Colorado Crew: relocating in ‘21: current state of laws and EVERYTHING?!!!!

[White Beard]

Hey, y’all!!!

I’ll be moving to around 7,000ft high next spring, and I’m curious as to the current legal state of the state. I’ll be high in the aspens, 4 adults in the household, I’ll be the only grower, so I’m looking for the lowdown on plant counts, quantity restrictions, etc.

I plan on growing inside and out, looking to put some Himalayan hashish strains in the woods, so any tips on keeping out the moose and the elk are highly welcome, as well as tips on hardy landraces y’all have experienced success with outdoors at that altitude, as well as general tips on outdoor farming @altitude and humidity (or lack thereof).

Also, anything you think a new grower in the region needs to be aware of, look out for, etc. Feel free to jump in and pile on - I’m so excited I can hardly stand it! I’ve had a lifetime of gardening and digging in the dirt, and a lifetime dreaming of growing the best weed ever, and I want to hear it all!

Welcome, and thanks in advance!

Oh, I’m also curious about the used equipment market: tents, LED, CMH, humidifiers, fans, filters, etc - is most used gear serviceable or shot or hard to predict, what are the typical gotchas to look out for?

 

[subrob]

I just moved to New Mexico. About 3900'. In the first week I was searching for seed from Afghanistan n Pakistan at roughly the same elevation, lat n long!
Good luck with your move.

 

[White Beard]

Thank you, it’s been a long time in preparation. Proud to have you as my first commentor, ‘Preciate the visit.

Yeah, the elevation is a real thing. I’ve been spending time @ TRSC with their Himalayan collection...cold, thin air, big UV...getting my wishlist together: Malana Cream, Parvati, Johaar, Sinai, Rasoli...yep, got hand-rubbing & hashmaking on my mind. The elk and moose are potentially real trouble for my outside plans, need to be prepared for them. Plenty of seeds for indoors, at least for the first year or two - mostly from CannaVenture, but I’d love to run Satori for my first tent-full. Plus my bagseed collection, which spans the 80s, 90s, right up into ‘20.

 

[xavier7995]

Hey man, its pretty swell and chill here. The laws are reasonable enough, very worth noting is that as long you aren't running obvious grow houses no one really bats an eye. That said, its 3 in veg and 3 in flower per adult, with a max of 2 adults per household. If you want more its off to the pot docs, they are similar to the CA model...just pay the fee and say you need an extended plant count to make edibles/topicals. Most get a 25 plant rec that go that route, you can go higher but it also raises flags.

The thing that really caught me off guard trying to grow anything outside was the need for shade cloth. You might be able to get by with a long period of hardening them off, but between the sun and the hail storms that pop up, its good to have some sort of cover. The dryness is another factor. Its just much different getting stuff to grow in general than what you get everywhere else.

If you can skip taking i70 across Kansas that would be a good idea, everyone I know has had a shit day because of the Kansas highway patrol harassing folks.

Edit: Craigslist has a bunch of used grow stuff...kind of hit or miss, but some great deals from folks that tried to set up ops and failed.

 

[noknees]

I’ve had a lifetime of gardening and digging in the dirt, and a lifetime dreaming of growing the best weed ever....

been there, done that, gave away the t-shirts.

don't let perfect be the enemy of good. to me, in real life the "best weed ever" is any good, clean cannabis you raised yourself, especially flowers that didn't require a lot of time/effort/resources.

Also, anything you think a new grower in the region needs to be aware of, look out for, etc

1. scale back whatever you're planning like 70%. it'll still end up being "a lot" at first.

2. k.i.s.s.

3. make seeds with plants you like! for example, your landrace outdoor hashplant project sounds fun and rewarding.

good luck & best wishes dude.

