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As cannabis legalization continues to sweep the nation, the argument over the ability to grow your own intensifies. In many legal states, growing your own is not allowed, making it seem like legalization doesn’t mean legal. For many, legal cannabis means totally legal- allowing people to grow cannabis like they are able to grow tomatoes.
There are some states that allow residents to grow cannabis: California. Oregon, Michigan, and Missouri to name a few. In states like Washington and Florida, growing your own is not allowed- it’s actually illegal.
For many, cannabis is their medicine and growing their own is important to them. For others, there isn’t a preference; and then there are the people that want both. Legal means legal right? So some people want to grow their own and still have the ability to shop at a dispensary for variety.
For the collective, the focus point is learning about the pros and cons of both; growing your own cannabis vs buying cannabis from a dispensary. Below you’ll hear from Missouri based cultivators, breeders, and educators on the pros and cons of growing vs shopping for cannabis,
About Elite Home Growers
Elite Home Growers Academy, is a non-profit organization in Missouri focused on: “helping Missouri grow”. Their goal is to help advocate, educate, and provide resources for medical marijuana patients, care givers, Veterans, and cannabis industry professionals. They offer various classes covering topics involving the medical marijuana industry.
About Royal Highnezz
Royal Highnezz, is a consulting company out of Missouri: “dedicated to the mastery and knowledge of cultivation.” They offer a wide range of services all focused on cultivation, and not just cannabis, all shorts of plants; and not just adults, they also teach children how to grow various flowers and vegetables.
Q & A with Elite Home Growers and Royal Highnezz
Please provide your perspective on the pros and cons of growing your own cannabis.
Royal Highnezz: “I would have to say 3 pros to growing Cannabis is: control over medicine and what goes in it, growing your own is overall cheaper, and for me personally- it’s stress relief in itself. Growing is very therapeutic.
3 cons I would say are: the initial setup will be costly for some; it’s important to get decent setup equipment. Another con I would say is it’s time consuming and can come with some frustrations. Lastly I would say the stereotype that comes with growing cannabis; eventually people will know you grow and judge you one way or another.”
Elite Home Growers: “3 Pros are: 1. Knowing exactly how your cannabis is cultivated. Example: grown organically, or with synthetic nutrients, 2. Knowing the level of effort, care, and love that was given to produce the cannabis, and 3. The money that you save over time.
3 Cons are: 1. Growing quality cannabis takes time to figure out, so it is easy to lose motivation, 2. The upfront cost of equipment, seeds/clones, and the miscellaneous items, and 3. Changing your life schedule to properly care for your plants.”
What are 3 reasons that one may choose dispensary shopping versus growing their own cannabis?
Royal Highnezz: “Dispensary shopping is easy. You go in, learn your options, and buy. Dispensary shopping is also very convenient now because there are dispensaries everywhere and I think overall, there is just some appeal to dispensary shopping. It’s fairly new here to a lot of people and they want to know what the hype is.”
Elite Home Growers: “1. Knowing that you are purchasing a product that has been lab tested for pesticides, heavy metals, and mycotoxins; but also getting a good breakdown of the terpene profile of that particular strain/product, 2. Even though someone may want to grow their own cannabis, they may not have the time, space, or initial startup cost for growing, and 3.The patient can directly speak to a professional about their condition and get product recommendations.”
What are some ways to learn about growing your own cannabis?
Royal Highnezz: “The internet is definitely a great way to learn to grow cannabis in this day and age because everyone has a video out about it. Another way to learn is to reach out to the many grow consultants out here like myself and Elite Home Growers. Another way is by trial and error (lol). I’m a grower of all things so when I started with cannabis, I just started like I would any other plant. But I quickly learned the canna plant and the rest is Royal Highnezz history (lol).”
Elite Home Growers: “Top 3 ways to learn about growing are: the internet has to be a strong one, but that route can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of mixed and conflicting information on the internet. Reading or listening to books regarding the topic is a good way, and attending local or web-based grow classes/courses, like the ones we offer at Elite Home Growers Academy or Royal Highnezz. Another way to learn about growing, is just get started! You learn so much from this plant, it is the true teacher to us all.”
What do you believe are a few cons to dispensary shopping?
Royal Highnezz: “I would say pricing, accessibility and appearance.”
Elite Home Growers: “A few cons are, depending on where you live, it may be too far away, the cost of some products can be high, seeing so many products can be overwhelming to the patient, and the dispensary may not carry the product that works best for the patient.”
Can balance be found in both; can it be beneficial to grow and buy from dispensaries?
Royal Highnezz: “It definitely can work together. The reality is, even if you become a home grower you still may not grow enough to supply your annual demands. Here in Missouri, you can only grow 18 plants a year. New growers aren’t usually focused on yield so they most likely will run out and when they do, it’s nice to have a place you can legally and safely go to find medicine that fits your medical needs.”
Elite Home Growers: “Yes, they both can peacefully coexist. I actually believe that it makes the industry stronger to have them both operating cohesively. All growers have a period when they may not have any product ready, so having a dispensary to shop at and fill the gap is a great option. Also, a dispensary may carry a strain that a grower does not have access to grow. Cannabis is a commodity, like coffee beans, pork bellies, and oranges. Just because a person grows an orange tree in their backyard, that doesn’t destroy an industry.”
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