Photo courtesy: CNN
Florida Senate Bill 546, currently under consideration, would allow medical marijuana patients to grow two cannabis plants at home, an initiative that has stirred up both excitement and concern.
While some patients and dispensary workers welcome the idea of homegrown marijuana, others argue it may not be as easy as it seems.
For Vika Czarina-Murdoch, the inventory manager at Cloud Smoke Shop in Tallahassee, the bill represents a shift in how patients access cannabis.
“I think homegrown stuff will be seen as easy and reliable,” Czarina-Murdoch said. “But our shop, I think, will be seen as more exotic and allow the different availability to get more than just two different types of strains; we have that variety.”
However, she also emphasized the benefits of the bill in reducing the stigma around marijuana use.
“It’ll make it less worry with the police,” Czarina-Murdoch said. “I think this bill will clearly show the difference between somebody who is using weed as an additive rather than something to hurt themselves.”
SB 546 states that “qualified patients shall be permitted to cultivate no more than two mature marijuana plants for personal use,” aiming to provide patients with a more accessible and personal way to obtain medical marijuana.
Yet, not everyone agrees that growing marijuana at home is a simple solution. Keiann Walker, a sales associate at a Tallahassee dispensary, stressed the difficulty of cultivating cannabis.
“If you’re not physically growing, then you do not understand the study behind it because it is not easy to grow weed; it is tough,” Walker explained. “As somebody who grew it and had 18-foot plants, like that’s not easy, and it’s tough to achieve that, and it takes a long time, and you have to have the time and the patience, but most patients don’t understand that.”
Walker’s firsthand experience highlights that many patients might not realize the effort and expertise required to produce quality cannabis.
Moreover, Walker voiced concerns about the current state of dispensary-supplied marijuana.
“If you go on Florida Medical Trees, they have a lot of mold going on; some of them are having bug issues,” Walker said. “There are a lot of different issues going on with these dispensaries.”
This raises questions about the reliability of dispensaries, especially if patients opt to grow their plants at home as a potentially more reliable alternative.
However, both Czarina-Murdoch and Walker agree that home cultivation would shift perceptions of marijuana use.
“In the meantime, for those people that don’t want to take the time to grow and wait for all that, we provide a clear-cut, honest way to sell weed that’s not be mixed with anything,” Czarina-Murdoch said.
SB 546 also aims to safeguard patients from legal repercussions, noting that “the cultivation of marijuana must comply with all applicable laws and regulations,” ensuring that patients are within the legal framework of the state.
Despite the complexities of growing cannabis, some patients may find the ability to cultivate their marijuana appealing, both for personal use and for financial reasons.
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