# Hypothetical: Marijuana is completely legal and you're allowed to grow your own. Do you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2021, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025 "2021-12-14T05:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/161 "2024-02-13T05:49:09Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > no-one could use the output from four plants just for “personal consumption”. Is that right? Bah! Figure three or four months turn around on average, rooting cuttings from a vegetating mother plant, 4-6 weeks growing/training, then 55 days flowering. Four plants will give you 3 1/2 ounces dry weight once it’s cured. That will last me three months, so I’d already be behind. My grows were always 8-10 plants under two bulbs. I was always generous, rolling huge cones and sharing. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/162 "2024-02-13T16:45:55Z")
Maybe they’re back in the 70’s and figuring the weight including leaves. You need to smoke considerably more leaf to get a noticeable effect, though. Three plants would be much more than enough for me; but I’d expect to smoke only occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/163 "2024-02-13T17:49:43Z")
Rolling big cones to share… as it should be!! I tend to still be in the grey market, for my customers. If Illinois ever allows growing for rec, count me in… both thumbs are green. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/164 "2024-02-13T18:18:46Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Maybe they’re back in the 70’s and figuring the weight including leaves. You need to smoke considerably more leaf to get a noticeable effect, though. Well, and it depends on the size of the plant. I’m pretty sure my sister’s friend got several pounds off of the giant sativa in her back yard. Whether the leaves are potent depends on the strain. Some have _very_ potent leaves. Back in the early 90s I was able to buy $80 ounces of Northern Lights leaf trim from a grower. Totally frosty, it was some of the finest smoke I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/165 "2024-02-14T12:55:58Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Back in the early 90s I was able to buy $80 ounces of Northern Lights leaf trim The leaf trim can be very potent, consisting of sugar leaves adjacent to buds, compared to the big fan leaves which are totally garbage. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/166 "2024-02-14T16:01:20Z")
Thanks for info. That would explain how we managed to get stoned in the 70’s on weed that was often almost all leaf: a mix of sugar leaves and fan leaves, requiring smoking/eating a larger quantity but still enough potency to accomplish the job as long as you took enough. It was certainly possible to get too stoned to stand up; but that took multiple joints being passed around for some time. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/167 "2024-02-14T23:03:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The leaf trim can be very potent, consisting of sugar leaves adjacent to buds, compared to the big fan leaves which are totally garbage. That’s generally true, but not universally true. When I was growing, I started from a bunch of bag seed I’d collected from brick weed. My reasoning was that If I liked the parent after it’d been grown outdoors, been dried and cured en masse with indifferent care, then bricked and transported in summer heat across south Texas, I’d probably love its children if I treated them with care. That ended up being true. All of the plants that I grew ended up being really good, at the very least, and I grew a wide variety of different strains. Most fan leaves weren’t even good enough to make butter with, that is true. On the other hand, some had fan leaves that were better than what you’d make butter with, and a very small number of plants were so potent you couldn’t really tell whether you were smoking the bud or the leaf unless you saw someone breaking it up to roll. Due to my two-legged varmint behavior, I already knew which plants were which when it came to harvest time. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/168 "2025-02-20T03:01:15Z")
This is over an hour long. Adam Conover on how legalization, capitalism, and lack of government oversight has ruined the dreams we had of legal weed. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLSgm1siXIs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLSgm1siXIs) ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/169 "2025-02-20T12:28:46Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > compared to the big fan leaves which are totally garbage. I beg to differ. While smoking them won’t do much, they add an attractive flavour to a mixed salad. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/170 "2025-02-20T13:29:14Z")
No, I wouldn’t because the gummies they sell now are so powerful that a half of one is plenty, and the prices are reasonable. Why do all that work to produce something that probably isn’t as good? Having said that, I would add that people who enjoy plants as a hobby might enjoy just doing it to do it. It might be fun. They would be wise to do it inside, though because of possible theft or because minors might access it. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/171 "2025-02-22T10:21:23Z")
It’s now legal in South Africa. I’ve only ever grown it in illegal situations, and then much for a) novelty, or b) throwing out seeds, which happen to grow. My one neighbour produced a plant that was about 30cm tall and looked more like a cactus, it was so compact. Almost entirely bud. Another grew what I would call a tree, he had to trim the top so the neighbours would not see it and report him. I don’t use cannabis, but I do like it as a salad ingredient. Fresh leaves are great alternative to arugula, sort of competing in the same taste space. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/172 "2025-02-23T11:34:42Z")
