By Steven Voser

The US has some of the most liberal cannabis laws in the world, and they are ever-growing. With 39 states adopting legal cannabis programs, more and more US-Americans are demonstrating interest in growing their own weed, either for recreational or medicinal purposes. However, the law surrounding cultivation is murky at best. Keep reading to learn where in the US it's legal to grow cannabis.


The Difference Between US Federal and State Cannabis Laws

The US is home to a billion-dollar cannabis industry that exists on somewhat unstable legal ground. While the federal government continues to see cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance (that is, a substance with no accepted medical use and high abuse potential, like heroin or cocaine), 38 states and the District of Columbia have legislated to legalise cannabis to some degree.

This legal paradox exists because all 50 US states are considered sovereign and have the right to make laws about anything that hasn't been covered in the federal constitution. Nonetheless, some states have decided to take the matter of regulating cannabis into their own hands, despite the fact that federal law clearly forbids its possession, sale, and use. According to Article VI of the US constitution, federal law reigns supreme in cases where state and federal laws oppose one another, meaning that the federal government can technically prosecute citizens in a state where cannabis is legal for possessing, using, growing, or selling cannabis.

Growing Cannabis In The US

At the time of writing this article, the following states allow citizens to grow cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes:

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington

Note that state laws regarding the cultivation of cannabis can vary greatly, and every state has its own laws regarding the number of plants a person can cultivate. In Alaska, for example, recreational users can grow up to six plants per person, and households can only grow a maximum of 12 plants. Likewise, California allows six plants per person, though counties and cities may further restrict how a person cultivates, by requiring plants to be cultivated indoors or requesting growers register for special permits. Meanwhile, Maine restricts cannabis growers to three mature plants at a time.

Since each state has its own approach to regulating how people cultivate cannabis, it's important that growers understand their local laws and ensure they abide by them.

At the time of writing this article, the following states allow cannabis cultivation for medical purposes:

  • Arizona
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • New Hampshire
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • Rhode Island
  • South Dakota
  • Utah

Note that these states may have tighter restrictions on cultivation. These states allow registered patients (or their caretakers) to cultivate cannabis. In order to register as a medical marijuana user, patients typically have to get certified by a doctor. In most of the above states, medical marijuana is only permitted for people with particular qualifying conditions.

Restrictions on where, how, or how many plants a person cultivates also exist in many of these states. In Nevada, for instance, patients can only cultivate cannabis if they live more than 25 miles from a dispensary or if they're unable to travel to a dispensary for specific reasons. Rhode Island only allows patients to grow up to six plants (of which only three can be mature or flowering), while South Dakotans can only grow weed if they live in an area with no licensed dispensary.

Again, be sure to read up on your local laws if you're a medical patient planning to cultivate your own medicine in any of the aforementioned states.

CBD Grower
Commercial grower tends to his CBD plants

Where in the US is growing weed still not clearly defined?

There are a number of states that have legalised medical cannabis to some degree, yet do not allow patients to cultivate their own. These states are:

  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Iowa
  • Louisiana
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • North Dakota
  • Pennsylvania
  • Ohio
  • Utah
  • West Virginia

The good news is that support for legalisation has grown tremendously in recent years. Polls show that close to 90% of US-Americans believe cannabis should be legal to some extent[1].

In 2018, the Farm Bill[2] descheduled hemp cultivation (i.e. low THC cannabis) for the first time. The DEA has also stated that it will not pursue or prosecute people who buy cannabis seeds (any seed, tissue culture, or plant material that contains less than 0.3% THC falls under the category of hemp and outside of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)), while President Joe Biden officially pardoned[3] people trialled for possessing cannabis.

Of course, it’s important to determine the legality of purchasing and possessing cannabis seeds in your state, as these policies are constantly changing.

Cannabis Dispensaries
Recreational cannabis dispensaries sell to adults aged 21 years and over

What Are The Requirements To Grow Weed Industrially In The US?

Growing cannabis on an industrial level is a completely different ball game than growing it at home for personal use. State laws differ dramatically, and many states have only a limited number of licenses for commercial growers. Depending on the state, registering as a commercial cannabis grower may involve:

  1. Paying an application fee (in some states, this fee is refundable if the application is unsuccessful—in others, it is not). License application fees vary from state to state.
  2. Paying a license fee once your application is accepted. Fees vary greatly depending on the kind of license you wish to acquire.
  3. Paying a performance bond or annual license renewal fee.
  4. Paying back a percentage of sales to a state cannabis business development fund.

Can You Legally Purchase Cannabis Seeds In The US?

The US Controlled Substances Act does not distinguish between different parts of the cannabis plant—it simply lists "marihuana" as a Schedule I substance. For a long time, this meant that anyone caught possessing or selling cannabis seeds could face charges of trafficking or handling a scheduled substance. Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, however, those days seem to be over.

In 2022, after being questioned by a New York lawyer, the DEA announced that cannabis seeds (as well as other parts of the cannabis plant) qualify as legal hemp as long as they contain no more than 0.3% THC (as specified under the 2018 Farm Bill).

Royal Queen Seeds Has Landed in The US!

There's never been a time to grow your own weed. Following the advancements we just mentioned regarding the legality of weed seeds in the US, we seized the opportunity to set up store in America as quickly as possible. We're proud to announce that we've opened new Royal Queen Seeds headquarters in the US, from where we ship our world-renowned genetics all over the nation.

Since all our cannabis seeds contain less than 0.3% THC, they can be shipped legally to all 50 states. If you've been itching to try our genetics for yourself, now's the time! Browse our catalog and stock up on our beloved strains today!

Buy F1 Hybrids

Growing Weed In The USA

The US might be home to arguably the largest cannabis industry in the world. Nonetheless, the legal landscape regarding cannabis, particularly its cultivation, is extremely murky. While cannabis cultivation remains illegal in the eyes of the feds, 24 states now allow the cultivation of cannabis either for recreational or medicinal purposes.

External Resources:
  1. Overwhelming support for legal recreational or medical marijuana in U.S. | Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org
  2. Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill - 07/25/2019 | FDA https://www.fda.gov
  3. Biden overhauls U.S. policy on marijuana, pardons prior federal offenses | Reuters https://www.reuters.com
Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: