Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Fairbanks - The Marijuana Control Board approved a rule Friday that will give new growers a jumpstart on the commercial pot business.
The regulation allows commercial growers to have up to six so-called "mother plants" in addition to the starter clones they're already allowed when they begin growing.
Under state rules, growers, such as the five that have already been approved to begin planting, can bring in and register plants when becoming a licensed grower. They can currently bring in an unlimited number of clones shorter than 8 inches, but marijuana plants can only produce one harvest, so there will be a constant need for new plants.
Mother plants, as explained by board member Brandon Emmett, one of the industry members on the board, are non-flowering plants that can produce clones, providing commercial growers with a consistent and stable source of new clones.
Nothing prevents marijuana growers from creating their own mother plants once underway, but Emmett said it's a time-intensive process that could leave growers with months between harvests.
"It makes it to where you don't have a lag time between your first and second harvest. This boom and bust," he said after the meeting. "If everyone is allowed to bring in an unlimited number of clones but have to start mothers fresh they're going to have one big harvest and then they're going to be waiting to raise mothers. It can take as much as 16 weeks to get a good mother."
He said a mother plant, if treated properly, can provide clippings for clones for years.
The board debated just how many plants should be allowed to bring into a business. Industry members such as Emmett and Bruce Schulte asked for at least 12 to give businesses variety.
"I think it would be prudent to give them the greatest latitude possible," Schulte said. "There are so many strains out there ... so to limit any cultivator out there to just six is unnecessarily hobbling the industry."
But other board members such as chair Peter Mlynarik, who holds the public safety seat, were wary of the change, noting the voter initiative only allowed a single person to have as many as six mature plants for personal use. Mlynarik said anything above that could be encouraging a grower to break the law.
The way growers are expected to bring in mother plants is by essentially gifting their own private plants to themselves when establishing the business.
Some members attempted to draft language that would allow flexibility based on how many people are involved with the business, but those were sidelined out of concern of overburdening the state's Marijuana Control Office.
The other problem raised about the change is what it will mean if the five growers already cleared to begin planting don't have opportunities to bring in their own mother plants, putting them at a disadvantage to growers entering the market after the rule goes into effect.
It was based on that concern Emmett ultimately voted against the measure.
"I just don't want to see a situation where those previous five licensees who've done all their homework suffer economically," he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Control Board Approves New Rule
Author: Matt Buxton
Contact: 907-456-6661
Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Website: News Miner
The regulation allows commercial growers to have up to six so-called "mother plants" in addition to the starter clones they're already allowed when they begin growing.
Under state rules, growers, such as the five that have already been approved to begin planting, can bring in and register plants when becoming a licensed grower. They can currently bring in an unlimited number of clones shorter than 8 inches, but marijuana plants can only produce one harvest, so there will be a constant need for new plants.
Mother plants, as explained by board member Brandon Emmett, one of the industry members on the board, are non-flowering plants that can produce clones, providing commercial growers with a consistent and stable source of new clones.
Nothing prevents marijuana growers from creating their own mother plants once underway, but Emmett said it's a time-intensive process that could leave growers with months between harvests.
"It makes it to where you don't have a lag time between your first and second harvest. This boom and bust," he said after the meeting. "If everyone is allowed to bring in an unlimited number of clones but have to start mothers fresh they're going to have one big harvest and then they're going to be waiting to raise mothers. It can take as much as 16 weeks to get a good mother."
He said a mother plant, if treated properly, can provide clippings for clones for years.
The board debated just how many plants should be allowed to bring into a business. Industry members such as Emmett and Bruce Schulte asked for at least 12 to give businesses variety.
"I think it would be prudent to give them the greatest latitude possible," Schulte said. "There are so many strains out there ... so to limit any cultivator out there to just six is unnecessarily hobbling the industry."
But other board members such as chair Peter Mlynarik, who holds the public safety seat, were wary of the change, noting the voter initiative only allowed a single person to have as many as six mature plants for personal use. Mlynarik said anything above that could be encouraging a grower to break the law.
The way growers are expected to bring in mother plants is by essentially gifting their own private plants to themselves when establishing the business.
Some members attempted to draft language that would allow flexibility based on how many people are involved with the business, but those were sidelined out of concern of overburdening the state's Marijuana Control Office.
The other problem raised about the change is what it will mean if the five growers already cleared to begin planting don't have opportunities to bring in their own mother plants, putting them at a disadvantage to growers entering the market after the rule goes into effect.
It was based on that concern Emmett ultimately voted against the measure.
"I just don't want to see a situation where those previous five licensees who've done all their homework suffer economically," he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Control Board Approves New Rule
Author: Matt Buxton
Contact: 907-456-6661
Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Website: News Miner
