| State | Year | How Passed | Possession Limits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 2014 | Ballot Measure 2 (53%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 3 mature) |
| 2 | Arizona | 2020 | Smart and Safe Arizona Act (Prop 207) (59.95%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants |
| 3 | California | 2016 | Proposition 64 (57%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants; 8 g hash/concentrates |
| 4 | Colorado | 2012 | Amendment 64 (55%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 3 mature); 1 oz hash/concentrates |
| 5 | Connecticut | 2021 | SB 1201 | 1.5 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 3 mature beginning July 2023); up to 7.5 g concentrates (up to 750 mg of THC); up to 25 g concentrates (up to 2,500 mg of THC) in a locked container |
| 6 | Delaware | 2023 | House Bill 1 House Bill 2 | 1 oz usable; 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products |
| 7 | District of Columbia | 2014 | Initiative 71 (65%) | 2 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 3 mature) |
| 8 | Illinois | 2019 | House Bill 1438 | 1 oz usable; 5 g hash/concentrates |
| 9 | Maine | 2016 | Question 1 (50%) | 2.5 oz usable; up to 15 plants (no more than 3 mature); 5 g hash/concentrates |
| 10 | Maryland | 2022 | Maryland Question 4 (Marijuana Legalization Amendment) | 1.5 oz usable; up to 2 plants for personal use; 12 g of cannabis concentrates |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 2016 | Question 4 (54%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants; 5 g concentrates |
| 12 | Michigan | 2018 | Proposal 1 (56%) | 2.5 oz usable; 12 plants; 15 g concentrates |
| 13 | Missouri | 2022 | Amendment 3 | up to 3 oz usable; up to 6 flowering plants, 6 immature plants, and 6 plants under 14 inches for personal use |
| 14 | Montana | 2020 | Initiative I-190 (56.89%) and CI-118 (57.82%) | 1 oz usable; 4 mature plants; 8 g hash/concentrates |
| 15 | Nevada | 2016 | Question 2 (54%) | 1 oz usable; 6 plants; 3.5 g hash/concentrates |
| 16 | New Jersey | 2020 | New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Amendment (66.88%) | 1 oz usable |
| 17 | New Mexico | 2021 | House Bill 2 | 2 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 12 per household); 16 g concentrated marijuana; 800 milligrams of edible cannabis |
| 18 | New York | 2021 | Senate Bill S854A | 3 oz usable; 12 plants; 24 g concentrates |
| 19 | Oregon | 2014 | Measure 91 (56%) | 1 oz usable in public; 8 oz homegrown usable at home; 4 plants; 16 oz solid marijuana-infused, 72 oz liquid infused, and 1 oz extract at home of hash/concentrates |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 2022 | Rhode Island Cannabis Act | 1 oz usable in public; 10 oz usable at home; 3 mature plants and 3 immature plants; 5 g concentrate |
| 21 | Vermont | 2018 | Legislative Bill H.511 | 1 oz usable; 6 plants (no more than 2 mature); 5 g hash |
| 22 | Virginia | 2021 | Senate Bill 1406 House Bill 2312 | 1 oz usable; 4 plants |
| 23 | Washington | 2012 | Initiative 502 (56%) | 1 oz usable; 16 oz solid marijuana-infused, 72 oz liquid infused, and 7 g of concentrates |
For information on medical marijuana, please visit our State-by-State Medical Marijuana Laws resource.
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Ballot Measure 2 — Approved Nov. 4, 2014 by 53% of voters
Law: Alaska Statute Chapter 17.38: The Regulation of Marijuana
State Website: Alaska Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office
Effective: Feb. 24, 2015
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants with no more than 3 mature plants
Hash & Concentrates: Possession of hash and concentrates is illegal. Possession of up to 3 g is a misdemeanor, more is a felony.
