School Me On How Co-ops Work Please

[Smokey503ski]

New to Washington state and there med laws.
Long time Oregon medical grower and the rules are confusing here in Washington.

How do I set up a Co-op so I can grow the 45? plants allowed?

Would I need to have 3 separate growers for the Co-op?

Can I be the only grower if I am assigned the caregiver of the patient? Or would I need a total of 3 growers for each 15 plants allowed?

Confused as hell here. Please help

 

[tweedy]

With the way laws are going I would just get a lawyer. We have a lot of moratoriums on collectives here because the spirit of the law was interpreted by folks as a means to set up dispensaries so a lot of towns have flat out banned them for the time being. Have to love ignorant politicians.

There is a lawsuit that just went through in Bellevue that you should look into. It basically made case law and crushed collectives for anyone paying attention. The law passed by Gregoire stated that a collective has to be registered HOWEVER the part where the registry was formed got vetoed. So now we have to be registered with an entity that does not actually exist. It is pretty fucked actually.

As far as just the spirit of the law goes, you can be one grower with up to ten cards hanging but can only have 45 plants. There have been some interesting interpretations on this as well. Like multiple collectives in a single building separated by locked doors. People have squawked about them needing different tax parcels though so I would not push that line and just grow trees instead.

 

[tweedy]

Hope that helped and let me know if you have any other questions. I have been around this long enough to where I will probably have an answer or know someone who does. Also, they count plants, not lights. Seriously, grow trees.

 

[Effendi]

How do I set up a Co-op so I can grow the 45? plants allowed?
Would I need to have 3 separate growers for the Co-op?
Can I be the only grower if I am assigned the caregiver of the patient?
Or would I need a total of 3 growers for each 15 plants allowed?

Just DO IT..
NO
Yes
No.

You can be the singular grower for as many plants as you want.
A "collective garden" is defined as 45 plants distributed to as many as 10 patients.
You must have a legitimate certificate AND signed providers certificate posted for each 15 plants grown.

If you have 45 in your veg, you must have 3 legitimate certificate pinned to the wall of your veg.
If you have 45 in your flower, you must have 3 legitimate certificates pinned to the wall of your flower.
Clones are still a gray area defined by the law enforcement you end up dealing with.
I know a grower in the east valley who the feds found 500 clones at their grow TWICE and the grower never was arrested.
It's pretty obvious as to whether you are just growing hog wild or trying to stay within your legal numbers as a medical grower.
There is an obvious difference between a clone (roots or not) and a plant vegging or flowering.

You are NOT limited in space, lamps, watts, or numbers, you only must justify your numbers.

I speak having known half a dozen folks called on the carper in the last couple of years. In a number of cases, the grower had 75 plants and only 3 certificates.
Law Enforcement allowed them to pick which 45 they wanted to keep and then destroyed the rest. (I know of at least 3 people this happened to)
Law enforcement has straight up told more than one person that as long as there are legitimate certificates to justify your numbers, there is not a limit.

I know a couple of dispensary owners with three and four flower rooms, on each flower room they have certificate posted to justify the numbers in that room.
They have obviously made deals with certificate holders to be their official provider. Maybe for a QP a month or a week or whatever the individuals agree on.

I haven't actually heard anyone use the term "co-op" as the law in this state uses the term "collective garden" to define a medical grow that supports X amount of patients.
You are not limited to 10 people or 45 plants, that was just the wording in the law as example.
I know plenty of collective gardens that grow on the proper number of certificates but who support alot more than 10 patients.

Good luck grower.

 

[Smokey503ski]

Just DO IT..
NO
Yes
No.

You can be the singular grower for as many plants as you want.
A "collective garden" is defined as 45 plants distributed to as many as 10 patients.
You must have a legitimate certificate AND signed providers certificate posted for each 15 plants grown.

If you have 45 in your veg, you must have 3 legitimate certificate pinned to the wall of your veg.
If you have 45 in your flower, you must have 3 legitimate certificates pinned to the wall of your flower.
Clones are still a gray area defined by the law enforcement you end up dealing with.
I know a grower in the east valley who the feds found 500 clones at their grow TWICE and the grower never was arrested.
It's pretty obvious as to whether you are just growing hog wild or trying to stay within your legal numbers as a medical grower.
There is an obvious difference between a clone (roots or not) and a plant vegging or flowering.

