I have a caregiver but i want to grow my own this year. What steps do i need to take

I hold a vaild card in the state and since ive had it i've been getting my medicine off of my caregiver. but this summer i want to grow my own plants outdoors for myself but i dont know what steps i need to take to do this since im setup with my caregiver already. Do i have to request paperwork or something. Hopefully someone can enlighten me on the situation and what i need to do.

-Thanks

to grow outside you must have your plants in a locked, fenced in area....I think there is a change form on DHHS website....

You may already know this but you cannot legally have your own plants and a caregiver who provides for you. For your caregiver to remain legal he will have to stop selling to you once you change your patient status.

Maine Brookies said:

You may already know this but you cannot legally have your own plants and a caregiver who provides for you. For your caregiver to remain legal he will have to stop selling to you once you change your patient status.

Click to expand...

Yes i do know this i wanted to grow my own for the outside season. Sounds like quite a bit of work to build a secure gardenhouse and im already late this year so i mind aswell just wait until next year.

There's no definition of what a secure locked fenced in area is. I think you'd be OK in court with snowfence and a padlock.

just make sure it is a tall snowfence...

Sure it's open to interpretation, but I assure you that a snow fence would fail the "secure" test.

Dan, I'm sure you know this already, but your caregiver likely has an investment to provide medicine for you. There's a $300 license fee, not to mention setting up the op. A little notice to him or her would probably be greatly appreciated if you haven't already given it.

I don't have the connections yet that I would like to have (its actually why I joined this site) however I have met and spoken with a couple caregivers quite extensively..
The general impression from those I know relatively well is that there's alot of personal (or even creative) interpretation going on.. One perspective basically requires a tall chain link fence with a lock on the door.. Another requires a roof so that its an enclosed aria meaning you might as well build a greenhouse.
I have gotten into a speculative conversation about building a cube out of hardware cloth or chicken wire which I feel would be the best compromise in good part because wild critters seem to find marijuana quite tasty..
You hear about the deer and rabbits all the time but there are either squeals or chipmunks that will Squeeze through (or climb over by way of tree) most fencing and not only eat the leaves they can reach off the tops of young plants but also dig them up and damage the roots too.. However its unclear if hardware cloth or chicken wire are secure even with a locking door..

Once you have that squared away you enter into more speculative grey arias.... Its not entirely clear to everyone if only mature plants count or anything with roots (might even be anything identifiable leafs if you want to be really cautious).. Depending on the interpretation you go by you may have to file the paperwork to become a personal use grower before you sprout your first bean (or solicit your first clone) Which means no less than 2 months before you are producing your own meds (likely more towards 3-4 months depending on genetics and method).

Keep in mind that Maine is a decriminalized state which means unless you are clearly producing more than personal use (over 100 plants or 1lb dried flowers) its pretty unlikely that you will face anything more than forfeiture and fines if caught outside (or even potentially within) the grey arias that currently exist..
Unfortunately people are going to have to get caught pushing the boundaries of these grey arias for the court of public opinion to influence clear and appropriate legislation..

The simple fact is that without getting into grey arias its impossible to supply yourself sustainably, You will inherently suffer dry spells between rotations.. Unless you use under an oz a month (then you are limited to the fastest flowering strains in a 2 week rotation perpetual harvest with a single mother plant forcing you to place clones directly into flowering with no veg time). It takes atleast 6 times that many plants to provide your 2.5oz every 2 weeks and thats assuming a high yielding fast flowering plant suits your medical needs and you're all about hydroponics (which is a pain in the butt if you're not) not to mention hydro rarely tastes as good.

For a once annual outdoor grow you would need to be able to harvest and store 3-4 pounds of dried flowers a year (which is possible with only 6 of the right plants however criminal in this state and leaves you subject to federal prosecution from my understanding)

I'm personally attempting to exploit a grey aria about gifting amongst other patients/caregivers to always stay as reasonably close to the spirit of the law as possible (as I perceive it) while providing myself with sufficient medication. Additionally it can help others that are in the same boat or just can't afford the ridicules despondency prices (considering the lack of insurance coverage for this type of med)