What you should know before growing marijuana in your
home in Park County.
Remember,
even though marijuana is legal in Colorado, it is illegal under federal law. Under federal law marijuana is a controlled
substance; cultivation, production or possession of marijuana or its
derivatives could subject you to criminal prosecution.
Keep children and strangers out
Growing outdoors is prohibited in Park County. All of your plants must be kept in a locked
and enclosed area. This is especially
important if you have children. Law
enforcement and child services view exposing children to marijuana as child
abuse, do not allow children anywhere near your marijuana.
Park County Ordinance 18-01 Section 2(k)
requires your plants to be within a “secure” area, meaning partitioned off to
prevent access by children, visitors, casual passersby, vandals, or anyone not licensed
and authorized to possess medical marijuana.
Keep your plants out of sight and smell
The first thing that can get a grower into trouble is County
Ordinance 18-01 Section 2(c) which requires that the “cultivation,
production, or possession of marijuana plants must not be perceptible from the
exterior of the structure in which such cultivation occurs.”
Be sure of the following:
1)
Your grow is not be visible outside the building;
2) there
are no signs indicating marijuana is inside;
3)
there are no odors coming from your grow (including non-marijuana specific
smells);
4) no
light is visible coming out of your grow room; and
5) there
are no extra cars or people around.
All of the above are prohibited by Park County Ordinance
18-01, and allow for a neighbor to make a complaint to law enforcement. Unless you enjoy visits from the guys in
uniform with guns and handcuffs, you should take all steps necessary, such as
air filters and covering windows, to avoid giving a neighbor any reason to
complain.
Limit the area used
You can use only one structure, building, greenhouse
or enclosure on any lot/parcel of land.
If in a “multi-family dwelling unit,” such as an
apartment, condo, townhouse, duplex, the enclosed and locked space occupied by
your plants must not exceed 100 square feet. Otherwise the space may be as much as 150
square feet.
Limit the number of plants you grow
There are two kinds of non-commercial growers:
recreational and medical.
1) Personal Recreational Use
For
recreational use: you may have up to 6 plants per adult with a maximum
of 12 plants per household. No
more than 6 plants can be flowering at one time.
2) Medical Use
The
law regarding cultivation for Medical use is vague, piecemeal and subject to
interpretation by law enforcement. While
this may would normally mean the law can be challenged as unconstitutional,
such a challenge would be difficult or even impossible because marijuana
remains illegal under federal law.
Therefore marijuana growers must keep up to date on the latest changes
in the law and do their best to follow that law.
Medical
Cultivation is divided into two classes: personal and by a caregiver. This analysis does not cover caregivers.
The
safest approach is to follow the lesser amount allowed for recreational
use. However, if you need more it gets complicated.
Colo.
Rev. Stat. § 25-1.5-106(8.5)(a.5)(I) allows a medical marijuana patient to grow
no more than 12 plants. But if
you meet the following conditions you can grow up to 24 plants at your
residence:
1. The
city, municipality, and county where you live does not limit the number of
plants a medical marijuana patient can grow in/on a residential property;
2. The
patient registers with the state licensing authority, with the location, and
number of plants authorized to cultivate; and
3.
Provides notice to the applicable city, municipality and county if required by
that jurisdiction.
Park
County Ordinance 18-01 Section 2(e) allows for no more than the “maximum
number of marijuana plants allowed by state law”; and only requires “primary
caregivers” to register with the county.
So if
you meet the conditions above, including having registered with the state
licensing authority, you should be legal with 24 plants. However, be aware that several Park County
Deputies have communicated directly and indirectly to this author that they
disagree with this interpretation and would file charges for having more than
12 plants.
The
above is a statement of the law as exists at this date and time (4/2/19). You should review the law before depending on
anything herein. Additionally, the
proceeding does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please contact my office if you have
questions or need legal advice.
