Gardening Tips for Medical Cannabis Patients in Maine
In Maine, any patient who is certified by an MD, DO, or Nurse Practitioner to use medical cannabis has the option of legally growing their own therapeutic marijuana. A versatile plant, cannabis can be sun grown or cultivated indoors. Working with your own plants in your own garden is therapeutic and empowering, but a patient who is thinking about home growing for the first time should consider a number of factors before planting that first seed.
Know (and Follow) the Laws
First, familiarize yourself with Maine’s medical marijuana regulations, as well as any local ordinances that may have been enacted. Currently, Maine state regulations limit the number of harvestable flowering plants a patient may possess at any time to a maximum of 6, and require fencing and other security precautions for outdoor grows. These regulations will form the blueprint for your garden project.
Other considerations come into play because marijuana is still federally illegal. For example, if you live within 1000 feet of a school or other place where children gather, growing cannabis plants will put you at risk of increased criminal penalties at the federal level. Also, patients who live in subsidized housing risk losing their housing if they grow at home.
Do Your Homework
Research strains of cannabis that are most likely to help with your symptoms, and those that will work well with the space and environmental conditions available to you.
To illustrate: Maine’s outdoor growing season is relatively short, and often finishes with rainy periods which invite molds and mildews. These contaminants can ruin a crop you have lovingly tended for months. Sativa-dominant plants generally need longer flowering times, and are genetically less resistant to mold/mildew. Therefore, they may not be the best choice for the first-time outdoor gardener.
Started from seed, your plants will require about 6 months of daily care and attention. While you might be able to leave a houseplant without water or feeding for several days, neglecting your cannabis plant in this manner will stress the plant, resulting in lower yields and other potential problems.
Consider the Space
Is your home suitable for cultivating cannabis? Maine requires outdoor growers to install secure fencing, and it makes good security sense to ensure that even at their fullest height, the plants cannot be seen from the street or other properties.
If you are thinking about indoor growing, consider where you will do this. Will you be able to convert a closet or other small space? During the flowering cycle, your plant may reach heights of 5’ or more, and will need to spend 12 hours in darkness each day. Is the planned garden area lightproof? Gardening stores now offer small “tent” setups which are inexpensive, compact, and self-contained; these may serve as a good starter kit for those new to gardening indoors.
Flowering cannabis plants are very fragrant, and some form of odor control such as a charcoal filter will be necessary. Consider that the pungent aroma will continue through the harvesting, drying and curing process. If you live in shared housing, home growing might not be a wise choice.
Equipment & Supplies
Growing media, nutrients, different lights for vegetative and flowering plants, fans to circulate air and regulate heat, timers for lights and fans, odor controlling air scrubbers, hair/beard nets and gloves, pruning clippers and materials to clean the materials—the array of products available to you as an indoor gardener can be overwhelming.
Make a list of what you will need, and as you research brands, look for products that make it easy on the beginner. A pre-mixed bag of cocoa, perlite, and peat will save you time and give your plants everything they need.
Remember that you can purchase the equipment you need as you reach different stages of the growing process. You will not need to have the lights for the flowering stage ready to go as soon as you start your seeds. Make a budget for your planned needs and stick to it.
While it isn’t easy or the right choice for every patient, home gardening can be extremely rewarding.
Jeremiah Merrill is a Maine native who worked in the construction trades before a workplace accident sidelined him. Eventually, he discovered that responsible use of medical cannabis was a helpful alternative to traditional pharmaceutical pain management options. Jeremiah’s passion for the therapeutic benefits of cannabis led him to become an integral part of the Cultivation Team at Wellness Connection of Maine.
ELM™ | Maine
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