Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Seekonk, Mass. - With temperatures falling through the 20s on this landmark day in a state founded by Puritans, store manager Alex Wolowicz prepared for another round of inquiries from eager new plant growers.
Pot growers.
As of 12:01 Thursday morning it became legal to grow and possess certain amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts. And soon after Wolowicz opened his doors at the Rhode Island Hydroponics store on Central Avenue, he had his first prospective gardener.
The man in the canvas work jacket and hunter orange hat wasn't ready, he said, to publicly share his growing intentions, but Wolowicz said "all week has been very busy, people coming in and asking questions about growing. I'm ready today for a big day in sales."
At the other end of town, Police Chief Craig Mace prepared for what he said "is going to be a horror show."
The new law "says it's legal for recreational use but there are no legal dispensaries or vendors, so people will still have to acquire the marijuana illegally" or grow it themselves, Mace said. And unlike with alcohol, there remains no effective roadside test to gauge whether a motorist is driving under the influence of marijuana. "It's going to make the enforcement aspect difficult," Mace said.
Last month Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question that allows adults 21 and older to grow up to six plants, with a maximum of 12 plants per household. Residents can have up to 10 ounces of pot in their houses and 1 ounce in their personal possession.
It remains illegal, however, to exceed those limits, to use marijuana in public places or to sell the drug, though a resident can give away up to an ounce for free.
The initiative, opposed by most of the state's top lawmakers, the Catholic Church and several police, medical and business groups, calls for state-regulated retail stores by perhaps as early as January 2018.
A new state agency will regulate the drug's sale, including packaging requirements to keep out of children's reach the popular marijuana-infused foods and candies.
The Massachusetts vote, along with a similarly approved initiative in Maine, made them the first East Coast states to approve recreational pot use. Similar measures also passed in California and Nevada, bringing to eight the number of states to approve recreation marijuana.
At the Rhode Island Hydroponics store - where Wolowicz says three-quarters of his business is providing growing supplies to medical marijuana patients or caregivers -some novice growers were surprised by what can be an pricey investment to reap a pot harvest.
The law requires marijuana be grown in an enclosed and locked area. That means that at this time of year, most pot growing will take place in artificially lit and heated environments. And that can get costly.
For $675, Wolowicz sells special "tents" that can get the new grower started. The tents stand about 5-feet tall, have heat reflective walls, and a 600-watt light system already in place. All the grower has to do is buy some seeds - which is an illegal act because the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal and dangerous drug - or have a friend provide them or some grafted seedlings.
It takes about four months to grow a plant to maturity, he said, with the average electricity bill running about $65 a month. The plants will also need special nutrients, fed regularly into the special plant medium, such as shredded coconut husks.
And if the grower wants to stagger his harvests so to ensure a ready supply throughout the year - and to protect himself from producing more than 10 ounces at any one time - he may need two tents.
"People who smoke a lot usually grow their own," says Wolowicz, because an ounce at a medical marijuana dispensary can cost $400. "And they're saying all the [retail] centers that are going to open in Mass., will be selling for $350 to $400 an ounce."
As Wolowicz talked, in walked Kevin Hawkins, from Warwick; he's been a medical marijuana patient and grower since 2007 who has turned marijuana growing into a career.
With three hydroponics stores of his own now and a fourth one soon in Provincetown, "I'm all over this industry," he said.
He even races cars with a leading hydroponics supplier, Clonex, as a sponsor. And he has the photos on his cellphone to prove it.
"I hope everyone grows," said Hawkins. "They should. Most of this country is on opioids and pain pills and pharmaceutical drugs. My son has full-blown attention deficit disorder. He kept trying all these different drugs, he was off the wall. Once he turned 18 we let him smoke [marijuana]. It was night and day. He put weight on. He's not running around the house all tuned up. The marijuana is unbelievable for what it does."
Hawkins said his Warwick hydroponics store even sells green houses, a remark that piqued the curiosity of the customer in the hunter-orange hat.
"Yep, all custom made," said Hawkins. "Whatever you want we'll make it for you."
It might have been 24 degrees outside on Thursday "but to be honest with you," said Hawkins, "every day is a good day to start a plant."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Prospective Marijuana Growers Hit The Ground In Massachusetts
Author: Tom Mooney
Contact: 401-277-7000
Photo Credit: Steve Szydlowski
Website: Providence Journal
Pot growers.