You are NOT limited in space, lamps, watts, or numbers, you only must justify your numbers.

I speak having known half a dozen folks called on the carper in the last couple of years. In a number of cases, the grower had 75 plants and only 3 certificates.
Law Enforcement allowed them to pick which 45 they wanted to keep and then destroyed the rest. (I know of at least 3 people this happened to)
Law enforcement has straight up told more than one person that as long as there are legitimate certificates to justify your numbers, there is not a limit.

I know a couple of dispensary owners with three and four flower rooms, on each flower room they have certificate posted to justify the numbers in that room.
They have obviously made deals with certificate holders to be their official provider. Maybe for a QP a month or a week or whatever the individuals agree on.

I haven't actually heard anyone use the term "co-op" as the law in this state uses the term "collective garden" to define a medical grow that supports X amount of patients.
You are not limited to 10 people or 45 plants, that was just the wording in the law as example.
I know plenty of collective gardens that grow on the proper number of certificates but who support alot more than 10 patients.

Good luck grower.

This confused the shit out of me.
So basically I can grow for 10 people? But only grow 45 plants total? Why be a caregiver for 10 when you can't grow the 15 for each?

 

[Effendi]

You CAN grow the 15 for each as long as you have the documentation for it. I stated that rather clearly friend.

Most small home collective grows aren't going to have 150 plants but 45 plants will support the grower, his patients, his friends and everyone he knows that smokes.
The guideline of 45 plants and 3 certificates to support around 10 people is actually pretty close to how alot of grows work out, but it's still like the speed limit, more of a guideline than a solid.

Still, if my extremely CLEAR explanation above "confused the shit out of you" you really should probably NOT even try to start your collective garden as it seems you're looking for a black and white answer and there is no black and white in this world, only shades of gray.

Not to worry, within 90 days, there will be a massive overhaul to the status quo here in Washington State anyway. Republican Senator Ann Rivers is submitting a new bill to the Washington State legislature in January and so is Democratic Senator Jeanne Kohl-Wells. If you want to read her 2015 Medical Marijuana proposal from 4 days ago (Dated 11/19/14) click on the link listed below and you'll get a much clearer idea of what they are actually shooting for in this state.

https://app.box.com/s/d87s34p9hzpy5mqizj0r

 

[Jack Dupp]

Good find, Effendi. Thanks.

Everyone in the game should read that document and plan accordingly.

 

[Smokey503ski]

Thanks for that link

 

[Effendi]

You guys are welcome.
Good job on the Glue Hooch, was able to review it elsewhere but not a member so could not respond.
Your analysis is spot on, a little more full spectrum nutrient during flower to include a bit more nitrogen.
Otherwise I'd say they look mighty fine.
Damn good work, you'll have a nice sticky set of holidays for certain.
:)

 

[Jack Dupp]

Hooch? What's a hooch? Lol.

Thanks for the kind words.

You should register at that site. It needs help getting going.

 

[GreenThumbBill]

For anybody coming to this thread late, or, if the OP is still unclear, here is the lowdown.
Currently the best way to go about it, is to have a collective garden, not a "co-op" consisting of yourself and 2 others. You do not have them sign the designated provider paper. That is for people who are not patients themselves who want to grow for a patient. You have more protection under the law, currently, if you are a collective vs. a DP. Then you get an original permit, not a copy, from your two members. You keep all 3 original permits in a 3 ring binder in a secure location. You put a copy of the originals on the wall of your grow room(s). You are now a legal collective garden and can grow up to 45 plants and be in possession of up to 4.5#.

This information came directly from Aaron Pelley, the bestest mmj attorney in WA state.

Unfortunately, everything I just said will almost certainly be null and void at the end of the next legislative session barring a miracle. =(

 

[Smokey503ski]

Yikes! Glad Oregon is only a 30 minute drive.
Lots of family there. Looking for a warehouse in the PDX area now actually.
Problem is, warehouses are slim pickings atm. Hopefully something will fall in my lap soon.
I just wish they would leave shit alone in Washington. They're Fucking up my program man.