NJ legal weed activists: After three years, why can't we grow marijuana at home?

TRENTON - Three years after marijuana became legal in New Jersey, activists have made their position clear: The work isn't done — not by a long shot.

Dozens of cannabis consumers, entrepreneurs and medical marijuana patients gathered on the lawn of the New Jersey Statehouse on Thursday morning, chanting for legislators to "free the weed, free the people" and finally pass a law allowing people — especially patients — to grow cannabis at home.

"Replacing 100,000 arrests with 100 dispensaries is definitely worth celebrating, but a lot of us are hesitant to celebrate when patients and legacy providers are still caught in the crossfire of prohibition," said Andrea Raible, who said she uses medical marijuana to treat her epilepsy and brain damage, but can't find the appropriate strains at licensed dispensaries.

New Jersey is one of only four states with legal weed markets that don't allow consumers to grow cannabis at home. And of the 24 states to legalize it, New Jersey is one of only two that doesn't even allow an exception for registered medical marijuana patients. Delaware patients are also barred from growing cannabis at home.

The push for home grow has always been led by patient advocates, who argue that allowing even a limited number of homegrown cannabis plants would help patients avoid the exorbitant costs at dispensaries (an eighth-ounce of cannabis costs about $45 to $60 at most New Jersey dispensaries).

Opponents have said allowing home grow would hinder the regulated New Jersey cannabis industry. In 2022, Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Union, told a group of cannabis business owners and entrepreneurs that the cannabis industry needed time — "it's not even off the ground yet," he said — before home grow could be considered. And in November, Scutari told NJ Advance Media that he expected such a move to happen but he "(didn't) think we're ready yet."

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