As of 12:01 Thursday morning it became legal to grow and possess certain amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts. And soon after Wolowicz opened his doors at the Rhode Island Hydroponics store on Central Avenue, he had his first prospective gardener.
The man in the canvas work jacket and hunter orange hat wasn't ready, he said, to publicly share his growing intentions, but Wolowicz said "all week has been very busy, people coming in and asking questions about growing. I'm ready today for a big day in sales."
At the other end of town, Police Chief Craig Mace prepared for what he said "is going to be a horror show."
The new law "says it's legal for recreational use but there are no legal dispensaries or vendors, so people will still have to acquire the marijuana illegally" or grow it themselves, Mace said. And unlike with alcohol, there remains no effective roadside test to gauge whether a motorist is driving under the influence of marijuana. "It's going to make the enforcement aspect difficult," Mace said.
Last month Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question that allows adults 21 and older to grow up to six plants, with a maximum of 12 plants per household. Residents can have up to 10 ounces of pot in their houses and 1 ounce in their personal possession.
It remains illegal, however, to exceed those limits, to use marijuana in public places or to sell the drug, though a resident can give away up to an ounce for free.
The initiative, opposed by most of the state's top lawmakers, the Catholic Church and several police, medical and business groups, calls for state-regulated retail stores by perhaps as early as January 2018.
A new state agency will regulate the drug's sale, including packaging requirements to keep out of children's reach the popular marijuana-infused foods and candies.
The Massachusetts vote, along with a similarly approved initiative in Maine, made them the first East Coast states to approve recreational pot use. Similar measures also passed in California and Nevada, bringing to eight the number of states to approve recreation marijuana.
At the Rhode Island Hydroponics store - where Wolowicz says three-quarters of his business is providing growing supplies to medical marijuana patients or caregivers -some novice growers were surprised by what can be an pricey investment to reap a pot harvest.
The law requires marijuana be grown in an enclosed and locked area. That means that at this time of year, most pot growing will take place in artificially lit and heated environments. And that can get costly.
For $675, Wolowicz sells special "tents" that can get the new grower started. The tents stand about 5-feet tall, have heat reflective walls, and a 600-watt light system already in place. All the grower has to do is buy some seeds - which is an illegal act because the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal and dangerous drug - or have a friend provide them or some grafted seedlings.
It takes about four months to grow a plant to maturity, he said, with the average electricity bill running about $65 a month. The plants will also need special nutrients, fed regularly into the special plant medium, such as shredded coconut husks.
And if the grower wants to stagger his harvests so to ensure a ready supply throughout the year - and to protect himself from producing more than 10 ounces at any one time - he may need two tents.
"People who smoke a lot usually grow their own," says Wolowicz, because an ounce at a medical marijuana dispensary can cost $400. "And they're saying all the [retail] centers that are going to open in Mass., will be selling for $350 to $400 an ounce."
As Wolowicz talked, in walked Kevin Hawkins, from Warwick; he's been a medical marijuana patient and grower since 2007 who has turned marijuana growing into a career.
With three hydroponics stores of his own now and a fourth one soon in Provincetown, "I'm all over this industry," he said.
He even races cars with a leading hydroponics supplier, Clonex, as a sponsor. And he has the photos on his cellphone to prove it.
"I hope everyone grows," said Hawkins. "They should. Most of this country is on opioids and pain pills and pharmaceutical drugs. My son has full-blown attention deficit disorder. He kept trying all these different drugs, he was off the wall. Once he turned 18 we let him smoke [marijuana]. It was night and day. He put weight on. He's not running around the house all tuned up. The marijuana is unbelievable for what it does."
Hawkins said his Warwick hydroponics store even sells green houses, a remark that piqued the curiosity of the customer in the hunter-orange hat.
"Yep, all custom made," said Hawkins. "Whatever you want we'll make it for you."
It might have been 24 degrees outside on Thursday "but to be honest with you," said Hawkins, "every day is a good day to start a plant."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Prospective Marijuana Growers Hit The Ground In Massachusetts
Author: Tom Mooney
Contact: 401-277-7000
Photo Credit: Steve Szydlowski
Website: Providence Journal
