New AZ patient questions

Seems like th AZ mmj community is a bit divided. Im new to the az mmj community and the forum so I have a couple of questions. I recently had a major back surgery that has been rough. I have been taking opiate painkillers for a few months and quite frankly the damn things scare me for health reasons .A friend suggested I speak to someone at an mmj clinic so I made an appt and was approved for the card based on my medical condition. I havent smoked in quite some time but I do plan to grow so I know what I am getting and to reduce costs. My question is this: If I am allowed to grow 12 plants but can only posess 2.5 oz's of medicine at one time isnt this a contradiction? I imagine the yield from 12 plants would be more than the allowed 2.5 oz's. It seems like a bit of a catch 22. I am also looking into becoming a caregiver but paying $150 fee for each patient plus the caregiver fee does not seem worth it if I would only be able to collect occasional donations for my expenses. I am all about helping people but I can't afford to assist with their medical costs right now. If I am confused would someone please clarify things for me.

Hey - welcome to the AZ MMJ Community. You have a couple of questions in the post above and I will gladly give my opinion, for what it's worth. I would first suggest that you get several personal grows under your belt before you dive into a full Caregiver role - it's only fair to you and your patients. This will allow you to dial in your grow style and will provide you the opportunity to prove to yourself that growing Medical Cannabis is not only something you CAN do, but something that you WANT to do - it is a bigger commitment then many people realize, both from a financial and time perspective.

With regard to harvest weight being more than 2.5 ounces - there is language within the AMMA which allows for an "uninterrupted supply" - so if you were to harvest several plants you would certainly have more than the 2.5 ounces, but in my opinion one would be within the spirit and letter of the law if you exceeded that amount in your own home according to the "uninterrupted supply" language. I am not an attorney and that is only my opinion.

Good luck and get off those opiates ASAP!!!!!!

Getting growing experience before I took on a caregiver role would definitely be something I would do. There seem to be a few members on here in the legal profession so I am anxiously awaiting their take on the 12 plant/ 2.5 oz question. Thanks so much for your input. Another thing, all this talk about the feds raiding people makes me very nervous. I would hate to put my family at risk growing legally in the eyes of the state only to get in trouble with the federal government.

Hello and welcome


As far as harvesting and being over your legal limit... It is considered "incidental" to your medical use of marijuana which is not counted towards your "allowable" amount.
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/36/02801.htm&Title=36&DocType=ARS


I highly recommend reading up on the AzMMA to better understand the rules and regulations patients must follow.

Useful reading - http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=36
Be sure to go under Chapter 28.1 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act

Another great read - http://azsos.gov/public_services/Title_09/9-17.htm
These are the rules set forth by the AzDHS who at this time is in charge of the MMJ "program"
ALOT of folks skip the rules and only read the written law but I recommend knowing both.

So basically if I am cultivating I can keep 12 plants worth of medicine to hold me over until the next harvest? I appreciate all of the input.

Since you are just starting to grow, try to shoot for 6 clones and 6 plants in flower. Plan for a yield of 1-2z dry weight when starting out probably closer to the 1z and keep in mind its a process, lots to learn and you will pretty much have it dialed in by the time you have your 3rd or 4th harvest.

Have fun.

Lucius Vorenus said:

Since you are just starting to grow, try to shoot for 6 clones and 6 plants in flower. Plan for a yield of 1-2z dry weight when starting out probably closer to the 1z and keep in mind its a process, lots to learn and you will pretty much have it dialed in by the time you have your 3rd or 4th harvest.

Have fun.

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Thanks for the help. If I germinate 12 plants at once will I be able to keep 6 clones small under cfl or t5's while the other 6 are in the main growing area during the veg and flowering periods or will it they begin to grow large right away? I have been doing quite a bit of research on here but nothing that directly answers that question.

Do a perpetual harvest. There are a few ways you can do it.

