Bill allowing home-grown marijuana gains momentum in Washington state Legislature

Eight years ago, Washington staked a claim as the first state, along with Colorado, to legalize recreational marijuana use. More than a dozen states have since followed suit.

But Washington’s status as a legalization pioneer has lagged in one respect: It remains a felony to grow marijuana for recreational use at home.

A proposal advancing in the state Legislature would change that, allowing adults 21 years and older to grow up to six marijuana plants, with no more than 15 plants allowed in any household.

House Bill 1019 passed out of a legislative committee last month with bipartisan support and is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in the House Appropriations Committee.

The measure has been championed by civil liberties and equity activists — and by the legal marijuana industry, which hopes home-grown cannabis could expand consumer interest much like home beer brewing helped spur the microbrewery explosion.

“We do not see it as being competition,” said Lara Kaminsky, government affairs liaison with The Cannabis Alliance, a nonprofit marijuana trade association. “We saw how in the beer industry when people started to brew at home, they became more sophisticated consumers.” [Read more at The Seattle Times]