17 comments
Legal cultivation of previously criminalized vegetation should and must be protected in the commonwealth. Since I began growing after legalization, my health has taken a drastic turn for the better. I have found a strain that has relieved my chronic illness' symptoms. I do not feel I should be forced to pay a fee to grow my own medicine, or settle for something on a dispensary shelf. I am astounded at the hubris of our society, first criminalizing a naturally occurring crop, then attempting to find ways to lock the little guy out of the picture. VA has an opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the country what Freedom looks like, to respect and protect home growers and small businesses, to create an even playing field with big business. Shame on us if we fail to seize the opportunity and act in the interest of our people!!
Legal cultivation of previously criminalized vegetation should and must be protected in the commonwealth. Since becoming knowledgeable on strains and knowing proper ways to use cannabis I have been able to manage my chronic pain, my anxiety, my sleep and the list goes on. I have even been able to come off a few medications with the help of cannabis.
An odor nuisance complaint should not be a punishable offense or something that home cultivators should have to be concerned with. Just like how my neighbor can use his/her fireplace to heat their home, and stink up the entire block with the odor of burning wood. People that grow fresh, legal cannabis flowers should not have to be worried about someone outside their home smelling it. It's too vague of a thing to try and enforce because not everyone has the same sense of smell. Some people might have a stronger or weaker sense of smell. Also, this would open up the doors for someone that wants to lie and make a complaint about a neighbor that they do not like, for whatever reason. This ordinance should be avoided in my opinion. It will only make things too complicated and open up too many opportunities for ill intents against those that are law abiding citizens of Virginia.
Also, there should never be a permit required to grow, for personal use, cannabis at your home/residence. Just like how people that brew their own beer do not require a permit to do so. It should be for the people and free.
Please take my comments into consideration.
Thank you.
Does the fast food restaurant or Chinese buffet have to worry about violating an odor ordinance when the toxic fumes from their kitchen exhaust permeate the public air within a 3 block radius? What about the local laundromat, when the massive amount of dryer exhaust vents pump out the odor of synthetic perfumes, from dryer sheets, into the public breathing space? I am pretty certain that everyone would agree that it would be silly to hold them accountable for not releasing these odors into the air for the public to smell.
So why should legal, home cannabis cultivators be held to this ridiculous standard? The smell of fresh flowers is worse than synthetic perfumes coming from the laundromat? Or the odor of fried, unhealthy food coming from the local hamburger restaurant? I know I, and many others would prefer the smell of fresh flowers over these mentioned.
The terpenes that are responsible for the odor coming from fresh cannabis flowers are made up of the exact same terpenes represented in every other living plant on earth. The difference is the concentration of specific terpenes that are present in each plant. You can't get intoxicated by the odor of fresh flowering plants, whether it be cannabis or lavender flowers.
Also, from my knowledge there is no other state with such ordinances on odor. Because it is a silly thing to try and enforce and makes it too complicated. How would you know someone isn't lying, about someone they dislike, complaining about the smell of cannabis flowers, for the purpose of causing a big headache for a law abiding neighbor?
Thank you.
A ordinance on smell would must be avoided, the cannabis plant should be
free as it was for thousands of years growing wild, no person should be able to dictate something that occurs from a seed as it serves a purpose here on this earth, this plant can heal and help so many, a plant increase would be ideal as well so that cloning plants and breeding plants do not put you over your limit, the realistic thing is also if your growing for your family 4 plants will not last very long and the journey from seed to harvest to dry and cure is over a span of time and people run into the issue where you run out of meds before your next harvest is done.
I would like to start with the four plant limit. Truthfully I don't think there should be a limit and that cannabis should just be completely decriminalized but I understand that that won't happen anytime soon due to the number of people who would abuse the whole system. Since there is going be a limit, I think the number of plants allowed should be significantly increased and broken down into stages(x number of plants in flower[more than 4], x number in veg, and x number seedling/cloning). The current 4 plant limit doesn't usually last a medical user from one harvest to the next. This is due to the length of time it takes to properly grow a cannabis plant. For reference and my experience, a grow is going to take you 60+ days from seed to end of veg stage, then you are looking at 60 to 100+ days in flower stage, next you have 14 to 21 days for a slow dry and finally a minimum of 21 days curing. In total you are looking at 6 months from seed to usable product and unless you are an amazing grower those four plants are not going to produce enough flower to last an additional 6 months for the next grow to be ready.