 

[White Beard]

Hey man, its pretty swell and chill here. The laws are reasonable enough, very worth noting is that as long you aren't running obvious grow houses no one really bats an eye. That said, its 3 in veg and 3 in flower per adult, with a max of 2 adults per household. If you want more its off to the pot docs, they are similar to the CA model...just pay the fee and say you need an extended plant count to make edibles/topicals. Most get a 25 plant rec that go that route, you can go higher but it also raises flags.

Thanks, man, that’s good stuff! Re: plant limits, it’ll be 2 households, two and two, one household, no one smokes - in the other, I’ll be the only...I confess, I was hoping that would mean I could have 24 in play!

By ‘pot doc’, I assume you mean getting a medical card...between my age and my arthritis, hopefully I wouldn’t have too much trouble arranging it, but did you mean to imply that there’s a fee beyond the doctor visit? If so, any idea what it is?

The thing that really caught me off guard trying to grow anything outside was the need for shade cloth. You might be able to get by with a long period of hardening them off, but between the sun and the hail storms that pop up, its good to have some sort of cover. The dryness is another factor. Its just much different getting stuff to grow in general than what you get everywhere else.

...NEVER considered a need for shade cloth - or that hail would be a thing up in the mountains...I *have* lived out the before, I’m aware of the extreme dryness, it’s the one thing I’m not looking forward to. Last time I was out there was 20+ years ago and I could not stay hydrated, which led to me being sick a lot. Then again, those years were one long t-break.

If you can skip taking i70 across Kansas that would be a good idea, everyone I know has had a shit day because of the Kansas highway patrol harassing folks.

Edit: Craigslist has a bunch of used grow stuff...kind of hit or miss, but some great deals from folks that tried to set up ops and failed.

Yeah, I’ve made that drive plenty of times over the years & I’m not fond of it...but are 20 and 40 any better? Serious question.

Craigslist - I guess that figures...I guess some folks take up growing on a whim...for me it’s more of an obsession: I go to sleep at night thinking about soil recipes and strains and training techniques....

Thanks so much, Xavier, ‘preciate you taking you time and sharing!

 

[White Beard]

been there, done that, gave away the t-shirts.

don't let perfect be the enemy of good. to me, in real life the "best weed ever" is any good, clean cannabis you raised yourself, especially flowers that didn't require a lot of time/effort/resources.

1. scale back whatever you're planning like 70%. it'll still end up being "a lot" at first.

2. k.i.s.s.

3. make seeds with plants you like! for example, your landrace outdoor hashplant project sounds fun and rewarding.

good luck & best wishes dude.

Thanks a lot for the common sense and encouragement, it’s very welcome. Get you on all points!

My first task will be to get a tent and lights set up and set up a worm farm. I’m not at all sure I’ll get there in time to start landraces outdoors, even though I’m looking at cold-hardy varieties...but yes, I have big plans, but I’m also old enough to start slow and build well.

Totally hear you on seeking perfection: I’ll settle for smokable and effective to start - I figure if I don’t screw up completely, whatever I grow will be at least as good as the commercial mids I smoked for most of my life, and I can stand that; once I’ve pulled a successful grow, harvest, and cure a few times, I’ll have plenty of room to stretch out into, strainwise and technique-wise.

As far as outdoors goes, I’ll be more comfortable watching the world and weather around me before I get too excited about breaking ground - keep it simple, for sure! I’ve seen photos of the property, and at least parts of it are spacious and not too sheltered in, but I haven’t seen or felt or broken up any ground up there, and weather in the mountains is, I know, a highly local and variable thing, so taking a year to just watch it & see what it does sounds like my best plan.

I was wrong, BTW, about the elevation: it’s gonna be somewhere between 8000-9000 feet above sea level (there goes my baking!) - which is considerably higher than the Hindu Kush. I can’t make heads or tails of. The science applied to measuring rainfall there in the Kush, but near as I can make out, the monthly precipitation pattern / amounts in Chitral city seem to be on a par with my future location, so that’s actually a plus. Elevations are vastly different, though - but it might not be a problem, I’ll have to see.

