I'm in CA and here's the real stuff about growing and collectives. There isn't a limit on how many people can join a collective. Once it's started, anybody with a valid doctor's recommendation who lives in CA can join. You can find out exactly how they're regulated by going to the CA statutes online, and look up Senate Bill 420, which set out the rules for operating and growing legally.
Alos, go to the CA attorney general's website and look up the guidelines he put out last year. That is very specific about how a collective can form, etc., and definitely states that members of the collective should grow for the collective.
That is what the DA's are now using to try and close the dispensaries, in San Diego, and now Los Angeles. Everybody knows that the collectives operating dispensaries buy from commercial growers, i.e., those growing illegally. That is what is going to lead to most of them either being closed by the police, or they'll have to actually follow the law and have thier members grow the product for them.
This could be where you come in, because they'll need their own members to provide the medicine. You can grow six adult plants for each member of the collective, so you can imagine how many can be grown for a large collective!!
Oh yeah!! Anyway, once you get to CA, get a doctor's recommendation for the medicine, go to some dispensaries near you, and learn how they operate that way. (They're listed on the CA NORML website, both the dispensaries and the doctors who give recommendations.)
I do agree with the other responder that you have to get to know them, and then start to provide them with some medicine that you've grown. It is a very personal relationship kind of operation, but once you join a collective, it's not hard to get to know them.
Hope this helps. Grow on.

That's correct. There is no limit. But if your collective is over a certain amount of people it's considered a dispensary.

So if you start a collective with 10 people and are growing for 10 people and the cops come, they are going to bust you if you don't have the proper permits for running a dispensary.

Best thing to do is if you're growing under a collective and you want to grow more than what 3 people are allowed to grow is get a second spot under a different collective and grow for 3 people at each spot.

If either spot gets police attention you should be legit doing it this way. Although if BOTH spots were to get busted you've got a good fighting chance in court, but I don't know how that would play out. I'm not a lawyer.

If you are going to do a collective grow beyond your person legal limit, definitely talk to a lawyer first.

Thanks much for the excellent information Dan Cone and Grower1. I am thinking about moving to N. California (Red Bluff or Susanville). I am wondering if you think it's necessary to go through all the courses at Oaksterdam University? I'm sure it would be beneficial. Have you heard wonderful things about the program?

I was looking at the oaksterdam courses at their satelite school in LA. No doubt it would be cool to take their courses even on a social/networking level. I think best way to do what you were talking about is learn how to do things by having a mentor close by that you can learn from who is already doing what you want to do in your area. If you have good people they know the legals and can steer you through things and help you a long the way. I recently came to LA and just met a lot of growers/vendors through a friend and believe me when you begin to know the locals partaking in your activities it will open up things nicely for you I am sure. Best of luck getting started and getting over to NorCal, you gotta do what you love...

I did the classes at Oaksterdam. Although I did learn a couple useful things it was largely bullshit. These forums are 1000x more informative than the Oaksterdam classes and 95% of what they teach can be found here somewhere here.

The business classes were completely lacking, the growing classes were the equivalent of reading the FAQ's on these forums. If you've never grown or had any commercial experience with cannabis they would probably be helpful but if you're familiar with growing/etc then it's a waist of money.

whats up guys? i juss ran into this threat just like a lot of u did. Im a suppressed grower living in S.C witch if u dont know is one of the most conservatives states in the country. I have a dream of movin to Cali and juss simply growing my own dank without having to worry about the cops. I Think you guys there are so lucky to be the first and most advanced state wen it comes to marijuana laws and i think a lot of time is wasted worrying and trying to out grow ur state government wen most of us are juss tryin to grow peacefully in other states but dont share that same freedom. I am a hard workin tax paying 23 year old that does no other drugs or even drink alcohol and 2 weeks ago after a snitch who couldnt take his lil weed charge mentioned my name, 6 metro narcotics Agents came to my door with a search warrant and took the fruit of my sweat. a 5ft white widow that i still dream about, and afghan kush x skunk, and a mystery strain nicknamed Carolina Donky dick witch where all supposed to be cut down in 4 or 5 days. And even tho the cops where disspointed on the quantity didnt lock me up because i was upfront and polite with them and decied the best course of action was to juss confiscate the plants and all my euipment since it was just a small closet grow. But still all my dreams where shattered wen i was doing nothing but taking care of myself and keeping myself from contributing to the drug trade by growin what i consider my own medice even tho my state dosent recognize it as that, or give me the legal status as a patient. So i guess ill leave u guys to this... Any body in Cali wants to take inn a nice South Carolinian with growing knowledge that would soon after relocating would become a patient? We could start our own collective and help a fellow grower make his dream a reality.

Sounds like the cops just took your shit and kept it for themselves. Still better than getting arrested...

"All marijuana use is medicinal." - Dennis Peron

Yea im glad they didnt charge me, i guess is much better to have my freedom right? If those pigs smoked that shit i know they had to been baked cuz that white widow was the best shit I had ever seen and im sure it prolly would have been the best i have ever smoked.

Four days away?

My heart goes out to you, man.

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I'll be movin out to cali in a couple months and i was thinkin about movin to maybe el dorado county cuz i know a friend out there...he is a patient and is also close friends with the local dispensary owner. I want to eventually buy a place in sonoma county but i figure it'll probably make things alot easier if i know someone when i get out there so i can get into the business...any thoughts??