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Anne has answers: How do other states manage their marijuana grows?

Anne Saker
asaker@enquirer.com
Today's #AnneHasAnswers: Other states with limited-grow models.

Got a question about marijuana legalization in Ohio? Anne Saker, The Enquirer’s lead reporter on the topic, can find the answers.Contact Anne atasaker@enquirer.com, 513-768-8489, facebook.com/annesaker, Twitter @apsaker, #AnneHasAnswers.

Have other states limited their marijuana crops?

One of the loudest objections to Issue 3 is that the proposed constitutional amendment limits the commercial cultivation of marijuana in Ohio. But the concept is not uncommon, especially in states that recently adopted medical-marijuana programs.

On the West Coast, where the home-grow ethos is a powerful political force, states that adopted medical programs, then legalization, made provisions for small-batch cultivations. But as the medical-marijuana movement gained ground, states exercised more control over the crop: no home grow in favor of centralized facilities.

Illinois, for example, adopted a medical program in 2013 through its legislature. Citizens are not permitted to grow. The lawmakers instead created licenses for up to 22 “cultivation centers” to raise the crop. State officials evaluated and chose applicants. As of June 30, 18 centers had been licensed and registered. This week, The Associated Press visited the first farm in operation, in Albion, Illinois, and found the farming town pleased about prospects for its new industry.

When the Connecticut legislature approved a medical-marijuana program in 2012, it also established a limited-grow model: No home-growing, but four sites will produce the state’s marijuana. The state can have up to 10 producers.

New Mexico's eight-year-old program allows home grow of up to four mature plants and 12 seedlings. The state now has 23 nonprofit producers and will add 12 more. State officials select the growers.

New York, which created its program last year, has five producers, which the state chooses.

One more thing: The federal government actually grows marijuana. Since the 1970s, the federal Marijuana Project on a farm at the University of Mississippi provides marijuana to six patients nationwide. More acreage now is under cultivation for further research into marijuana’s medical properties.

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