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Smart and Safe Act (Prop 207) — Approved Nov. 3, 2020 by 59.95% of voters
Law: Smart and Safe Arizona Act
Effective: Nov. 30, 2020; sales Mar. 2021
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: Up to 6 plants per person; up to 12 plants for a single residence with more than one 21+ resident
Hash & Concentrates: up to 5 grams
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Proposition 64: The Adult Use Marijuana Act — Approved Nov. 9, 2016 by 57% of voters
Law: Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act
State Website: California Cannabis Portal
Effective: Nov. 9, 2016 (revised penalties); Jan. 1, 2018 (retail sales); 2023 (restrictions to be lifted on large-scale corporations)
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants, including the harvest from those 6 plants
Hash & Concentrates: up to 8 g (more than 8 g is a misdemeanor)
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Amendment 64 (55%) — Approved Nov. 6, 2012 by 55% of voters
Law: Colorado Constitution: Article 18, section 16
State Website: Colorado Marijuana
Effective: Dec. 10, 2012 (revised penalties) Jan. 1, 2014 (commercial sales)
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants with no more than 3 mature plants
Hash & Concentrates: up to 1 oz
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Law: SB 1201 –signed by Governor Ned Lamont on June 22, 2021
Effective: July 1, 2021 (revised penalties); May 2022 (commercial sales); July 2023 (growing plants)
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1.5 oz; up to 5oz in a locked container
Plants: up to 6 plants with no more than 3 mature plants (on or after July 2023)
Hash & Concentrates: up to 7.5 g (up to 750 mg of THC); 25 g (up to 2,500 mg of THC) in a locked container
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Law: HB1 & HB2 — No action taken by Governor John Carney, allowing bills to become law
Effective: Apr. 23, 2023 (sales are not yet legal)
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: possessing or growing plants remains illegal until the state’s Marijuana Mart is opened (estimated 2024)
Hash & Concentrates: 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-THC
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Initiative 71 — Approved Nov. 4, 2014 by 64.87% of voters
Law: Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Act of 2015
DC Website: DC Metro Police Department
Effective: Feb. 26, 2015
Retail sales are not allowed
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 2 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants per person with no more than 3 mature plants; up to 12 plants (no more than 6 mature) for a single residence with more than one 21+ resident
Hash & Concentrates: Possession of hash and concentrates is illegal and punishable with 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Legislation: HB 1438
Law: Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act
Effective: Jan. 1, 2020
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz (30 g) for residents and 500 milligrams of THC contained in a cannabis-infused product for state residents (15 g/250 mg non-residents)
Plants: None
Hash & Concentrates: up to 5 g (2.5 g non-residents)
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Question 1 — Approved Dec. 17, 2016 (after recount of Nov. 8, 2016 election results was abandoned) by 50.26% of voters
Law: The Marijuana Legalization Act
Effective: Jan. 30, 2017 (grow and possess)
[Editor’s Note: On May 2, 2018, the Maine House (109-39) and Senate (28-6) voted to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of LD 1719 (Chapter 409 Public Law)
. The Department of Administration and Financial Services is required to present regulatory rules for legal sale and production of marijuana to the legislature in January 2019; marijuana retail shops are expected to open no sooner than Spring 2019. The bill lowers the recreational marijuana possession limits from 6 mature plants to 3 mature plants.]
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 2.5 oz
Plants: up to 3 flowering plants, 12 immature plants, unlimited seedlings, and all marijuana produced from the plants
Hash & Concentrates: up to 5 g
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Maryland Question 4 (Marijuana Legalization Amendment) — Approved Nov. 8, 2022
Laws: Chapter 45, Article XX – Cannabis
Effective: On or after July 1, 2023
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: 1.5 oz
Plants: up to two cannabis plants in their homes for their own personal use
Hash & Concentrates: 12 grams of cannabis concentrates
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Question 4 — Approved Nov. 8, 2016 by 53.66% of voters
Law: Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act
State Website: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission
Effective: Dec. 15, 2016
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants; no single residence may exceed 12 plants
Hash & Concentrates: up to 5 g. Possession of hash is illegal though decriminalized for possession of up to 1 oz.
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Proposal 1 — Approved Nov. 6, 2018 by 56% of voters
State Website: Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)
Effective: Jan. 2020
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: 2.5 oz; up to 10 ounces at home, but amounts over 2.5 ounces must be kept in locked containers
Plants: up to 12 plants
Hash & Concentrates: 15 grams of marijuana may be in the form of marijuana concentrate
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Amendment 3 — Approved Nov. 8, 2022
Law: Article XIV, Sections 1 & 2
Effective: by Feb. 7, 2023
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 3 oz
Plants: up to six flowering plants, six immature plants, and six plants under 14 inches for personal use
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: I-190 – Marijuana Legalization Initiative — Approved Nov. 3, 2020 by 56.89% of voters
Constitutional Amendment: CI-118 — Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana — Approved Nov. 3, 2020 by 57.82% of voters
Effective: Jan. 1, 2021
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 4 mature plants and up to 4 seedlings
Hash & Concentrates: up to 8 grams
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Question 2 — Approved Nov. 8, 2016 by 54.47% of voters
Law: Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 453D – Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana
State Website: Marijuana in Nevada
Effective: Jan. 1, 2017
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants; no single residence may exceed 12 plants
Hash & Concentrates: up to 3.5 g
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Constitutional Amendment: New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Amendment — Approved Nov. 3, 2020 by 66.88% of voters
