Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

CAN I GROW POT AT A CO-OP?

Dear Stoner: As a medical marijuana patient, I am interested in 
growing my own meds, but not in or around the house, where the kids 
are. Do you know of something like a growing co-op that would allow 
me to grow somewhere else?

Greenhouse Gary

Dear Gary: If you're staying strictly medical, you'd have to 
designate someone as your personal caregiver in order for them to 
assist you legally. But thanks to Amendment 64, Colorado's 
constitution not only makes it legal to grow up to six recreational 
plants in your home (with three in flower), it's also legal to assist 
"another person who is twenty-one years or older in any of the acts 
described" in the measure. Those include growing, making edibles and 
hash, and even cultivating industrial hemp. The language doesn't say 
where your plants have to be in order for someone to help you grow, 
either. So technically, you could probably have a friend help you 
grow your recreational pot, co-op style.

But there are limits. In Denver, for example, residential growers are 
limited to twelve plants total, regardless of how many adults live in 
the space. If your friend were to somehow get raided and have more 
than the legal number of plants, it would take some serious 
explaining and a sympathetic judge to get those charges dismissed.

Stand-alone organizations that allow private growers to collectively 
cultivate their plants don't really fall in the "100 percent legal" 
category, either (though we think they should). While a warehouse 
with private grow rooms would be a killer idea, we can also see how 
it would technically fall under a "marijuana establishment," since 
someone has to pay rent - and we doubt anyone would give away space 
in such a facility for free. That said, there are a few cooperatives 
operating right now that say they've got legal grounds to do so; pot 
attorney Rob Corry says he helped craft the language establishing 
such groups. Blue Mountains Colorado, for example, says on its (very 
public) website that once you become a member of the club, the co-op 
will "grow and maintain 6 plants of fine cannabis on your behalf, and 
we will transfer up to one ounce of fine cannabis from the Blue 
Mountains Grow." But that's not the same thing as letting you show up 
to tend to your own herb.

Our advice: Go the personal route. Talk with some friends and see if 
they have room for your plants at their house without going over 
municipal or state limits. If so, help them out with electrical costs 
and get over there once a week to visit your plants. Do that, and 
you'll be following the intent of the law.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom