Grow cannabis at home: Massachusetts cannabis home grow laws

At the time of this writing, and due to Massachusetts cannabis laws, you can probably grow a crop before a single bud appears for sale on the recreational retail front in Mass. The Cannabis Control Commission has been saddled with a large set of restrictions that prevent it from effectively moving anything forward which include:

All towns vote on what limitations they want in addition to the ones set forth by the CCC (M.G.L. ch.94G §3), and these must all be voted on
Session law prevented issuing licenses until at least June 1, 2018 (MA Session Law 2017 §55)
The committee has been mandated to do all work in the public, and this means that they waste a lot of times at meetings brainstorming and having ideas presented that should have been more prepared (check the meeting minutes)

Forbes covered a lot of this on their article on why there are so many delays in retail licensing in the Mass market.

Personal Massachusetts Cannabis Rules In General

You can read the Mass cannabis regulatory laws yourself as well as the summarized rules, but let’s take a look at what it means for the home grower.

{{ I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. Don’t push the rules. }}

You can carry around up to 1 Oz of cannabis, and no more than 5 grams of cannabis concentrate
You can have up to 10Oz at home, but anything over an ounce must be behind lock and key
Partaking in cannabis must happen in a private place
No driving high
If you have cannabis in your car, it needs to be in the trunk or locked glove box
No selling cannabis

Massachusetts Cannabis Home Grow Rules

What you can grow:

Up to 6 plants can be grown in a single person dwelling
Up to 12 plants in a dwelling with more than one adult aged 21+

Flowering plants or any cannabis plant? – Any plant. The rules make no mention of flowering or non-flowering. Don’t run a cloning operation.

Where you can grow:

Plants must be grown in an area that is locked (indoors or outdoors)
Outdoor plants must not be visible from a public place, unless it would require optical aids to actually see them (keep your plants fenced in and out of sight)

How much can you grow? – Good question. You are legally allowed to have 10Oz marijuana at home. Anyone that has grown knows this is the final harvest amount on a big plant, after it’s been dried. Before then, you have about 3-4lbs of buds hanging to dry. Is that uncured bud considered towards the limit? Doesn’t say. The entirety of the rule is:

Residential Possession – possessing up to 10 ounces of marijuana and any marijuana produced by marijuana plants cultivated on the premises, and possessing, cultivating or processing up to 6 marijuana plants for personal use as long as no more than 12 plants are cultivated on the premises at once.

My best guess is that this is meant to be processed marijuana. I don’t doubt, however, that this could be used maliciously by law enforcement if they decided to hassle you.

Can you grow at a friend’s house or at your office? – No. At home, only.

Can your landlord prohibit growing in your house or apartment? – Yes, it is lawful for them to put that restriction in the lease agreement.

After the harvest

Can you process the cannabis? – Yes, but limited to using alcohol, water, or a solvent that has a higher flashpoint than 100°F:

An individual cannot manufacture at home marijuana or hemp by means of any liquid or gas, other than alcohol, that has a flashpoint below 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Are you allowed you give a friends cannabis? – Yes, but no more than a single ounce. How often? Doesn’t say. My best guess is that as long as no one is transporting more than an ounce and has more than 10 at home, all good.

Can your friends give you money for cannabis? – HELL NO.

How about gifting your friend stuff to help them grow cannabis in hopes that they will gift you some back or because you feel guilty you’re using so much of their weed? – Yes, allowed.

Can you give your friend stuff to help them grow cannabis if they agree to give you some of the crop? – Probably not legally, no.

Are you ready to grow?

If you want to give it a shot, or just take a look at what the process looks like, check out our Introduction to Growing Cannabis series for more info.

Got Any Questions? Ask in the comments or contact us and let’s see if we can answer your questions.