Reader: Leave My Pot Plants Alone and Catch Real Crooks

Denver voters had just approved Initiative 301, which decriminalized possession of psyilocybin, but when the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses and Denver Police Department held a news conference on May 9, what did city officials want to talk about?

Not magic mushrooms, but why residents can’t grow cannabis unless they follow the rules very, very closely. “One issue that has persisted has been home grows,” DPD Commander James Henning said. “When we go to these locations, a lot of times they simply just don’t know the law.”

Says KL: 

Thanks for wasting everyone’s time, Denver.

Replies Mark Bastian: 

Think this falls under the it is only illegal if you get caught category. Lol.

Adds Joe: 

Stay out of my yard, leave my pot plants alone and go catch some real bad crooks.

Suggests Wm: 

All you have to do is just cut one of the leaves off. Then the feds will leave you alone because they can’t count past four, anyway.

Concludes Mario: 

The fact that the government allows “some people” to grow it and make tons of money out of it, but criminalizes a person for doing it inside his property only shows the level of corruption of that government.

Keep reading about more regarding mushrooms and backyard grows.

“Campaign Director Behind Magic Mushroom Initiative Talks Next Steps”

“Denver Police: Growing Marijuana in Your Back Yard Still Illegal”

“Couple’s Wash Park Home Seized, Wife Jailed, Over Four Pot Plants”

Denver allows residents 21 and up and medical marijuana patients eighteen and up to grow six cannabis plants. If a household has more than one adult who’s at least 21, then the maximum plant count for that residence goes up to twelve, but only half of those plants can be in their blooming stages.

The challenge comes when you’re growing plants outside. They must be in an enclosed, locked space, like a greenhouse. It’s not enough to simply grow them in your locked back yard, as one Washington Park couple learned last year, when they ended up with a lien against their home from the city and the threat of random police searches over the next two and a half years or so.

With the recent decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms and the federal government’s yet-to-be-implemented legalization of hemp, marijuana won’t be the only new home-growing operations that Denver police are dealing with in the future, though. Henning says his department has been talking with the Denver City Attorney’s Office to learn more about addressing those issues if and when they arise.

What do you think about the city’s rules regarding home grows? Its enforcement policies? Post a comment or email your thoughts to marijuana@westword.com.