Re: seed making - yes, all about what I like, for sure: it’s one of the ideas behind my scheme for landrace patch development. I’m a big believer in open pollination, especially in landrace populations: breeding select individuals to each other has substantial benefits on a per-plant basis, but I don’t see how a group genetic profile (like a ‘landrace’) can be maintained without open pollination within the genetic group, so I’m going to give that a try...it’s been on my mind for a long time, and I have hopes for the experiment. I understand that a small plant-count-friendly patch has real limitations, but a local micro-race ought to be possible...in theory.

Probably easy to guess, but I have fond hopes of spending my winters making real hash - and at least some time in the fall gathering Charas and seed from the patch. It occurs to me - erroneously, perhaps - that hand-gathering Charas may be a dependable way of ensuring seedfall as well as getting resin. I plan to find out if a post-gathering plant’s buds remain smokable / extractable.

Love the response, bro: thanks again!

 

[xavier7995]

Hail may not get you up there, im right at the foothills and we get one or two good hail storms a year, other than this year.

The below could be out of date, haven't looked into the issue in several years, but:
The pot docs...I would assume that given age and actual medical conditions, you could get a medical card from a normal primary care doctor. Generally speaking though, they aren't huge into weed or writing med cards and particularly the extended plant counts. So we have some crappy docs that charge 420 bucks or whatever and advertise in the back of local papers to get a card and plant count. It is what it is, hope thats changed. The medical card is mostly to access the medical side of dispensaries, extended plant counts for growing is a separate recommendation and harder to get. It was the loophole to grow exportable amounts legally for a long time. Idk, as long as its reasonable in size and not in people's face I wouldn't worry a whole lot, there isnt any interest in busting personal grows, when you see one on the news they raid networks of grows.

Not sure where you are coming from, but you can pick up US 36 about 45 minutes north of Kansas city and take that across, its a nice route across Missouri as well if you get on at Hannibal, MO. Alternatively, just take I80 all the way across to I25. Couple of people have taken 36 to get out here and said there were no cops and it was very pleasant. I just warn everyone to stay off i70, multiple folks had shitty experiences.


If you have two grown ups in two different households that 24 is fine, assuming you keep 12 in one house and 12 in the other. I would compare it to brewing beer, there's limits, but unless you are clearly running a brewery out of your basement, nobody bothers to check for a few extra gallons.

 

[White Beard]

Curious if those “420 docs” take Medicare...ATM $420 is a significant sum, though likely less so after the move (remains to be seen, frankly - getting out of where I am is as big a deal as getting to grow, and yes, they’re connected).

I know Boulder and the front range receive hail - sometimes heavy...Gilpin county, I just don’t know yet. Just another thing to not know about - and another reason to spend a turn of the wheel just watching it all go ‘round.

As for I70, I have NO love for that route at all, including the climb north: I’m a few hundred miles south of 70, which is why I spoke about 40 & 20 - I’ve never traveled either route, as Denver has always been my trip target...and I hadn’t learned to hate the Kanas run yet. Yeah, there’s really nothing about taking 70 that doesn’t suck, I don’t want to do it again - now or ever.

As for households and plant counts, it’s more likely it would be like 12 in one household and 12 outside - and probably a bit away from either house. My bro, bless him, HATES the smell of growing weed, so none in his house. Extended plant count would probably be the way to go - I just don’t want to have to develop cancer to get that allotment.... as you say, I might be able to get away with that, but why be an asshole to family when they’re making room?

So man things to think about...gotta say, it’s a relief not keeping myself up at night, doing this in my head: time to make it real, even if it is early days. Making plans!

 

[xavier7995]

Gilpin County is good stuff, I like it up there. Close enough to the city for what you need but a world away.

Don't let it be a stressor, its a good move.

