No matter what laws get passed, I expect the powers that be to make a mess of it. I intend to always hide my growing. Been that way for over forty years now. I'm used to it. But irregardless of who ultimately gets to grow and sell cannabis, once the smell of pot smoke is no longer a legitimate reason for the police to come to my door, I'll call that a significant improvement.
Indeed. And that's what we've achieved in CO. The only way they're coming after small growers is from the commerce side of it & the growing in national forests side of it. Stuff like that. The house catches on fire & you're over plant counts. You're reeking out the neighborhood with obviously more than a few plants. The cops have other reasons to enter or somebody gets flimflammed into letting them. They won't even ask unless you give them reason, and the smell of ganja smoke isn't it.
It'd be nice to grow outdoors. I'm sure that more than a few people are but my location won't permit it. I have yet to get a straight answer from anybody about what the penalty might be for having an otherwise legal grow. Inside growing needs to be totally discreet, as you offer, simply so as to not invite trouble from anybody. It's not hard. Good carbon filters & attention to detail are all that's required. I keep a spare, ya know?