Ask a Stoner: Can I Grow Hemp at Home Now?

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Dear Stoner: Now that hemp is legal, can I grow it in my yard or inside my home?
Stanimal

Dear Stan: We wish, but it still depends on where you live. The 2018 Farm Bill did legalize hemp farming across the country — if you want to farm hemp or grow it for research purposes, you’ll need a license from your state department of agriculture — but it didn’t address federal law regarding residential growing.

click to enlarge

Don't expect to see hemp in your neighbor's front yard.

Danielle Lirette

If you live in a state like Colorado, which allows growing cannabis at home for medical or recreational purposes, and you qualify as a medical marijuana patient or are at least 21 years of age, then you can grow hemp under your legal cannabis plant count. However, that cultivation would have to be built as if the hemp were THC-rich marijuana, which would require a private, enclosed space and lots of money to set it up.

Given that most state plant counts don’t go higher than three flowering plants per person (six plants overall), you probably wouldn’t get much fiber from them, though you could roast the seeds. However, some hemp strains can carry CBD percentages in the high 20s and look strikingly similar to their seedless THC cousins. If you’re interested in high-CBD flower and concentrates without the high, those could be worth a shot.

Send questions to [email protected].