When people come together in the garden, community naturally forms. I’ve had the joy of teaching about growing cannabis in the garden in more and more public venues this past year. It is a wonderful to see my book, The Cannabis Gardener, in the hands of enthusiastic gardeners who are eager to grow their own healthy plants. At a talk at a local nursery one of the attendees approached me and suggested that we start a casual club for home cannabis gardening. It was just the impetus I needed to put into action the idea that had for some months been germinating in my mind. A small group of us met and decided that we would like to meet again, adding a couple more folks to the second meeting. It was a hit — and the Cannabis Garden Club was born! Our loose plan is to meet at least four times per year, always in one of our gardens or at a local nursery. We hope to share wisdom, challenges, seeds, gardening tips, extra compost, harvest help, bud, and friendship.

Soon thereafter another cannacurious gardener contacted me to inquire about this new club idea. She gardens in New Jersey, and is filled with energy and big ideas. We met online, and decided to make the cannabis garden club a format for many clubs. Where there was one club, now there are two — with hopes for many, many more to form organically and hyperlocally.

This club, and the growing group of clubs, is like a new garden – we don’t know what it will mature into, but with care it will be beautiful! As I have reflected on this emerging community, I was reminded of the parable of the sower and the seed. My goal is to sow seed upon good soil – whether it’s the seed of friendship or cannabis – and trust that the good soil will produce a harvest of great abundance. I believe that when we meet together in the garden, focused on building community and fostering healthy growth, the world will be a better place because of it.

Here a the core principals for any Cannabis Garden Club as it forms:

Purpose: A Cannabis Garden Club is a local group for those who grow cannabis at home.  The purpose of any club is to build community and share knowledge & resources to encourage healthy home cannabis gardens.  While individual clubs will be unique and reflect the individual character of each community’s culture and needs, all clubs will share the following core principals:

• Community building: foster healthy human relationships through gardening with cannabis.  Meetings should be enjoyable, inclusive and respectful to all who participate.

• Not for profit:  Whenever possible, clubs should be free for participants.  Dues may need to be collected in order to pay for meeting space, or other necessary operating expenses, but until such time as is necessary, all participants will be volunteers.

• Committed to natural and organic gardening practices.

• Informed about the legalities of growing cannabis at home.  Each state, county and city have specific laws and policies about growing cannabis.  NORML.org is an excellent resource for understanding the cannabis legal landscape in the USA.

Clubs:  Each club is independently organized and managed.  As more chapters form, the creation of regional organizations may be helpful to foster larger community gatherings for purposes of education and community building.

Regions:  Clubs seeking to widen their community can meet in larger regional grouping, such as at a city, county or state wide gathering.

Social Media: Instagram:  @cannabisgardenclub (in Albany, CA: the original chapter, founded in 2023 by Penny Barthel)  Subsequent chapters are encouraged to register for local accounts by using @cannabisgardenclub_XXX  The last couple of characters after the underscore will be to signify the unique identifying name of the particular club.  ie, @cannabisgardenclub_NYC for New York City residents, etc.