Set up a flower tent to house 8 plants, and a veg tent to house 4. Start 4 fem beans (or clones, if you can get good ones from a trusted source) in the veg tent. A month later, start 4 more as the first 4 move from veg tent to flower tent. A month later, start 4 more as the 2nd 4 move from veg tent to flower tent (you may need a box or crate to set them on to keep an even canopy until they get a good stretch going). You'll have 12 plants at this point. A month later (assuming 8-9 week flower time), when you harvest the first 4, start 4 more fem beans/clones. This way you're harvesting 4 plants every month.

It's better for learning this way too, because if you screw something up at any stage in the process, you haven't ruined 3 months worth of plants, only 1 months, and you can adjust for the crops coming up behind.

I wouldn't suggest germing 12 plants at once, unless they're reg beans, but since you're new, I wouldn't recommend you start with reg beans or worrying about taking clones or keeping moms just yet. Get a wide variety of different fem beans or clones and see what you like.

^while thats good advice id recommend you only germ 2 beans. Make them fem beans so you don't have to worry about sexing, or at least you shouldn't. Then get clones from Caregivers. Rooted clones are going to save you a few weeks. Get 10. Put 4 into flower as soon as you get them home. Let 3 veg for 4 weeks and 3 veg for 8 weeks. This way you now have experience growing 3 different size plants and effectively doing a sea of green.

If you keep a clone under low power lighting will it remain the same size or will it continue to grow larger?

gkaz said:

If you keep a clone under low power lighting will it remain the same size or will it continue to grow larger?

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Clones should grow. You can control how slowly they grow by how little you feed them. If you want to slow them down more, there are ways. But if you do what I wrote above you shouldn't need to. You will also only need 1 light. Id recommend a 600watt HPS but you can also get away with an 8bulb T5 running 3000k bloom bulbs.

With a mmj card in az is it legal to order seeds or will I still have to take the usual precautions due to the usps being a federal agency? I am looking at that Nov SOS promo and it looks too good to pass up. The thing is I live out in the boonies so I only have a PO box.

Buying seeds clones or other forms of marijuana over state lines violates federal law and is not protected by your green card.

^^^^^ Sucks, but true.

gkaz said:

With a mmj card in az is it legal to order seeds or will I still have to take the usual precautions due to the usps being a federal agency? I am looking at that Nov SOS promo and it looks too good to pass up. The thing is I live out in the boonies so I only have a PO box.

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As others have pointed out, interstate/international sales leave you without protection under state law.

You might consider purchasing at a farmer's market. Note that if you drive through tribal lands to return home, you are also without protection while on their territory. This includes highways and Interstates. But getting cuttings will put you several weeks ahead in that you won't have to wait for the mail, nor germination. Acquiring proven genetics in this state is pretty straightforward. You may not get the bleeding-edge stuff that all the cool kids have (last weeks' genetics are passé), but very high-quality material is out there.

You can find both clones and seeds at farmers markets.

Thanks everyone for all of the information. Where is there a list of the upcoming farmers markets? I see alot of people advertising clones for donation on craigslist but that seems a bit risky.

gkaz said:

Thanks everyone for all of the information. Where is there a list of the upcoming farmers markets? I see alot of people advertising clones for donation on craigslist but that seems a bit risky.

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look up camp 420.. an also look up wegrow the store. both of them hold farmers markets but there completely different.

gkaz said:

Getting growing experience before I took on a caregiver role would definitely be something I would do. There seem to be a few members on here in the legal profession so I am anxiously awaiting their take on the 12 plant/ 2.5 oz question. Thanks so much for your input. Another thing, all this talk about the feds raiding people makes me very nervous. I would hate to put my family at risk growing legally in the eyes of the state only to get in trouble with the federal government.

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unless you are growing big time, the feds won't care unless you piss them off. there are 10s of thousands of us who grow. they have other things to deal with.

What is the difference between the camp 420 firehouse and farmers market events?