The New York State Office of Cannabis Management passed a proposal Tuesday that allows patients using medical marijuana to grow their own plants at home.
According to the new regulations, authorized patients can grow a maximum of three mature and three immature plants, beginning Oct. 5. However, the minimum age to do so is 21.
Medical cannabis patients between ages 18 and 20 are required to have a designated caregiver who may grow plants on the patient’s behalf. The regulators added that patients under 21 are still able to buy medical cannabis from a dispensary.
While patients can have up to two caregivers, regulators said only one caretaker can cultivate plants. The new guidelines allocate a maximum of six mature and six immature plants for caregivers working with two or more patients.
Last year, New York legalized the use of recreational marijuana in the state under the Marihuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA), allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis for personal use.
However, it is not legal to grow cannabis for recreational purposes in the state, and the state’s first public dispensaries aren’t due to open until the end of the year.
According to the regulator’s website, “social equity is central to the Cannabis Law, which seeks to begin the work of repairing decades of disproportionate enforcement and over criminalization of cannabis prohibition, especially in Black and Brown communities.”
