Ask a Massachusetts marijuana activist for arboreal advice on what to do if you're growing it and you'll get this key piece of guidance: Do not electrocute yourself.



He didn't lead with that, but it remains solid advice, whether tied to growing marijuana or anything else.



"My suggestion to people who want marijuana here in Massachusetts is it would be very smart of them to grow it themselves," Bill Downing, the longtime activist, said at the outset of the interview.



This means, however, you are co-mingling three things that don't co-mingle very well, he added: Water, human beings and electricity for the indoor garden.



"I would suggest they be very, very careful," Downing said.



According to Downing and other marijuana activists, people can attempt to grow a small amount using relatively ordinary lighting, but if you want to grow more than a plant or two, and you want to grow it quickly, with a certain level of potency, you're going to need more lighting. Some of those old New England homes might not be good for those types of lights.



"That's not rocket science," added Michael Cutler, an attorney based in Northampton who helped co-write the new law legalizing marijuana.



But how to get the seeds? More on that in a minute.



Under the new law, an individual over the age of 21 will be able to have up to six plants inside a residence - a household can have up to 12 - on or after Dec. 15, depending on whether Beacon Hill lawmakers move to block or slow the timeline.

If you rent an apartment, you may not be able to use marijuana at home



Retail stores won't exist locally anytime soon - the law calls for them to open in 2018, but expect lawmakers to change that as well and push back the date - so the sale of marijuana remains a crime.



But home cultivation and giving away what you harvest, up to an ounce, to an adult over the age of 21, won't be a crime anymore at the state level. A person can have up to 10 ounces inside their residence.



Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and smoking marijuana is banned in the same places cigarette smoking is prohibited. If you're renting, the landlord can impose a ban on growing and smoking.





Activists said there are a couple of ways to obtain marijuana or the seeds to grow the plant: Physically get it from another state, obtain it through an online website, or get it from a friend.



That friend can also give up to an ounce in seeds, they said.



But if you don't have a friend with either marijuana or seeds, getting the seeds through the mail is an option, activists said, despite the act being illegal at the federal level, like buying it out-of-state and bringing it across state lines into Massachusetts.



Seed suppliers in Canada, like BC Bud Depot, or others in England, Holland and elsewhere would be "very happy to ship those seeds to you," Downing said. (On BC Bud Depot's website, it says they produce "the world's best marijuana seeds with fast and discreet worldwide delivery at reasonable prices.")



Downing, who has had some experience with this, says roughly one out of 20 times, the seeds are confiscated by the Postal Service. According to Downing, here's what happens next: You receive a re-sealed but empty package, you call the seed supplier, and then they send you another set of seeds.



Activists are counting on math being on their side in situations like that, coupled with legalization at the state level and a thinly stretched out federal government apparatus like the Drug Enforcement Administration.





"If it's only up to postal agents or the like, the DEA is not going to get involved for a handful of seeds," Cutler said.

Downing's other piece of advice? Be discreet. Not because marijuana is still illegal federally speaking and police could take an interest in the harvest, but because somebody else outside of law enforcement could be interested in taking it from you.



"The chances of the police finding your garden and doing anything about it are relatively teeny tiny, but the chances of some other person being envious about your crop are somewhat better," he said.