Pot task force could impose stricter home grow limits, cancer patient outraged

The Colorado Springs pot task force, led by city council members and law enforcement, wants to cut the number of plants the state lets people grow in their own home.

Currently, the city regulates home pot grows to 36 plants inside a home.

The task force wants to lower that number 12. Law enforcement says it’s a public safety issue.

Cmdr. Sean Mandel,with the Colorado Springs Police Department, believes growers are changing the infrastructure of their homes and exceeding electrical limits, causing fire hazards.

“The biggest concern is some of the grows we’ve seen inside the home are substantial grows, anywhere from 50 to 100 plants and even more,” Mandel said. “That becomes a health and safety issue for the community, for the neighbors who have to live by that grow.”

However, former grower and cancer patient Bob Crouse argues changing the plant count is against the law under Amendment 20 of the Colorado constitution.

“Patients don’t have access to what we need, nobody asks the patients anymore what do you need? They stop asking us,” Crouse said. “They learn from what we teach them and they use it against us. They come in and hammer us.”

The proposal is still in its working stages. The task force will present to city council in March.