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A GATEWAY TO GARDENING?

On May 17, Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act ( Act 16 ) went into effect, bringing me one step closer to the realization of a dream.  I don't have a personal medical need for marijuana, nor am I looking forward to being able to legally smoke it; I've never been interested.  No, as a "certifiable plant geek" my dream is to be able to try my hand at growing this intriguing, illicit plant with the distinctive leaves.

To me, it's paradoxical that marijuana is off-limits.  Poison ivy is a threat to many people, responsible for countless collective hours of itching, oozing, blistered misery, trips to the doctor, steroid use, and days missed from work.  Despite all this, it grows freely almost everywhere.  You can have it on your property and no one will come arrest you.

In contrast, marijuana is responsible for making people feel good and easing symptoms of chemotherapy and a host of chronic conditions.  ( Yes, it is sometimes abused when enjoyed recreationally.  ) But can you grow this plant in your garden? Uh-uh.

When I heard that Act 16 had gone into effect I cheered.  At last! People who can benefit from the medical benefits of marijuana in our state will finally be able to access it legally.  And then I had a moment's fantasy: maybe I could become a grower!

A dose of reality came in an April 18 article in The Morning Call ( Allentown, Pa.  ).  The article pointed out that with Pennsylvania being the nation's sixth-largest potential market for medical marijuana, this won't be a cottage industry but big business.  How big? Estimates are that you'd need a five to ten million dollar investment.  That's just a tiny bit out of my range.

This is backed up by a report from Surna, a Colorado company that specializes in cutting-edge technology solutions for indoor growing.  They say, "The fact of it is nowadays, if you don't have a million dollars, it is hard to compete in this industry anymore.  Between the cost of space, purchasing reliable grow room equipment, and covering overhead costs, running a safe and compliant grow is costly! We have seen people with a half million dollars run out of money.  As the cannabis industry grows, so does the competition and the investment needed to start." ( surna.com/expect-starting-cannabis-business/ )

The company also points out that growing cannabis doesn't "scale." Which is to say that there is no benefit to growing larger quantities.  "A little realized fact about cannabis grows is that they are not scalable in the way other businesses are.  The same amount of resources are required per plant, no matter the size of your operation.  In fact, the larger a grow operation, the more difficult it is to maintain - more power, more cooling, and more space."

Unfortunately, it looks like my dream of growing a marijuana plant or two in my garden is still a long way off.  I console myself with the idea that I will eventually be able to visit a cannabis farm and see the plants "up close and personal" that way.

Apparently I'm not the only one who would like to grow the plant.  A 2015 nationwide Harris Poll survey commissioned by Green State Gardener found that "as many as an estimated 24.5 million Americans would like to try growing marijuana for personal use - if growing it were legal."

An article in the newsletter of the Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association suggests that if growing cannabis for personal use were legalized, it could attract millions of new gardeners.  And once these folks get their hands in the dirt, who knows what would happen! Is it possible that cannabis, sometimes categorized as a "gateway drug," could end up being the gateway to gardening? Kind of a heady thought.