In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a couple of weeks away from the growing season. The temperature should be above 90 degrees for the next three days. And that means it’s a perfect time to get your legal cannabis plants up and running.
Under a Virginia law that went into effect last summer, small home marijuana crops are legal. Anyone 21 years of age or older can grow up to four plants, as long as they are kept at the bottom. (Below you will find more details about the law, along with information on where you can still get free seeds).
Last week I dropped six regular cannabis seeds into individual clay pots the size of a pint, along with some ground recommended by a Northwest Hardware employee. (They also sell liquid nutrients for cannabis and other plants.)
Three came from seeds I picked up in a seed gift last fall at WellNest on Church Avenue. The other three came from a mostly seedless plant that a friend of mine grew up in the backyard of Raleigh Court last summer. You could say I personally researched its power.
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Anyway, after a few days of keeping the clay pots moist and in the sun, the seeds started to sprout. So now I have five devil lettuce babies growing on my south facing deck, two of which are almost 3 inches tall. Only one of the seeds (from the seed draw) is like a fault so far.
To make this gardening adventure even more interesting, I have put the name of my plants in pots with certain politicians in the area, none of whom I know use cannabis.
The eldest was named Mayor Sherman Lea, in honor of Roanoke’s highest elected official, because he is such a great and imposing figure. You could say I have high hopes for the future of Mayor Sherman Lea’s plant. I estimate it will be 9 feet tall and 4 feet wide at harvest time.
The next largest plant is called Del. Chris Head. The Botetourt Republican has credibly sworn to me that he has never used cannabis. Head voted against the state law last year that legalized small home crops.
But he is also confident that if the General Assembly ever legalizes the recreational sale of weeds, he could try a gum just to better understand what all the fuss is about. This warm curiosity is why I put his name on the 2nd floor.
Floor no. 3 bears the nickname of Representative Morgan Griffith in honor of the Salem Republican Congressmen. He has been supporting medical marijuana legislation for 25 years. The latest version is the Medical Marijuana Research Act. Griffith was a co-sponsor.
It passed House 343-75 on April 4 and the 75 “no” votes came from other Republicans in Congress. Griffith’s press shop promoted its vote that day in a press release stating that it had co-sponsored identical legislation in previous years.
“Decisions on marijuana policy must be based on facts and evidence, but current federal law makes the collection of such data extremely difficult,” Griffith said in a press release. “I co-sponsored the Medical Marijuana Research Act to expand the opportunities for scientists to get the information we need about the potential benefits and harms of marijuana.”
In fact, Virginia was the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana possession by certain cancer and glaucoma patients who had a doctor’s approval. That law was passed in 1979. But it proved unfeasible because there was no way for patients to legally procure marijuana.
As a state delegate in 1997, Griffith fought against efforts to repeal this unfeasible law. (However, regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana, he told Cardinal News last month: “I’m not here).
Floor no. 4 bears the name of the other West Virginia congressman, Representative Ben Cline, R-Botetourt. Cline, a former Virginia prosecutor, voted in favor of the Medical Marijuana Investigation Act that Griffith co-sponsored.
Cline also helped move Virginia toward a viable legalization of medical marijuana when she served in the Virginia General Assembly. In the 2018 legislative session, he was the main sponsor of a law that allowed doctors to legally prescribe CBD oil and THC-A oil.
This legislation was passed without opposition and set the framework for “medical certification” that lawmakers later adopted for medical cannabis, which is why we have dispensaries in Virginia today.
So Cline has also earned her name on one of my plants.
The fifth floor is a small number, but it looks sturdy. It was the last of my group to sprout. I named it Del. Sam Rasoul, a Roanoke Democrat.
Like Head, Rasoul told me he had never tried marijuana. But he had been a staunch supporter of decriminalization since entering the Virginia General Assembly.
Last year, Rasoul voted in favor of the law legalizing the possession of up to one ounce and for legislation that would allow the sale of recreational weeds from 2024. He also supported an amendment to the old one. Governor Ralph Northam who legalized small house crops. So it definitely deserves a plant that bears its name.
As noted above, the sixth seed was a mistake. So I named him David Bowers, the former mayor and councilor of Roanoke. Apparently, he is running again for Roanoke Town Hall. badall.
But you never know. The Bowers could win, just as that seed of dud could sprout.
And if / when I do, I will have six small potted plants, which will not be small for a long time because they really grow like weeds, if 3 inches in a week is an indication.
Yes, this exceeds the number of plants allowed under state law. But remember, I planted normal seeds, which means that about three will be male plants and three will be female.
Only females are useful for the intended purpose of marijuana. Male plants will not make you drug people. And if the pollen of the males fertilizes the females, it will reduce the yield of the females.
So I will kill the male plants once they have identified their genus. Most likely I will have between one and four virgin female plants after getting rid of the males.
Current law allows up to four floors per home at a time. It is legal to grow them in your backyard as long as the plants are out of sight of the street and as long as you take precautions to keep the plants out of the hands of minors. (The law does not define precautions, however.)
Each plant is also supposed to be labeled with the name of the producer and a note that they are for personal use. I haven’t labeled mine yet, but when it does, it will go by the names of male politicians, even though all the plants will be female by then.
And I will keep you posted on your progress.
In the fall, maybe I just have a bunch of Del brand weeds. Chris Head in my hands. And maybe also a bunch of outbursts from Rep. Morgan Griffith and Mayor Sherman Lea. See me.
By the way, if you haven’t planted your marijuana yet, you’re still on time. And there’s another statewide cannabis seed raffle on May 28 in Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Collinsville and Newport News. (Details can be found at virginiaseeds.com).
Jonathan Zinski, a Gladys hemp farmer who organizes the raffle, said he will give away 15,000 packets of seeds that will have three to five seeds each.
It has not yet lined up commercial dealers in the Roanoke and New River valleys for May 28th. Anyone interested can contact Zinski at consulting@rezinbotanicals.com.
Contact the metro columnist
Dan Casey at 981-3423 or dan.casey@roanoke.com. Follow him
Twitter: @dancaseysblog.
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