KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amendment 3’s passing means Missourians can start growing recreational marijuana in their homes next year, but certain rules need to be followed before you start your own grow operation.

“You know people are excited about it,” said Mark Samborski with Antioch Urban Growers, which he’s owned for a decade just north of downtown Kansas City.

The retired minister may not be someone you’d think would advocate for marijuana.

“Even before it was accepted as legal, people were looking for remedies, I myself being one of them.” But after losing 60 pounds due to adrenal fatigue, he needed help, and he found it. Now, he’s educating others about it,” Samborski said.

“I’ve actually had consulting opportunities where people say, ‘Will you come to my house and help me set up for a grow?’ And that can be for basil or lettuce or anything else but in most cases, it was for medicinal marijuana grow.”

Since marijuana’s now legal in both forms in Missouri, more people are coming to him about growing it.

“They have the ability to do that,” said Kansas City attorney Andrew Goodwin. He helped write Amendment 3, which Missouri voters approved with 53% of the vote on November 8.

Starting around February, those 21 and older can apply to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for a home cultivation card. A license costs $100.

“They can do six flowering plants, six non-flowering plants over 14 inches tall, and 6 non-flowering plants under 14 inches tall.” For a total of 18 plants, and you can’t go over that at any time. Also, whatever you grow can’t be seen by the public. “So, if you can picture a tall privacy fence that somebody couldn’t look over that was secured and locked, you could have an outdoor patient cultivation under those circumstances.”

You also can’t share your grow with anyone whose name isn’t on the license. Not even if you live with them.

“We actually educate,” added Samborski. Back at his greenhouse where he grows a variety of plants and animals, he’s excited to continue sharing his knowledge with anyone who’s interested. “The conversations have already begun way before now. Now, it’s just ‘Go’ time.”

The state of Missouri can check on home-grow operations. When people apply for a patient cultivation card under the medical system, they have to agree that they can make their grow available to the department upon request. However, Goodwin admits he doesn’t know the extent to which the state checks on home grows.

For more information on legal home grow operations in the state of Missouri, see here.