Law: Amendment to Article IV, Section VII of the New Jersey Constitution
Effective: Jan. 1, 2021
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Legislation: HB 2 — signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Apr. 12, 2021
Law: Cannabis Regulation Act
State Website: New Mexico Cannabis Control Division
Effective: June 29, 2021; commercial sales begin in Apr. 2022
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 2 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants per person with no more than 12 per household
Hash & Concentrates: Up to 16 grams of concentrated marijuana, and 800 milligrams of edible cannabis
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Legislation: S854A — Passed Senate and Assembly, and signed into law by Governor Cuomo on Mar. 31, 2021
Law: Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act
Effective: Mar. 31, 2021
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 3 oz
Plants: up to 12 plants with no more than 6 mature plants and 6 immature per residence
Hash & Concentrates: up to 24 g concentrated cannabis
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Oregon Legalized Marijuana Initiative, Measure 91 — Approved Nov. 4, 2014 by 56.11% of voters
Law: Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 475B – Cannabis Regulation: Recreational Use of Cannabis
State Website:Oregon Recreational Marijuana
Effective: Mar. 29, 2016
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz in public; up to 8 oz homegrown at home
Plants: up to 4 plants per residence
Hash & Concentrates: up to 16 oz solid infused at home; up to 72 oz liquid infused at home; up to 1 oz extract at home
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
20. Rhode Island
State Marijuana Laws
Legislation: Rhode Island Cannabis Act — Signed by Governor Dan McKee on May 25, 2022
Effective: May 25, 2022
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz in public; up to 10 oz at home
Plants: up to 3 mature plants and 3 immature plants per residence
Hash & Concentrates: up to 5 g concentrate
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Legislation: H.511 — Approved Jan. 22, 2018
Law: An Act Related to Eliminating Penalties for Possession of Limited Amounts of Marijuana by Adults 21 Years of Age or Older
State Website:State of Vermont Marijuana Commission
Effective: July 1, 2018
Retail sales are not yet allowed. In Oct. 2020, Governor Phil Scott indicated he would not veto a measure passed by legislators that will allow the creation of regulatory structures to permit recreational marijuana sales. The first recreational marijuana shops could open in 2022.
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: up to 6 plants per household (no more than 2 mature), and all marijuana produced from the plants
Hash & Concentrates: 5 g
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: SB 1406 and HB 2312 — Governor’s amendments to law approved Apr. 7, 2021 by House and Senate
Effective: July 1, 2021 (possession and growing plants); commercial sales TBD*
*On Mar. 1, 2022, the Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee killed a bill that would have accelerated the commercial sales legalization, enforcement measures, regulation, and tax revenue of adult-use marijuana in Virginia. The bill was originally slated to be passed by 2024. Sales and purchases of adult-use marijuana remain illegal in the state until legislation is passed.
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: Up to 4 plants
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
State Marijuana Laws
Ballot Measure: Washington Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, Initiative 502 — Approved Nov. 6, 2012 by 55.7% of voters
Law: Revisions to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, chapter 69.50
State Website: Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
Effective: Dec. 6, 2012
Possession and Cultivation Limits
Age: 21+
Usable Marijuana: up to 1 oz
Plants: Plants are illegal. Any amount is a felony.
Hash & Concentrates: up to 16 oz marijuana-infused product in solid form; up to 72 oz marijuana-infused product in liquid form; up to 7 g marijuana concentrate
*Please consult the state for the most recent information.
Sources:
Ballotpedia, “Alaska Marijuana Legalization, Ballot Measure 2 (2014),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 14, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “California Proposition 64, Marijuana Legalization (2016),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 14, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Colorado Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Amendment 64 (2012),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Mar. 29, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Washington D.C. Marijuana Legalization, Initiative 71 (November 2014),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Mar. 29, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Maine Marijuana Legalization, Question 1 (2016),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Mar. 30, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Maryland Question 4, Marijuana Legalization Amendment (2022),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 9, 2022)
Ballotpedia, “Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization, Question 4 (2016),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Mar. 31, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Michigan Proposal 1, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2018),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 7, 2018)
Ballotpedia, “Missouri Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2022),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 9, 2022)
Ballotpedia, “Nevada Marijuana Legalization, Question 2 (2016),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Apr. 3, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Oregon Legalized Marijuana Initiative, Measure 91 (2014),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Apr. 3, 2017)
Ballotpedia, “Washington Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, Initiative 502 (2012),” ballotpedia.org (accessed Apr. 3, 2017)
Maine State Legislature, “Recreational Marijuana in Maine,” legislature.maine.gov (accessed Feb. 12, 2018)
Marijuana Policy Project, “Maine,” mpp.org (accessed Feb. 12, 2018)
Marijuana Policy Project, “Summary of the 2022 Rhode Island Cannabis Act,” mpp.org (accessed June 6, 2022)
NORML, “State Laws,” norml.org/laws (accessed Mar. 16, 2017)
University of Missouri at Kansas City, “Irwin Ravin, Petitioner, v. State of Alaska, Respondent,” law2.umkc.edu, May 27, 1975
Reid Wilson, “Vermont to Legalize Recreational Marijuana,” thehill.com, Oct. 9, 2020
Reid Wilson, “South Dakota Judge Strikes Down Voter-Passed Marijuana Measure,” thehill.com, Feb. 9, 2021
