lead to violence - like alcohol does - I have been 100% for it.

seen on tv all my life. I suppose I thought it was like alcohol - husband gets drunk and beats the wife and kids, robs banks, kill neighbors, etc. That it does not cause violence/crime is a HUGE thing.

Education is everything. I think most cannabis users would be shocked if they know just how really uninformed most non-cannabis users are. All we have heard all our life are the crude jokes and negative slang. People need to know more of the good things cannabis can do or does not do.

and my father thought as you did until I turned 18 and started smoking sometimes when I was around him.
After the second or third time,he said "they have lied to me all these years,from what I see, all it does is make you smile".

It's one of the main criticisms of the current legalization process. Open-growing needs to be passed in addition to decriminalization and legalization. At the moment, the pharmaceutical industry is doing its best to keep that from happening.

Here's the current statuses:

Washington:

http://www.liq.wa.gov/marijuana/faqs_i-502

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/can-i-grow-marijuana-my-own-personal-use-washington.h

I should also add that certain Medical MJ states allow patients or caregivers to grow their own, while others prohibit it and require you to buy from a dispensary.

Michigan has only a few dispensaries (in towns which allow them), but allows 12 plants per patient. Yes, that is correct. 12!

Arizona only allows homegrows for those who live more than 25 miles from a dispensary. But for those lucky folks, the number is also 12.

Illinois (which is two years into their Medical MJ program, without a single gram of herb been sold yet) does not allow any homegrowing anywhere. All patients are required to purchase from dispensaries (which are still theoretical entities at the current moment).

see: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/marijuana-legalization-is-it-really-legal

Some states now don't have laws against individuals growing a small number of plants, but again the Federal
government still does consider such action illegal.

That's pretty good if they're sticking to it.

It doesn't go federal until you hit the hundredth plant, which is why they focus on caregiver or dispensary grows rather than legal home grows. They CAN bust you for just a joint at the federal level, charge you with a federal misdemeanor, and fine you $1000 under the law.

They just don't.

Anything less than 100 plants just clogs up an already clogged up federal court system for minimal sentencing, so they don't do it.

NORML lays out the legalities, but look at any bust where the DEA is involved and it always says "over 100 plants seized".

http://norml.org/laws/item/federal-penalties-2

three babies and three mature. This will probably be subject to a court case in the future because under our old system, you could grow 25 plants, and the cops didn't usually bother arresting anyone unless it was obviously a commercial grow.

you live in a community where they put such limits on growing it ($1500 permit?) that you are basically stopped from growing it legally. also, in some counties like mine, you cannot grow it outside at all, only inside.

Unfortunately, the bills in the CA legislature aren't written with patients in mind.

We have had legal medical marijuana for years, and users MUST grow their own, up to 7 plants. Current legislation is proposed for a legal dispensary system. Not clear how that will work yet. Aloha