Then to throw a whole different issue in to the 4 plant limit is male plants. Most regular seeds you have a 50/50 ratio of male to female. I'm sure you are aware that male plants do not produce flower, so is out of those four seeds you planted 2 turn out to be males you'll only have to flower producing plants and half of the amount of flower you though you would have had lasting even less time. And before someone tell you they can just start two more, that is not possible for everyone as it would require a different grow area and grow light unless you are growing autoflowering plants. Photo period plants require a certain number of hours for veg stage and a different number of hours for flower. So growing said new seedlings with flowering plants and there light schedule the seedlings are going to try to go strait into flower and are going to grow properly.
I guess I should include that I do not partake in cannabis myself but to I grow and provide for my end stage wife. Cannabis is the only thing that provides her with relief from the side affects of her treatments and prescription medications. I am sure if there were more people on your board that had to sit and hold there significant other as they are suffering from pain, nausea, sickness, days without sleep, ect. knowing there is nothing else you can do for them. That you wouldn't be binding the hands of those in Va that are looking to help themselves or family members.
Personally I think an odor ordinance is ridiculous. It would be no different than for me to start calling the police on those that live across the street when their flowers, bushes, or trees start flowering and releasing pollen just because I have allergies and it bothers me. Or like calling on every person that walks near me because it smells like they decided to bath in cologne or perfume. An ordinance against a plants smell is again ridiculous and a waste of tax dollars.
This also potentially reaches into other legal issues. This could be used by people whom do do not like you or has issues with a resident of thw property to send police. This again will be a waste tax payers dollars and not only put the saftey of Virginia residents but also law enforcement at risk. We all know that all to often a simple misunderstanding leads issues. An ordinance based on smell could potentially lead to illegal searches on the premises of a "smell". All that I just mentioned above could also cost the state even more when lawsuit began against the state due to these misunderstandings and/or illegal searches.
In closing, I do belive when Virginia legalized cannabis in this state the statement was made that Virginia was going to show how legalization was going to be done right. Well based on what has already been passed, limitations put on virginians, by this guidance document and the everything else in the works for Virginia cannabis, this state is moving against the legal cannabis growers and the cannabis community. I can only hope that the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority and the cannabis community cannabis community can come to gether to talk things out and educate one another. Sadly I think those outside the cannabis community just stereotype all those involved in cannabis based on TV, movies and music, when we are far from that. Based on myself and all those in this community I have talked to we are a community about helping one another, helping others, healing and much more. All while being looked down upon and stereotyped.
Ya’ll are focusing in all the wrong directions. Your medical marajuana program is a shambles and full of recreational users. Open recreational fully so that you can fix the medical program so patients that really need cannabis can get it cheaper and easier and covered by insurance. Stop over charging cancer patients almost 2x the cost of the free market. Let us grow as many plants as we want. Open a legal free market for recreational, (that means fun by the way, not dollar signs) Let us buy from small mom and pop farmers. If I want Corn, I go to a farmer, not some huge corporation. Keep big money hungry corporations out of virginias cannabis market and make it easier for proud Virginians to grow and sell a quality product we as a state can be proud of. Figure it out. Stop being greedy! Represent the people correctly .
It is obviously the legislators or admin staff are attempting to be relevant but accomplishing the nanny state mindset and failing miserably.
If you are the legal owner of a property and are growing cannibas on your property what's the purpose of the name tags? It seems that proposal is foolish and a waste of time.
The discussion about growing plants, overcrowding and poison control etc are also foolish and unnecessary. The risks associated with cannibas growing are identical to the risks associated with any other crop, why does the state feel they need to discuss this topic?
Since the grower can easily violate state law from one plant regarding total weight of Cannibas that is permissable to possess, exceptions need to be made to keep legal citizens within the bounds of the law.
What needs to be regulated?
Retail sales of Cannibas should be lab tested to be free of pesticides and other heavy metal or chemicals harmful to the human body.
