By: Jessica Vosgerchian
Magazine Editor
Published November 10th, 2008
Most states have limitations similar to Colorado’s maximum of six plants in total with three producing at a time.
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But states like Colorado, Maine and Nevada provide better conditions for cultivation by not specifying where plants must be kept, which allows growers to cultivate larger plants within the quota by planting outside.
Michigan requires that medicinal marijuana plants be kept in an “enclosed area equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access only by a registered primary caregiver or registered qualifying patient.”
Even though indoor plants don’t grow as large, 12 plants could produce quite a bit. The average yield of an indoor cannabis plant in bloom is about 1.2 ounces, according to a study in the Journal of Forensic Science. As an annual species, cannabis plants grown indoors flower three to five times before dying — meaning the yearly yield of a medical marijuana grow site in Michigan could be between 43 and 72 ounces.
Medical marijuana patients in Washington used on average about 15 grams a week — or 27.5 ounces a year — with the highest amount reported being about double, according to a survey conducted in western Washington between 2001 and 2003.
Michigan beats the most liberal states concerning medical marijuana — California, Oregon and Washington — in one respect. After Montana and Rhode Island, Michigan became the third state to honor the identification of medical marijuana patients and caretakers registered in other states.
But despite all of the liberal attributes of Michigan’s marijuana law, the state failed to join California in establishing a clear, easily accessible, legal way for qualified patients to get marijuana ¬— adopting instead the mindset of the majority of medical marijuana states of “you can do it, but we won’t tell you how.”
Marc Emery, editor of Cannabis Culture magazine in British Columbia, said that states that don’t define a means of distributions leave patients little choice but to attain marijuana, or at least the starter plants, illegally.
“It’s unfortunate that the legislation didn’t define a way for patients to acquire marijuana,” Emery said. “It’s all black market illegal if the legislation didn’t provide a means for distribution.”
