The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners closed a perceived loophole in the statewide constitutional amendment allowing the personal growth of medical and recreational marijuana in Colorado. The county placed a cap of 12 on the total number of marijuana plants that can be grown on a property, regardless of the number of adult residents living on the property.Amendment 64 allows Colorado adult residents over age 21 to grow up to six marijuana plants for the individual’s personal use. The state constitutional amendment did not place a limit on how many plants can be grown per household, and did not specify regulations for people wanting to grow their marijuana plants at a separate location.Would-be marijuana growers have begun moving into the state, including eastern El Paso County. They live in a household with other adults, and each individual qualifies for the six-plant limit. Thus, the property turns into a full marijuana grow operation, said Amy Lathen, county commissioner, at the Aug. 25 board meeting. Lathen told the commissioners about a constituent in Peyton who was approached by people hoping to buy his or her home, specifically for marijuana growth. Others have suggested that people from out of state are buying cheap properties in Colorado, just to have a residence to grow marijuana plants.The first scenario Lathen is describing is communal living, similar to the communes of the 60s. However, Lathen is concerned the people growing the plants are doing so for commercial reasons, and the county commissioners said no (a per-county choice set up by Amendment 64) to commercial growth of marijuana in unincorporated areas ó recreational or medical ó shortly after the law passed. ìThey use the loophole that we are trying to close right now related to marijuana growing, and this is a serious situation that is happening right in neighborhoods where people live with their families,î Lathen said. ìThey’re happening with greater frequency, and these people are not there to provide medical assistance to people, they’re there to grow marijuana and export it out of the county.ìThere are absolutely grow operations being run by people not from this state, and it’s too bad this is happening in this county. This is not in my opinion what is intended by lay people, and what we want in our neighborhoods.îìFrom my personal perspective, I think it (the new rules) circumvents the spirit of Amendment 64 that every adult over 21 can grow six plants,î said Rachel Gillette, attorney and executive director of Colorado NORML. ìHowever, I do understand from a local jurisdiction perspective that there could be some issues relating to people having larger grows in residential units that really aren’t designed for large grows.îA growing industry of people who provide assistance and hold classes and training sessions for marijuana growers has cropped up in the state. ìThe spirit of the law is that, hey, not everyone has a green thumb,î Gillette said. ìSo people may have a need for assistance with the growing of cannabis.î Amendment 64 allows for assistance through a clause stating that private individuals should get the best use of their allowed plants by ensuring they know how to properly cultivate the plants. County commissioners have said larger growers have taken advantage of the clause.County staff and the El Paso County Sheriff Department worked together to present to the board one of the strictest policies statewide on personal grow operations. ìWe’ve done a pretty good job of making this strict,î said Lori Seago, assistant county attorney. ìOther counties have not been as strict, and we’ve done a good job of covering all the angles.îThe new regulation clarifies that personal growth of marijuana is an accessory use to a residential structure. Anyone living in an RV on someone elseís property cannot grow marijuana. The new rule also states that the odor from growing marijuana must not be detectable outside of the individual householdís property lines. The plants cannot be visible from outside the property line ó or from the ìsky.î The new rules have been added to the county land development code. The temporary regulations will be in place until permanent changes to the code are proposed and discussed by the planning commission. Violators would have 10 days to bring their marijuana growing operations into compliance, after which the Sheriffs Office would have authority to enforce the code violations.ìThe best protection is strict compliance with state law and being a good neighbor,î Gillette said.
