Michigan voters, advocates, and ballot proposal writers worked hard to ensure that legalization would allow residents to grow their own bud.
“It’s not legal if you can’t grow it!” was a common slogan among those who fought for the proposal’s creation and passage.
Now that the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act is law, Michigan home growers need to be aware that while it is legal to grow plants at home, specific guidelines apply in order to do so legally.
Anyone in Michigan who’s considering growing needs to be aware of these requirements:
There’s a 12 Plant Maximum
Per person, or per household if there’s more than one person per household. Possession of more than 12 plants is considered a civil infraction up to 24 plants. 25 or more is considered a felony, so growers count your crops carefully—and don’t forget to include the mothers in your count.
Keep Your Crop Locked & Out of Sight
Non-growers can keep up to 10 ounces, but the bill allows home growers to keep whatever amount their harvest produces. Regardless of whether you’re growing or not, any amount over 2.5 ounces must be kept in a locked area.
For growers, that includes locking up the grow itself—even if it’s outdoors.
Plants also can’t be visible to the public without the use of binoculars or aircraft, which means no balcony grows for city dwellers.
Extracts Are OK, Labs Are Not
The same rules about quantity apply to concentrates in that you can keep whatever you harvest, but there are certain restrictions on the processing.
What you can’t do is process cannabis into concentrate using volatile substances inside a residence, which means that processes like making butane hash oil (BHO) are out. What you can do is process chemical concentrates like BHO in a non-residential facility that’s removed from residences. You can also make concentrate using natural heat and water-based methods.
Gifting Is Allowed, Selling Is Not
Selling marijuana products without state and local licensing to do so is illegal, but cannabis products can be gifted to adults 21 and older.
This is good news for friends and family of homegrowers, but also a potential starting point for a gray industry, as entrepreneurially home growers seek creative ways to create legal cashflow.
Where Do I Find the Seeds?
You’re on your own there, my friend. Once cannabis stores are licensed by the state, they will be able to sell seeds. But there are currently no licensed adult-use stores.
Again, gifting cannabis and cannabis seeds is legal. To obtain seeds, you may have to start talking to friends and acquaintances about who they might know who has a few extra to spare.
Let Leafly Show You the Way
We have a ton of home cannabis growing resources, from cloning to curing and everything in between. Some of our most helpful guides:
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When in Doubt, Ask an Attorney
If you find yourself in a gray area, or unsure of how to ensure your home grow is compliant, it never hurts to get some legal advice. Michigan’s cannabusiness boom has resulted in a thriving industry of legal cannabis experts in Michigan, so there are plenty of legal experts available to help keep your home grow legal.