Penalties increased for illegal sales.
Regulations and safety issues associated with edibles and packaging. In addition to lab testing the packaging needs to be clearly marked and not similar to candy or childrens treats.
None of this is magic, just take a look at Colorado or Oregon as a basis and reference for the laws that work AND those that do not.
We must work hard to preserve personal and property rights for citizens wishing to practice their new LEGAL rights. One should not lose access to other god given rights just by exercising another. A neighbor should have no power over another to call against them because of a “smell nuisance” if this is such the case should neighbors call when someone’s flowering garden is a bothering smell to them? I think it is far too open a statement and leaves too much room for interpretation by the law. This should be clarified and specified if it’s going to be kept. I do believe that if the household is multiple adults of legal growing and cultivating age the household limit should have some maneuverability. Grow schedules can be time consuming and only having 4 plants for every adult in the household is very limiting. If space allowed and there were more than 4 adults wishing to cultivate, they wouldn’t be able to without, “sharing plants.”
thank you for all of the work that you do, I know these things are incredibly complicated and taxing.
The party of small government is legislating olfactory perception now? This will 100% be abused by neighbors, officials, and the police. It cannot be allowed
The Opiate crisis that has been raging and will continue doing so if bills aren’t passed that help the HOME GROWERS for PERSONAL USE. Statistics have proven that states that have legalized cannabis use have drastically lowered the number of opiate prescriptions for patients with chronic pain. This is about harm reduction, not about a police state that wastes even more taxpayer dollars by incarcerating people. I understand the large amounts of $$ that are potentially going to be made by big businesses, shell corporations, LLC’s, and so on…but please think about the big picture here. Look what happened when big pharma (spearheaded by Perdue (and others that followed)). I read just last week that Henrico County just received a (re)payment from big pharma for the impact it’s had on that county alone. Kind of ironic that “this gateway drug (cannabis) is now being used as an exit drug therapy/strategy/solution to this out of hand Fentanyl situation the commonwealth now has. It’s everywhere! It’s probably (shockingly) inside the general assembly building as we speak being used by someone that you would never suspect. Keep the growers (small mom & pop growers) rights at the forefront. Protect the green that is going to help with this epidemic (cannabis) and remember what lining pockets (with the other green$) did with overprescribed opioids that left families, communities, towns, cities, commonwealths & states, and an entire country did to exacerbate fraud, overprescribing, etc. My apologies for getting slightly off topic, but a little smell from one’s own residence is hardly an issue compared to the amount of overdoses that aren’t just happening in the cities. Middle and upper class suburban kids are dropping like flies. VA IS BETTER AND SMARTER THAN THIS. COME ON GUYS/GALS!!!
Chris S.
petersburg, va
I would like to see actual guidance and not just reiterating of the current bills. IE: What does the VCCA suggest we use as locking mechanisms, visuals of "visible from a public way”, the "four key health risk", or maybe places we could get these plant tags FOR FREE . Anyone can type this document, we need visuals, recommendations for eye wear, skin protection. Id suggest reaching out to many of our local advocates that are FOR THE PEOPLE and your local grow shops for recommendations and have them listed on the document and website so your patrons can find local groups. Id also like to see MORE guidance on child safety in your document.
It would be nice to provide citizens with a list of resources to contact in case of questions about cultivation. There are many Specialty Grow Shops, social groups, and nutrient/soil companies located within the Commonwealth that can answer specific questions that Growers may have. The major advantage that home cultivation provides is the knowledge and ability to choose how to cultivate and what individual citizens choose to consume. Providing them with resources to find out what fertilizers, pesticides, etc contain is key and under the current document it simply advices to check other states regulations. Providing people with contact information to those with knowledge of the products is paramount to allowing them to make the choice.
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your time. I am writing today to address my concerns regarding odor nuisance regulations relating to cannabis cultivation. I believe there should be no violation of rights or potential for right to be infringed upon. Cannabis cultivation is legal and the odor can be contained although it is no stronger then the smell of the neighbors diner wafting over or their natural flowers blooming in the summer, the smell of their fire place etc. We should avoid any and all such odor ordinances.
House hold plant limits should be at least 4 although I think it should be higher.