Opinion

How much is enough?

The question, when it comes to marijuana plants grown at home for medicinal use, elicits a range of answers from the reasonable to the ridiculous.

And that is just one reason why legislation in the state capitol seeks to set the issue in more concrete terms.

One proposal would limit the number of plants grown at home to 16, down from the generous 99 allowed, with a doctor’s recommendation, under Colorado’s constitutionally mandated right to grow.

The number is not motivated by anti-pot prudes, nor does it come from a sense of peer pressure (Oregon and Washington, for example, limit home growers to four plants).

It is a common-sense reaction to the proliferation of unregistered, untaxed, de facto commercial pot farms operating under the guise of personal medicinal gardens in residential neighborhoods.

Some areas of the state already limit how many plants can be grown at home; Denver sets that number at 12. But the lack of a consistent number statewide makes it difficult for law officers to distinguish between legitimate medicinal gardens and black-market operations that, besides ducking taxes, can devastate residential areas.

As the governor’s office has documented, illegal operations, often set up in rental properties, use large amounts of electricity and water (often obtained without adherence to codes), create safety hazards, and use fertilizers, pesticides and other toxic chemicals with no regard to public health.

The result can be a steep decline in property values and a corresponding increase in situations ripe for gang involvement and organized crime.

Opposition to the limit has been strong. Legislators have been inundated with letters from citizens who depend on their home-grown plants to treat serious medical conditions; they are fearful of limits.

In response, one Friday amendment increased the number from 12 to 16 plants, and another insured the penalty for exceeding that number (the first time) would be a petty drug offense and not a felony. It should be noted that local governments will retain the ability to set higher limits on a community-wide or on an individual basis.

To us, the need for a realistic limit is obvious. Sixteen, still generous, fits the bill.