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

The cousin lives in Gunnison and the deer there are a real problem. I suggested using a crossbow since he is feeding them all summer long. Every day he is out there spraying deer repellent and if he misses a day the deer nibble on the plants. A tall fence works and I think it needs to be 6 feet tall or they will just jump in. The limits are 6 per person and there are only allowed 2 growing people (12 plants) growing in a household. As long as you don't grow massive amounts for the grey or black markets LEO is chill though. Too bad about the Bro as nobody really checks about who lives where. Will you have a barn to grow in? The weather at that elevation is awful. An indoor grow or pure indica land race plants should be possible though. I am not that elevation outside Denver so I just grow hybrids. I get the MMJ card for $80 (returning customer) at the pot doc and $20 or $30 for the state. Colorado has both Medical and Adult Use laws on the books.

 

[xavier7995]

Did a little googling, and it sounds like it has gotten quite a bit harder to get the extended plant count in recent years. Meh, I really wouldn't worry and honestly feel safer not being in the database of dope growing and just relying on the rec laws to cover it.

 

[White Beard]

Thanks y’all, loving the input: so, deer, more than the elk/moose...putting up a fence automatically makes it a bigger per project...good thing to lave to year 2!

I’m split now (torn) on the med bit / plant extension thing...my bro is a super guy, I’m unwilling to play fast’n’loose with anything that would mean trouble for him...he’s making room for me, getting risky would be a lousy way to thank him.

I will have a barn to grow in - the barn is where I’ll be living; indoors is definitely on the menu - and a carbon filter is a cheap way to show my appreciation. If I can work out how to handle the predatory livestock, the landraces I’ve been looking into should be hardy enough - they’re all hash plants, and come from cold, high altitude zones...ought to be able to work something out.

I really am grateful for the support and the positive vibes, my dudes...this will be a huge step for me - genuinely life-changing.

 

[troutman]

If you grow guerrilla style. Mix eggs, milk with blood meal together and spray all the vegetation around your patch.
I spray the trees around my patches with a homemade witch brew and it helps. I sometimes make a small fire for
up to an hour at night just before daybreak so nobody sees the smoke. Most animals avoid places that get regular
smoke treatments.

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/pests/diy-deer-repellent/

 

[xavier7995]

Welp, we'll get you sorted one way or another. Don't let moving stress you out. Life's good here other than it being really expensive for housing.

...if you are starting in the spring...well 6-12 plants can be a lot of damn weed if you do it right and do trees. Alternatively, a 5x5 tent is a nice size for 6-9 smaller plants to flower in and you can run a little veg area on the side to rotate stuff in if you time it right. If you are up in gilpin...well its not that populated and outside of water access, its a pretty fine place for a nature hike once a week or so to check in and see how the wonders of nature progress on BLM land.

Just a note, you may still have snow up there in the spring. 4wd and a good set of mud or snow tires can make life way easier if you need to get out with any regularity. Not really necessary in cities, but I like getting out into the mountains and they make all the difference in starting and stopping. Really depends how remote you are.

Edit: given the situation, I too would err on the side of caution and just being a good person if someone is helping. See about the extended plant count and maybe hit a few different docs, but don't count on it. One big mistake I made was thinking I could find an easy way to flip my extra weed into the gray/legal market, that isn't a thing that is possible here, which I would have known if I did proper research...and by that I mean you are doing a good job getting the lay of the land. Theres quite a few CO folks around, im sure someone had a corner to stick an extra plant in if need be.

 

[White Beard]

If you grow guerrilla style. Mix eggs, milk with blood meal together and spray all the vegetation around your patch.

I spray the trees around my patches with a homemade witch brew and it helps. I sometimes make a small fire for up to an hour at night just before daybreak so nobody sees the smoke. Most animals avoid places that get regular smoke treatments.

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/pests/diy-deer-repellent/

I have heard, but have not explored, the idea that eating a lot of meat, saving your pee, and pouring around the perimeter will keep herbivores away - whether that works or not, I like your idea. At any rate, regularly taking a piss in the area should have some deterrent (I *am* a carnivore, after all) as well.

