Is it Legal to Grow Cannabis in California?

The various regulations that have been imposed on cannabis have been topics of controversy for more than a century. The early 1850s —also known as the period of the Gold Rush– saw the advent of cannabis planting, which resulted in the first law being put in place to prohibit the use of cannabis in California. This law was a 1913 amendment to the Poison Act of 1907. 

Legalizing cannabis in California further grew as a topic of interest after the state tried to legalize cannabis in the state in 1972 with the regulation known as “Proposition 19”. However, this law was heavily objected to by many electorates and legislators. Eventually, the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes became legal in 1996 via “Proposition 215”, more popularly known as the Compassionate Use Act.  This law made California the first state to officially enable the use of marijuana with the recommendation of a healthcare provider. 

The use of cannabis for recreational purposes was, however, not legalized until the 8th of November, 2016 when the state passed into law “Proposition 64”. This law —formally known as The Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act— provided the guidelines that regulated the use of cannabis within the state. Further, it permitted adults that were aged 21 years and older to keep possession of marijuana seeds in California and even grow specific amounts of cannabis for their recreational use.

The provisions of the Law Regulating Cannabis Planting in California 

Specifically, the law provides that adults aged 21 years or older may be permitted to grow up to six plants of cannabis for their recreational use per household, and not per person residing in the household. 

Further, the law provides that where the cannabis is grown for medicinal use, such a patient is allowed to plant up to 6 mature plants or twelve immature cannabis plants. However, the law makes exceptions to the general rule, for cases where growing marijuana seeds in California will depend on the consistent and reasonable needs of the patient.

Additionally, these plants must be planted in a private residence, where it is safely hidden from the public. These plants, according to Proposition 64, must also be kept in a locked space, and where grown outdoors, must be hidden from the public. 

What Happens in Cases of Violation of Proposition 64?

Where there is a violation regarding the growing of marijuana seeds in California, the Health and Safety Code (HS) 11358 provides for the appropriate punishment. These punishments vary and may range from a felony charge to a minor offense. However, this heavily depends on the age of the person, the number of plants being grown, as well as the past criminal records of such a person. The above regulations provided that where a person plants, cultivates, harvest, and even processes marijuana plants outside the provisions of the law, the punishment shall be as follows: 

  • Any individual between the ages of 18-20 who plants, harvests, and processes less than six living cannabis plants shall be found guilty of an infraction and will be fined to the sum of not more than one hundred dollars. 
  • Any individual that is above the age of 21 and grows more than six cannabis plants can be charged with a misdemeanor and further sentenced to jail for not more than 6 months and/or fined up to five hundred dollars.

Additionally, the regulation provides hefty consequences for more grievous offenses. For instance, such a person can be convicted and sentenced to 3 years in a county jail and also fined up to $10,000 if: 

  • Such a person cultivating cannabis is a registered sex offender;
  • Such a person has previously been convicted of any violent felonies or crimes;
  • Where the cultivation of such marijuana seeds in California violates the environmental laws or ordinances of the state and; 
  • Where the person cultivating such marijuana seeds has two or more previous convictions pertaining to the cultivation of more than legally permitted six cannabis plants. 

Where Can I Purchase Marijuana Seeds in California? 

You can get your marijuana seeds in California from trusted distributors, such as Herbies.

Herbies Seeds is one of the world’s most successful cannabis seeds distributors that boasts a global operation. Since it began business operations in the early 2000s, Herbies has successfully completed more than 800,000 orders from an inventory of more than 2,000 unique strains, catering to more than 160,000 monthly web visitors. 

After its initial launch in the United Kingdom around the early 2000s, Herbies had been a major player in the cannabis seed industry. The company then relocated to Alicante, Spain where it quickly became a household name among the locals, eventually supplying different strains of cannabis seeds to more than 120 seed banks.

Finally, Herbies has also been working with Spanish breeders to birth many exclusive cannabis seeds. Herbies’ cannabis seeds are typically presented with sustainability as the ultimate goal. These seeds are put in packages that can be recycled anytime by the user. 

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