Dear Stoner: What’s better for a small home grow, the attic or the basement? My attic is a decent size (about five-foot ceilings) and much more empty.
Joe Shingles

Dear Joe: An attic can be a dicey place to grow cannabis if you’re planning to live in the same home. While five feet might seem tall enough for an attic, you’ll probably want a reservoir to put your plants on so that water and growing mediums don’t spill out onto the attic floor (bad news for the ceiling below), and that can add a couple of feet. Most cannabis plants need more than three feet to thrive, but I’ve seen them grown in more cramped conditions. Still, you’ll probably have a much harder time modifying the electricity and ventilation in an attic to suit a home grow than you would in a basement.

Coloradans are legally allowed to have private marijuana cultivations in their homes if they are 21 and older.

Flickr/Mark Eggrole

Another downfall of attic grows: They can out your operation. There have been multiple reports in years past of police being able to identify and bust illegal cannabis grows in attics after snowstorms. Why? The electricity from the growing lights melts the snow, leaving the roof buck naked next to its powdery neighbors. So just move all that shit that’s in your basement upstairs, and put the grow below.

Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.

• Marijuana