I think the stuff stinks and have no interest in using it. So I’m obviously not going to _grow_ it, I’ve no use for it. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/173 "2025-02-23T13:25:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > So I’m obviously not going to _grow_ it, I’ve no use for it It can be aesthetically pleasing, like many plants. It is fairly hardy and grows well in many climates. It (being a “weed”) is hardy. I mean, people have no issue growing Lion’s Tail (Leonotis Leonurus) or San Pedro (Trichocereus macrogonus) in their gardens. both of which are decorative plants that also happen to be psychedelics. Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) contains lysergic acid amide (LSA). A common roadside brush plant, Datura stramonium (and various species) is psychoactive. (Various tropines) It is beyond bizarre that the one plant is illegal, - or now, semi legal - whereas the others I listed above can just be harvested by people who recognise them. Cannabis is pretty harmless when compared to the 3 day - yes, three day - dissociative trip you get from Datura. You can legally buy this in your local plant nursery. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/174 "2025-02-23T16:12:39Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Cannabis is pretty harmless when compared to the 3 day - yes, three day - dissociative trip you get from Datura. You can legally buy this in your local plant nursery. Good luck. Heh, I refreshed my memory of datura the other day when the anesthesiologist mentioned he was giving my wife scopolamine to prevent nausea. Jeebus, stay the hell away from that plant. > **[Datura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura)** > > 9–14 (See text) > Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets or mad apple (not to be confused with angel's trumpets, which are placed in the closely related genus Brugmansia). Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells. All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and psychoactiv... ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/175 "2025-02-23T16:28:43Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I mean, people have no issue growing Lion’s Tail (Leonotis Leonurus) or San Pedro (Trichocereus macrogonus) in their gardens. both of which are decorative plants that also happen to be psychedelics. I get a lot of seed catalogs. Several of them sell seed for breadseed poppy. One – only one – of those adds to the listing for each variety “all parts of the plant except the seed are toxic!” Breadseed poppy is papaver somniferum. What they mean by “toxic” is “this is opium poppy, and we don’t want to be held responsible if you realize that!” But most people growing somniferum poppies really are either after the seed (which doesn’t contain enough opium to affect you) or after the very pretty flowers as something to look at. (I have no idea how many you’d need to grow to get a significant amount of opium, either. I’ve never tried it. I don’t think most of the rest of the plant is particularly high in it either.) ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/176 "2025-02-23T20:41:34Z")
We have all sorts of brugmanseas, San Pedros, in our gardens. I have rare collection of “Luna” saliva divinorum Ive grown for 20 years. Beautiful flowers. Daturas are most everywhere in California dry or scrubby areas, railroad tracks etc. Trip reports are horrible fascinating to read, good reason never to sample. Dehydration resulting in death etc etc I recall that native Indians used daturas as a right of passage drug, but might be wrong on that. Coastal fog here makes it difficult to grow cannabis, although large companies do it in the old rose/orchid greenhouses of Carpinteria. South Africa is/was home of some of the original landrace Sativas. Very sought after as breeding stock. Strong movement to avoid those strains being contaminated by new 90 day wonder plants. Landrace strains have incredible resiliancy and strength to handle harsh conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/177 "2025-02-23T21:54:52Z")
I’ve grown Leonotis leonurus for its attractive orange flowers. The Trichocereus looks modestly ornamental. Moonflower and several Datura species (not jimsonweed) have spectacular flowers. Cannabis on the other hand has a weedy appearance, suitable only for a wild garden setting at best. Speaking of jimsonweed, there was a case where someone grafted tomato plants onto jimsonweed stock to get hardier, more vigorous tomatoes. It didn’t end well for those that ate the fruit. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/178 "2025-02-23T23:25:29Z")
I grew poppies for a while. I didn’t know for sure if they were opium poppies, but my neighbors all teased me about them. They were a low-maintenance plant that had a relatively small footprint and big gorgeous flowers. My BIL grew cannabis for a while. His looked like small Christmas trees, and he was constantly tending them. Covered with buds, they just looked ragged, not attractive. And they stank to high heaven. No, I’m not interested in growing cannabis. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/179 "2025-02-24T00:22:47Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I grew poppies for a while. I didn’t know for sure if they were opium poppies, but my neighbors all teased me about them. There are a number of different kinds of poppies; not all of them are opium poppies. “California poppy”, for instance, isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025/180 "2025-02-24T04:09:08Z")
Well, i wasn’t growing them for opium, no one attempted to harvest any opium, and i wasn’t arrested. And it was 20 years ago. So i don’t suppose it matters at this point. But looking at Wikipedia photos, they looked a lot more like opium poppies than like California poppies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-marijuana-is-completely-legal-and-youre-allowed-to-grow-your-own-do-you/956025.md?page=10)