What Do I Do with All My Homegrown Cannabis?

Dear Pot Lawyer,

What can I do with all my homegrown cannabis?

We’ve heard anecdotal reports that even non-users are trying their hand at home grows, but are finding that their plants are producing far more cannabis than expected. With the recent industry focus on oversupply in the recreational regime, it makes sense to take a look at an often underexplored source of cannabis in Oregon.

All Oregonians over the age of 21 can grow up to four plants per residence (not per person). If you have a green thumb, you might end up with quite a bit of cannabis—more than you and your housemates can reasonably consume. What can you do with the rest? Here’s the bad news: You can’t sell it. Oregon law prohibits the sale of any cannabis to the public except through OLCC-licensed retailers.

So you can’t smoke it all, and you can’t sell it. What can a green thumb do? Your first option is to process it. Under state law, home growers are allowed to process their harvest into “cannabinoid products” and “cannabinoid concentrates,” but not “cannabinoid extracts.” These terms are not intuitive, so let’s dig into each one. Cannabinoid products are your edibles or “any other product intended for human consumption or use, including a product intended to be applied to the skin or hair, that contains cannabinoids or dried marijuana leaves or flowers.” The difference between a concentrate and an extract is the solvent used to create it. Extracts (which, again, are prohibited) are substances obtained through either 1) hydrocarbon-based solvents like butane, hexane, or propane, or 2) carbon dioxide if the process involves high heat or pressure. Generally, you can ask yourself, “Could this start a fire?” If the answer is yes, then you can’t do it at home. You should also be sure to check local city or county ordinances before you begin processing, as there may be additional restrictions.

If you decide to start processing at home, keep in mind that the total amount of cannabis in a residence can’t exceed four mature plants, eight ounces of dried leaves and flower, 16 ounces of solid cannabinoid products, 72 ounces of liquid cannabinoid products, and 16 ounces of cannabinoid concentrates. Also, keep absolutely everything out of public view. Production, processing, possession, and storage cannot “be seen by normal unaided vision from a public place.” So what are you going to do with all your flower and your processed cannabis? Use it or give it away. At any one time you can give another adult up to one ounce of dried leaves and flower, 16 ounces of solid cannabinoid products, 72 ounces of liquid cannabinoid products, or 16 ounces of cannabinoid concentrates. These gifts must be for “noncommercial purposes” and can’t be given away as a prize or as part of
a contest.