Oregon Marijuana Laws Growing

It is legal for anyone twenty-one years old or older to purchase and use marijuana in the State of Oregon. Under Oregon marijuana laws growing pot, receiving it as a gift, and selling it are all legal. However, driving under the influence of marijuana is still illegal. 

Marijuana growers and users need to remember that taking marijuana in or out of the state is illegal and there are limits on how much marijuana you can possess. Make sure that if you want to grow your own pot from feminized seeds that you know and follow the rules.

Are Marijuana Farms Legal in Oregon?

Growing marijuana is legal in Oregon as is growing and selling hemp. An issue that has arisen is that of adding marijuana to hemp shipments. Hemp can be legally shipped out of Oregon but marijuana cannot be legally sent across state lines. In both cases of hemp and marijuana grows need to have the proper permits. 

Hemp plants commonly contain a small amount of THC. The 2018 Oregon farm bill limits the amount of THC in hemp to 0.3% by dry weight. If the product exceeds the limit the law considers it to be marijuana and will be subject to the appropriate laws and restrictions.

A practical matter arises when you want to grow, process, and sell marijuana from high-quality high THC seeds or high yield seeds for commercial purposes. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission handles the bulk of the regulation of the Oregon marijuana industry and the Oregon Health Authority regulates medical marijuana. 

However, local governments have the right to regulate how, when, and where growers may grow, process, and sell pot. They do this through regulations of land use. You will find these regulations in development codes and zoning ordinances.

To be a licensed marijuana grower in Oregon you need to go through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. They will license you to plant and grow, cultivate and harvest, and manufacture marijuana for recreational use under (ORS 475B.015(26)(a). and ORS 475B.070.) Maintaining a license requires that you maintain a distance from schools, abide by growing surface area restrictions, use of fertilizers, management of waste, and having security alarm systems. 

You can find the complete list at Oregon Administrative Rule (“OAR”) 845-25. Before considering a city or county to set up a marijuana growing business make sure that they have not opted to prohibit marijuana businesses in their jurisdiction as the Oregon law permits this. 

If the city or country allows marijuana growing it may still have ordinances that affect your ability to set up shop in that area. Common rules have to do with access requirements, hours that you are open for business, specific areas where you can do business, waste management practices, and rules regarding odors and noises.

When inquiring about ordinances, regulations, and zoning requirements make sure that where you want to set up shop allows your kind of business. Licensed growing sites are generally under the “farm use” classification. So long as you follow the laws and regulations that apply to the farm use classification you should have no problems unless the jurisdiction has opted out of allowing marijuana businesses completely.

NOTE: Oregon laws regarding marijuana growing prohibit setting up on federal land, at a site that processes or dispenses medical marijuana, or the same address and location as a liquor store. And, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has regulations for the size of your canopy (the surface area where you produce mature plants).

Marijuana Producers License Requirements

Marijuana growers in Oregon must be licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. The first step before the OLCC does a license review a producer needs to submit a Land Use Compatibility Statement commonly referred to as a LUCS. 

You will work with local government authorities to fill out this form. Only when the LUCS tells them that your proposed marijuana growing site conforms to local land use laws will the OLCC proceed with a review of your application. 

When marijuana growing is not allowed at the proposed site an application is automatically denied and you will have to set up to grow from auto flowering seeds elsewhere.

Growing Marijuana in Oregon

Growing marijuana in Oregon has been legal for years. Since 2015 it has been legal for Oregon residents to grow as many as four marijuana plants in their homes. Oregon residents twenty-one years of age and older do not need any permission, medical or otherwise to exercise this right under the law in Oregon. 

However, this is for home or personal use. If you want to sell the marijuana that you grow you need a license. And, the law specifies four plants per household and not four plants per person!

If you are growing marijuana for medical use you must be at least eighteen years of age and can have up to six plants and eighteen seedlings. This rule is from the 1998 Oregon law regarding growing pot for medical use.

One monkey wrench in the works is that the law for growing marijuana in Oregon does not force landlords to allow marijuana growing on their property. Thus, a landlord can specify in your rental contract that you cannot grow marijuana and evict you should they find marijuana plants on the premises.

A federal law prohibiting you from growing marijuana within 1000 feet of a school is still in effect. However, the Oregon marijuana law specifies that home growers and licensed growers are exempt from this rule.

Since the law that legalizes growing marijuana for recreational use, the medical use law has changed too. It is no longer necessary to register your growing site like medical growers needed to for a year. 

And, there is no need to prove that one is growing pot for a specific person or to carry and show a grower’s card. As part of the current law, those who were charged with crimes under the old law when the “criminal activities” are not legal can get these incidents removed from their record.

What Is the Penalty for Growing More than Four Marijuana Plants in Oregon?

For recreational marijuana users who want to grow their own plants at home the Oregon laws for growing marijuana are a relief. But, beware because there are stiff penalties for growing more than four marijuana plants in Oregon without a license. 

If you are found to be growing five to eight plants you can be charged with a misdemeanor and punished with up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. And, if you have more than eight plants at home and any plants away from home and no license to grow marijuana in Oregon you can be charged with a felony and be punished with up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $125,000.

If you are caught growing marijuana without a license and not in your own home within 1,000 feet of a school you may be charged with a felony and could be punished with up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $375,000.

If you “deliver” marijuana without compensation and a license you can be fined up to $2,000 for one to sixteen ounces and for more than sixteen ounces you can spend up to a year in jail and be fined up to $6,230. 

If you deliver any amount of marijuana to a minor you can be charged with a felony and spend up to five years in prison and be fined up to $125,000. If you do this within 1,000 feet of a school the prison time goes up to twenty years and the fine to as high as $375,000.

But, when you simply abide by the laws of the State of Oregon you can grow the best marijuana and get the best seed deals from ILGM for your marijuana growing business.