Jail for growing weed? You must be high | Editorial

This post was originally published on this site.

Twenty-four states permit their citizens to grow marijuana at home for medical purposes – including the liberal sanctuaries of South Dakota and Utah — and 11 of those 24 allow home cultivation even for recreational use.

But for all the chest-thumping we do over our progressive cannabis laws, New Jersey is not among the 24. Even if you are a medical user in our state, getting caught with a single marijuana plant in your home is a third-degree felony. You can get slammed with a $25,000 fine and get a 3-to 5-year stay in prison, and there’s nothing that softens the penalty even for sick people.