District of Columbia Marijuana Seeds for Home Growers

DC voters approved Initiative 71 in 2014, and it took effect in February 2015. Under D.C. Code 48-904.01, adults 21+ may grow up to six plants, with three or fewer mature and flowering. Everyone living in a single house or rental unit shares a cap of 12 plants, six of them mature.

The location rule is the strictest part. Plants must be grown within the interior of the house, building or rental unit that is your principal residence, and the harvest has to stay there. A rooftop, balcony, yard or community garden plot doesn’t qualify.

Adults may possess up to 2 ounces and may give another adult up to 1 ounce, but only without any payment. Because Congress has blocked a licensed adult-use market, the only legal stores are medical dispensaries overseen by the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration. Buying seeds for a home garden is common.

Most of the District sits in USDA zone 8a, with a few cooler 7b pockets. Reagan National records a median last frost of March 24 and a first frost of November 18, about 241 frost-free days, while the National Arboretum gets about 224.

Those numbers matter less than they would elsewhere, since DC law keeps every plant indoors. What does reach your grow room is summer heat and humidity. July highs average close to 90°F, and nights at or above 75°F have become far more common in recent years. Rowhouse top floors and apartments without strong air conditioning can push a tent past 85°F and 65% humidity.

Those conditions favor powdery mildew and bud rot, so plan on a dehumidifier from June through September. Summer thunderstorms and the occasional derecho can cut power, so time sensitive stages, like the first weeks of flowering, with that in mind.

Space is the main constraint in a city of rowhouses and apartments. Autoflower seeds stay compact, need no light-schedule change and finish about 10 to 12 weeks from sprout, so a small closet tent can turn over several harvests a year.

If you have room to train plants, feminized photoperiods give you more control. Shorter indica-leaning plants suit low ceilings and stretch less after you flip to 12 hours of light. With only three plants allowed to flower at once, feminized seeds also keep you from wasting a slot on a male.

Odor control matters in shared buildings. Strains known for milder smells, plus a carbon filter sized to your tent fan, help keep the peace with neighbors through shared walls and vents. Growers who prefer a gentler effect can look at CBD seeds, which grow the same way but produce flower with little THC.

In the District, the choice is made for you. Initiative 71 only covers plants grown inside your principal residence, so yards, patios and rooftop gardens are off limits even if they’re private.

That makes the grow tent the standard DC setup. A 2×2 or 2×4 foot tent with a carbon filter fits most closets and keeps light and smell contained. A sunny interior window can work for a plant or two in spring, as long as the plants stay fully inside the residence. Our guide on how to grow marijuana indoors walks through the basics.