The fight for home grow rights has never mattered more

With another April 20 fast approaching, now is the time when our movement comes together to celebrate how far cannabis reform has come. But let's be clear about how far we still have to go.
 
Four adult-use legalization states still won't let you grow a cannabis plant in your own home. Fifteen states with medical cannabis laws are leaving patients with no choice but to pay dispensary prices — or go without. What is legal in one state could land you in prison for years in the state next door.
 
This isn't a technicality. This is a system that criminalizes patients, punishes the poor, and protects the status quo — and it’s time to redouble our efforts to secure home grow rights nationwide.

Why ‘Home Grow’ Matters

The right to cultivate cannabis in your own home is one of the most fundamental pillars of cannabis reform. Here's why it matters:

Criminal Justice: First and foremost, no one should be sent to prison for growing a cannabis plant in their backyard. Unfortunately, in far too many states, growing just a single plant at home is considered a felony offense with severe criminal penalties. This is particularly egregious given the inconsistency of home grow laws from state to state, where someone can grow their own supply in a state like Maryland, only to see their neighbor right across the border in Delaware be incarcerated for up to eight years for doing the same.

Access and Affordability: In states without home grow, the only access point is often a corporate-owned dispensary subject to significant taxation offering prices that remain out of reach for many patients and adult-use consumers. In addition, local bans that are allowed in most states mean that the closest access point could be a multiple-hour drive from your home.

Surveys consistently show that most cannabis consumers rely on cannabis to improve their quality of life — reducing pain, enhancing sleep, and other everyday health needs. Home cultivation allows patients and adult-use consumers to grow their own supply with their own requirements and preferences in mind at a very modest cost.

Where We Stand Today

Home grow is not a simple red state vs. blue state divide. It’s a policy failure that cuts across the country — and it has real consequences for millions of people. For a nation that calls itself the land of the free, these kinds of unequal outcomes are unacceptable.

Progress is happening — but significant gaps remain. Twenty legalization states and more than half of all medical cannabis states now allow home cultivation. But with 26 states still lacking any adult-use legalization law, and 15 of the 40 medical cannabis states still prohibiting home cultivation entirely, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

What We Need To Do Now

MPP is working state by state to close these gaps — through effective advocacy, outreach, and coalition-building. Throughout the country, we are actively monitoring, lobbying, and mobilizing in support of legislation to advance home grow rights across the country. 

In Delaware, we are supporting efforts to introduce a bill to add adult-use home cultivation to the state's existing legalization law. We’re also monitoring and supporting bills in other key states that aim to protect and expand home grow:

In New Jersey, we’ve recently shared action alerts on two active bills: SB 2564 would allow adults 21 and older to grow up to six plants at home, with patients allowed up to 10. S 1758 would allow medical patients or their caregivers to grow up to four mature and four immature plants. 

In Kentucky, MPP is supporting HB 401, which would allow medical patients to grow up to three mature plants at home. 

In New Hampshire, HB 53 would allow registered patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants at home. While the bill has stalled this session, we're not done fighting for New Hampshire patients.

In Washington, SB 6204 and HB 1449 would have allowed adults to grow up to six plants at home, but the legislature adjourned without a vote and the bills died in the Senate Rules Committee. We submitted written testimony and sent an email alert — and we'll be back next session.

In West Virginia, MPP recently shared an action alert for HB 5259, which did not receive a hearing, but would have allowed patients to cultivate up to 10 plants. 

In Florida, S 0776, which would have allowed medical patients to grow up to six flowering plants, has also died this session.
 
While some of the promising bills introduced this year have failed to pass in their current legislative sessions, with every session we build more support, more momentum, and more pressure on lawmakers who stand in the way of commonsense reform.

Where you live should never determine whether you can afford your medicine, stay out of prison, or grow a plant in your own backyard. Let’s make that a reality.