House and Senate Committees Schedule Public Hearings on Washington Marijuana Home Grow Bills

Washington lawmakers are moving quickly on proposals that would allow adults to grow marijuana at home for recreational use, with both chambers now scheduling public hearings on companion legislation. House Bill 2614 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business at 8:00 a.m. on January 30. Its companion, Senate Bill 6204, has been scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on January 26 at 10:30am.

The two measures are nearly identical and represent a coordinated bicameral push to authorize limited home cultivation for adults 21 and older in a state where voters legalized recreational marijuana more than a decade ago but lawmakers never extended home grow rights to the general public.

HB 2614 was filed by State Representative Shelley Kloba (D), while SB 6204 was introduced by State Senators Rebecca Saldaña (D), Noel Frame (D) and T’wina Nobles (D).

If approved, the legislation would allow adults to grow up to six marijuana plants at their residence, with a cap of 15 plants per household regardless of how many adults live there. Marijuana and marijuana products produced from those plants could be legally possessed, so long as they remain at the grower’s home.

Both bills include restrictions designed to limit public exposure and neighborhood impact. Plants and harvested marijuana could not be visible from public view or produce odors detectable from neighboring properties.

The proposals also establish a tiered penalty structure for violations. Growing more than six plants but fewer than 16 would be treated as a civil infraction. Cultivating 16 or more plants would remain a felony offense, and law enforcement would have the authority to seize and destroy plants grown beyond the legal limit.

Although Washington voters approved recreational marijuana in 2012, the state remains one of the few legal marijuana states that does not allow non-medical home cultivation. The upcoming hearings mark the first major step this session toward changing that.