As for smoke, would braziers at the corners work, do you think? I know fire is a major concern, I wonder if letting wood smolder on some briquettes would work the same way. The patch I have in mind would start small, no more than 12 seeds, so shouldn’t need massive intervention?

Great ideas, sir - thank you!

 

[troutman]

I make a tiny fire about 12 inches diameter right on a rock bed to avoid forest fires and always have
a pail of water beside it to put it out after. Always have water just in case. You don't need a big fire.
I also pee there if I have too. Don't worry about which side you make it. The deer will smell the smoke
regardless. A brazier would work. Make a fire in it and cover with things to make smoke like small
branches with leaves or ferns. You only need 1 source of smoke. I wouldn't bother with brickets.
If you're in a good forest you can find dead wood around. It doesn't take much small branches
to make a tiny fire that burns for less than an hour and that's all you need.

Small smoke fire also helps with biting bugs. Walk in the smoke and they hate you. lol

Whatever you do don't leave the fire on when you leave.

 

[White Beard]

Welp, we'll get you sorted one way or another. Don't let moving stress you out. Life's good here other than it being really expensive for housing.

...if you are starting in the spring...well 6-12 plants can be a lot of damn weed if you do it right and do trees. Alternatively, a 5x5 tent is a nice size for 6-9 smaller plants to flower in and you can run a little veg area on the side to rotate stuff in if you time it right. If you are up in gilpin...well its not that populated and outside of water access, its a pretty fine place for a nature hike once a week or so to check in and see how the wonders of nature progress on BLM land.

Just a note, you may still have snow up there in the spring. 4wd and a good set of mud or snow tires can make life way easier if you need to get out with any regularity. Not really necessary in cities, but I like getting out into the mountains and they make all the difference in starting and stopping. Really depends how remote you are.

Edit: given the situation, I too would err on the side of caution and just being a good person if someone is helping. See about the extended plant count and maybe hit a few different docs, but don't count on it. One big mistake I made was thinking I could find an easy way to flip my extra weed into the gray/legal market, that isn't a thing that is possible here, which I would have known if I did proper research...and by that I mean you are doing a good job getting the lay of the land. Theres quite a few CO folks around, im sure someone had a corner to stick an extra plant in if need be.

More good points you raise: not sure there’s any sense in trying to translate my light 2WD Ford up into the mountains...if nothing else, its tires will be no good for the terrain, ice or no ice...but it *IS* paid-for (and not in great shape, either)

A 5’x5’ seems almost too big: I need to work into all this, somewhat gradually (enthusiasm be damned),so a 30”x30” could be just fine to start in - depending on what I can pick up when I get there - and I will almost certainly NOT bump into plant count limitations anytime soon after I arrive: *a* tent with *a* plant will be a good beginning, maybe a second tent, 4’x4’, for some SOG / SCROG action after a bit, or some mainlining / manifolding / LST practice...and I have a good bit of old seed that I need to practice germinating, so I doubt I’ll have trouble getting my ‘dank thumb’ in order

As far as ‘penetrating the local market, you can probably tell, from my talk of bagseed and landraces, that I’m not obsessing over the latest hybrid darlings - *none* of which I’ve ever had even a whiff of in this benighted corner of the world. I imagine that once I get there, I’ll be able to find out if I like any of this Gelato Diesel Kush Cake by hitting a dispensary; I also imagine that, once if have my own homegrown, there might be some who want to trade me some of theirs for some of mine and that sounds just fine. Might not happen, but it could. Even without that, if any of my “Jamaican” or “Thai” seeds turn out to be be as they’re labeled, that will be just fine, too.

Okay, it’s late, and I’ve chatted my way out of anything further to say, so good night, and thank you again....

 

[White Beard]

Troutman, thanks for the extra detail - it all makes sense, I will remember!

 

[mexweed]

if you get caught making a fire in the mountains with the forest fire risk they will put you away for a long minute, big felony much worse than getting caught with some extra plants