here’s from someone supporting outdoor growing.

“Outdoor cannabis is better because the sun’s natural light spectrum produces more cannabinoids and terpenes, increasing the plant’s flavor and potency—the two qualities every cannabis aficionado values. A Washington State–certified lab compared 2,700 samples and found that sun-grown cannabis was at least 1 percent higher in THC than indoor plants; likewise, terpene response is best under the sun. And when light-deprivation techniques are used, outdoor cannabis delivers the highest quality, regardless of whether it’s sativa or indica.”

Form. The Big Grow Debate: Which Is Better, Indoor or Outdoor Pot? | High Times There is also an argument from someone who prefers unnaturally grown pot.

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#13

The debate for normal people is different. Do I have the space for hydro? Or the money? Hydro allows you to grow year round, but outside is nice and simple for joe blo.

Back on topic. I doubt there will be much enforcement of actual weights. They will be mostly after people growing large and not paying taxes on their sales. For those looking to sell. Oil is the way of the future. No smoke and comes in vape pens. Much healthier. Already ready available in stores here. The days of big fat joints are over.

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#14

Tell my Jamaican friends that- or my son. His aren’t very fat though and he mixes them with tobacco…disgusting. He got addicted to tobacco by joining friends in college who rolled them together. I literally cried when I found out he was addicted to tobacco. He still is and now I’m trying to bribe him by offering to get hearing aids if he quits smoking for 2 months. He hates having to repeat himself.

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#15

That’s just because of where you live. I’d bet they would trade that for a vape pen they can hit while shopping for groceries or whatever. I did. It makes smoking weed acceptable in public. Like it did for cigarettes.

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#16

My son lives in Austin but doesn’t smoke in public.

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#17

I see about an equal number of people using vape pens vs joints here, (even though technically using cannabis in public isn’t allowed, that is only enforced in rare cases), and most of the people I know who use it here go for the “pre-roll” joints rather than vape pens, because they claim the oil feels more harsh and makes them cough more. I’ve heard it penetrates deeper in the lungs than smoke, but not sure about the accuracy of that claim.

#18

Weed smoke is a lot like cigarette smoke in terms of tar and carcinogens. The pens are not free of contaminants, but much less so than joints. Vapes are hot at first. That’s what they are talking about. It’s different than smoking and takes a little bit to get used to.

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#19

Gimmie a big pile of Lebanese gold hash and outdoor bud. Those oils have un-natural scents and flavors added plus it’s still vaping which is terrible, as far as I know. I’ve smoked oil and my throat dries up and I can’t hardly swallow. It’s extremely painful on me. It has its plus and bonuses of course like being able to smoke while grocery shopping.

I spent my 18’s - mid-twenties in Amsterdam. Hash and bud. I once spent 3-months there. I learned chess there. The man that taught me I beat him that first game. Then I come home and didn’t lose a match in college for 3-years. I like bud! I like big fat joints! Outdoor bud is “crispy / crackly” when smoked. All this indoor stuff isn’t. It’s a different texture. My 50cents right there.

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#20

I grew a lot outdoors in the 80’s and 90’s. Nothing is easier than growing marijuana. It will be a delight for anyone on this forum who tries. I can’t wait until I can do it legally, which is probably going to be July 2023 here in MD.

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