Dave Dewitt - Growing medical marijuana : securely and legally

This book contains general information on growing cannabis, which is a controlled substance in North America and throughout much of the world. As the use and cultivation of cannabis and its derivative products can carry heavy penalties, you should research your local laws before using the information in this book. Any attempt to treat an illness using cannabis should also be done under the direction of a health-care professional. The author and the publisher expressly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

Text copyright 2013 by Dave DeWitt

Photographs copyright 2013 by Dave DeWitt for (bottom left).

Illustrations copyright 2013 by Lois Manno

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

With the exception of the photographs by Dave DeWitt, Wes Naman, Mary Jane Wilan, Leo Lascaux, and Giordano Bruno, all other photographs appear by permission of the following: front cover (top left) photodoctor, Shutterstock; and back cover (bottom right), Daisyray, Bigstock.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

DeWitt, Dave.
Growing medical marijuana : securely and legally / Dave DeWitt.1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cannabis. 2. MarijuanaTherapeutic use. 3. Cooking (Marijuana) I. Title.
SB295.C35D49 2013
615.7827dc23

2012026477

eISBN: 978-1-60774-429-0
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60774-428-3

Design by Sarah Pulver

v3.1

My parents were avid gardeners in the 1950s, with my mother entering her tulips in flower shows and my father a dedicated tomato grower. My brother Rick and I were the grunts, the ones who turned the compost and mixed the potting soil according to Dads formula of aged compost, peat moss, sand, and topsoil. But we really learned how to grow things, and soon developed a gardening obsession that we both celebrate ritually every year.

Now Im known as the Pope of Peppers, partially due to the fact that Ive coauthored three gardening books specifically on chile peppers, and dozens of other books about cooking with them. But before the hot stuff, I grew marijuana clandestinely, off and on, for twenty years, starting forty years ago. I no longer cultivate it because I do not have state certification to do so and my property is not secure enough. Therefore, Id like to introduce my collaborator, Leo Lascaux, who is the medical marijuana grower featured in this book. Leo is a longtime, close friend of mine, and hes agreed to consult with me on this project with one condition: anonymity. So I wont tell you his real name or where he lives, but he does reside in a state where growing marijuana is legal with state certification, which he has. Throughout this book, Ill chronicle his experiences as a first-time marijuana grower so you can learn from his successes and his mistakes, and Ill show you plenty of photographs of what Leo calls his marijuana oasis. Before he started growing marijuana, Leo was not a gardener. But he is now. He finally found the right crop.

This gardening guide assumes that you will be growing where it is legal to do so by state law. People can cultivate in fourteen of the seventeen states where it is legal to possess marijuana (at this writing): Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Home cultivation is not allowed in Delaware, New Jersey, or the District of Columbia, and a special license is required in New Mexico. In Arizona, patients can only cultivate if they lived twenty-five miles or more from a dispensary when they applied for their card. The various state laws and regulations change frequently, so you should stay informed by consulting the website of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) at norml.org. Remember that the amount of marijuana that you may possess or cultivate differs from state to state, so please check your state and local ordinances.

Leo Lascaux, incognito

It doesnt matter to me whether youre growing marijuana to get high or get cured, or both. Its my job to guide you as a gardener and help you produce the best possible legal crop, given the constantly changing policies about growing and using marijuana, while taking into consideration the remarkable advances in marijuana cultivation since I first grew it forty years ago. Feminized seed, miniature and autoflowering varieties, superior cloning techniques, and other improvements in growing methods now greatly enhance the marijuana gardening experience. It is my hope that gardeners can seamlessly introduce marijuana into their existing gardens and simply enjoy it as another plant that is beneficial to humankind. And remember, chile plants were once simply tolerated weeds that eventually became valuable crops. The same thing is happening to marijuana, and its about time!

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before planning your medical marijuana garden. What are your motivations and goals? Are you sure youre growing legally? Do you have a secure location for the garden? Are you going to brag about it to your friends or sell part of the harvest to them? Your motivations and goals must be balanced against the possible consequences of the project youre about to undertake. First, there is a relatively high cost of setup for an indoor growing operation that needs lighting, ventilation, sometimes reflectors, and other equipment. Second is the risk factor. With some states liberalizing their laws about this common weed that was first just tolerated and now quite celebrated, theres a tendency to be lured into a false sense of security. To you and your friends, who may have indulged for years, growing marijuana is commonplace and the feeling that everyone does it is pervasive.