Those restrictions are a joke. When my county banned, no one listened. I even know of a cop who knows of a local grow and hasn’t done anything.
Also, however fictional that 99 plant rec may be according to law and you, I know two people with it and their harvest are anything but fictional. They don’t try to start a business. If pressed they’ll sell/give to friends and be caregivers, but they haven’t had any problems. And one of those 99 grows is one that the cops know about.
It may not be a full protection against having your kids taken away, or starting a business where it’s banned. Or I don’t know what situation your friends were in that happened to them. But we’re giving up the possibly-legal-possibly-not-99-plant permit that would have maybe allowed you to grow and harvest 99. Which is way better than any strict 6 plant limit.
It’s no choice to me. Keep the squiggly line that permits 99, or only 6 for everyone who’s not a business.
First of all, if you are a recreational user you can’t legally grow diddlysquat.
Let’s review a little history to set the record straight regarding medical cannabis grows, transports and sales.
The 99 plant limit is what Sonoma County and possibly other counties allowed
before SB420 (in 2004) established a limit of 12 immature and 6 mature plants as a “guideline” primarily for law enforcement to NOT arrest and prosecute legitimate patients. Prop 215 puts no specific limit on the number of plants, it just says it’s intent is
“To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where the medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit from the use of marijuana...”
Prop 215 also has this intent:
To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.
So as a result SB420 was passed in 2004 and MMRSA was passed in 2015 by the state legislature to regulate cannabis growing, transporting and selling for medical purposes.
SB420 says:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_420_bill_20031012_chaptered.html
11362.77. (a) A qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana per qualified patient. In addition, a qualified patient or primary caregiver may also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants per qualified patient.
(b) If a qualified patient or primary caregiver has a doctor’s
recommendation that this quantity does not meet the qualified patient’s medical needs, the qualified patient or primary caregiver may
possess an amount of marijuana consistent with the patient’s needs.
and this:
“(d) In addition to the requirements of this article, the Attorney
General shall develop and adopt appropriate guidelines to ensure the
security and nondiversion of marijuana grown for medical use by patients qualified under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.”
Which leads to this missive from then AG Edmund G. Brown in 2008 called “GUIDELINES FOR THE SECURITY AND NON-DIVERSION OF MARIJUANA GROWN FOR MEDICAL USE”:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n1601_medicalmarijuanaguidelines.pdf
“The possession, sale, cultivation, or transportation of marijuana is ordinarily a crime under California law. (See, e.g., § 11357 [possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor]; § 11358 [cultivation of marijuana is a felony]; Veh. Code, § 23222 [possession of less than 1 oz. of marijuana while driving is a misdemeanor]; § 11359 [possession with intent to sell any amount of marijuana is a felony]; § 11360 [transporting, selling, or giving away marijuana in California is a felony; under 28.5 grams is a misdemeanor]; § 11361 [selling or distributing marijuana to minors, or using a minor to transport, sell, or give away marijuana, is a felony].)”
and
“c) Proposition 215: Qualified patients claiming protection under Proposition 215 may possess an amount of marijuana that is “reasonably related to [their] current medical needs.” (People v. Trippet (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 1532, 1549.)”
Under MCRSA, passed in Oct 2015:
http://www.canorml.org/news/A_SUMMARY_OF_THE_MEDICAL_MARIJUANA_REGULATION_AND_SAFETY_ACT
“… which took effect Jan. 1, 2016, qualified patients can cultivate up to 100 square feet for personal medical use, and primary caregivers with five or fewer patients are allowed up to 500 square feet.”
All those crimes listed above in the AG’s summary will be revoked with Prop 64 except that possession of more than an ounce, in public, will remain a misdemeanor. You can sell if you have a license to sell from both the state and local agency, or you can give away up to an ounce (the amount you may possess in public.) Transporting, selling or giving cannabis to minors will still be against the law.
New edit after reading
@Gunky :
We dreamed of a golden age of relaxed regulation of weed in CA; turned out it was the last 20 years and is about to end.
The golden age you speak of is full of fraud and untruth because too many MDs run "letter of recommendation" mills without real concern or follow-up with their "patients." That part of the unregulated medical market is a farce. Legalization will separate the real patients from the otherwise healthy 20 to 35 yo males I see in dispensaries all the time. I believe in the wellness effects of cannabis and believe it should be available to anyone who wants to use it without having to jump through hoops of falsehood and slight-of-hand. I'm a medical patient but I like the euphoria of THC as much as anybody. Even Prop 215 anticipated a time when the state and feds would oversee the regulation of access. Legalization doesn't mean unrestricted access. But if I can grow 12 immature or 6 mature plants and produce 6 or 12 or 15 pounds per year for my personal consumption I will be giving it away by the ounce because I only consume 0.1gm/day myself. I understand that those patients who need FECO may need to utilize several pounds a year, but that is high consumption that most patients and recreational users do not need. Prop 215 called for "safe and affordable distribution" regulated by the states and feds. "Affordable" is really only achieved by the economies of scale that a capitalist environment and farmers of large grows can provide. There will always be a niche for the small growers of the Emerald Triangle as long as they come out of the darkness and get licenses and follow regulations. Boutique brands will always command a higher proce, just as in the wine industry. You've got your Screaming Eagle for $1000/bottle and your 2-buck Chuck at Trader Joes. As a health care professional I see a very big need for safety of the medicine proven by testing for contaminants and pesticides as well as cannabinoid potency profiles. Some outlets voluntarily do that now, but too many don't.
