California Marijuana Laws: Possession, Growing, and Use

Under California marijuana laws, adults 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of flower, grow up to six plants at home, and buy from licensed retailers, but public use, driving impaired, unlicensed sales, and anything touching federal jurisdiction still carry real penalties. The rules below reflect current state law as of 2026, including the workplace protections that took effect in 2024.

How Much You Can Carry and Give Away

If you’re 21 or older, you can have up to 28.5 grams of cannabis flower (roughly one ounce) and up to 8 grams of concentrate like wax, shatter, or resin at any one time. You can give those same amounts to another adult 21 or older, but only as a true gift. The moment money or anything of value changes hands, you’re selling without a license.¹

Go over the limit and it’s a misdemeanor for anyone 18 or older, punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. People under 18 typically get counseling and community service. Adults aged 18 to 20 who possess amounts within the adult-use cap face an infraction with a fine of up to $100, because the 21-and-older floor is what makes recreational possession legal in the first place.²

Medical patients with a valid physician recommendation can possess larger quantities if their medical needs justify it under the Compassionate Use Act.³

Growing at Home

State law allows up to six living plants per private residence. That cap is per household, not per person, so two roommates share the same six-plant ceiling. Plants have to be kept in a locked area that isn’t visible from any public place.⁴

Local governments can regulate cultivation but cannot ban indoor growing entirely when it happens inside a private residence or a fully enclosed and secure accessory structure such as a greenhouse or locked shed. Outdoor growing is different: cities can prohibit it altogether, and many do. Check your local ordinance before planting anything in the yard.⁴

Growing more than six plants is a misdemeanor for anyone 18 or older, with up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It can be charged as a felony if the extra cultivation causes environmental damage such as illegal water diversion, hazardous waste, or harm to waterways, or if you have certain prior convictions.⁵

Buying From Licensed Retailers

Legal purchases only happen at retailers licensed by the Department of Cannabis Control. Licensed shops can sell between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., though some cities set tighter windows. You’ll need a valid government-issued photo ID showing you’re at least 21, and retailers scan it before completing the sale.⁶

Taxes stack. California imposes a 15 percent cannabis excise tax on the gross receipts of every retail sale.⁷ State and local sales tax applies on top of that, with a 7.25 percent statewide base rate and district taxes pushing the effective rate higher depending on where you are.⁸ Many cities layer on their own cannabis business taxes as well. Combined, it’s common to pay 30 percent or more in total taxes on a single purchase.

Delivery from a licensed retailer is legal and drivers have to be back at the licensed premises by 10:00 p.m.⁶ One practical note: federal banking rules haven’t caught up to state legalization, so most retailers still run on cash. Expect ATMs on-site and plan accordingly.

Holders of a Medical Marijuana Identification Card from the California Department of Public Health are exempt from state and local sales tax, though the 15 percent excise tax still applies.⁹

Where You Can Actually Use It

Legalization didn’t turn California into an open smoking lounge. Consuming cannabis in any public place is an infraction with a fine of up to $100, and you can’t smoke it anywhere tobacco smoking is banned, which covers most indoor workplaces, restaurants, and bars.¹⁰

Restrictions tighten around children. Smoking within 1,000 feet of a school, day care, or youth center while children are present is illegal. There’s a narrow exception for consuming inside a private residence within that radius, but only if the smoke or vapor isn’t detectable on the school or day care grounds.¹⁰

Licensed consumption lounges are the exception to the public-use ban. State law lets specially licensed businesses permit on-site consumption, but not every city allows them, and the ones that exist have strict rules on ventilation, food service, and age verification.¹⁰

Private property owners and landlords keep full authority to ban cannabis on their premises.¹¹ If your lease has a “no smoking” or “no drugs” clause, violating it can be grounds for eviction no matter what state law says. Read the lease before assuming your unit is fair game.

Cannabis in the Car

Open cannabis products in a vehicle are treated much like open alcohol. If you’re driving or riding with an opened or unsealed product, that’s an infraction with a fine of up to $100. Opened containers belong in the trunk where neither the driver nor passengers can reach them. Sealed, unopened products can ride in the cabin.¹²

Driving under the influence of cannabis carries the same weight as an alcohol DUI. Officers use field sobriety tests and chemical evaluations to assess impairment, and a conviction means license suspension, mandatory DUI education, possible jail time of up to six months for a first offense, and fines that climb well above $1,000 once court costs are added.¹³ There’s no per-se THC limit in California, so cases turn on observed impairment rather than a specific blood number.

Commercial drivers get no cover from state law. Federal Department of Transportation rules classify cannabis as a prohibited substance for anyone holding a commercial driver’s license. A positive THC test means immediate removal from driving duties and a return-to-duty process that typically takes at least 12 months, with evaluation by a substance abuse professional and follow-up testing. A medical card doesn’t help.

Job Protections and Their Limits

Assembly Bill 2188 and Senate Bill 700, both effective January 1, 2024, added Section 12954 to the Government Code. Employers can’t discriminate against workers or applicants based on off-duty cannabis use, and they can’t rely on hair or urine tests that pick up non-psychoactive metabolites, which linger for weeks and say nothing about on-the-job impairment.¹⁴ SB 700 also barred employers from asking applicants about prior cannabis use during hiring, though criminal history questions permitted by other law are still allowed.¹⁵

Employers can still test for active THC using newer methods that better reflect recent use, and they can still discipline anyone who shows up impaired or has cannabis on the job.¹⁴

Several groups fall outside these protections:

Workers in the building and construction trades are explicitly excluded.¹⁴
Jobs requiring a federal background investigation or security clearance under Department of Defense regulations remain subject to federal drug-free workplace standards.¹⁴
Federal contractors and grantees must maintain drug-free workplaces under the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, which references the federal Controlled Substances Act.¹⁶

Selling Without a License

Possessing cannabis with intent to sell without a state license is a misdemeanor for anyone 18 or older: up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It escalates to a potential felony if you have certain prior violent or sex-offense convictions, two prior convictions for unlicensed sales, or the sale involved a minor. Anyone 21 or older who knowingly uses a person aged 20 or younger in the operation also faces felony charges.¹⁷

The line between a legal gift and an illegal sale is thinner than most people think. Accepting a “donation,” trading for goods, or building cannabis giveaways into the price of another product all count as selling.

Where Federal Law Still Bites

State legalization doesn’t touch federal law, and the collision between them creates the biggest risks cannabis users face. Three areas catch people off guard.

Firearms

Federal law bars anyone who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing firearms or ammunition.¹⁸ Because marijuana remains a Schedule I substance federally, every California cannabis user falls into that category for gun ownership. ATF Form 4473, the form you fill out when buying from a dealer, asks directly whether you use marijuana and warns that state legalization doesn’t change the federal ban.¹⁹ Answering “no” while being a user is a federal felony. Holding a medical marijuana card alone is treated as evidence of current use by the FBI’s background check system. This is probably the single most common way California cannabis users unknowingly break federal law.

Federally Assisted Housing

Public housing residents and Section 8 voucher holders face unforgiving federal rules. HUD requires public housing agencies and owners of federally assisted housing to deny admission to anyone currently using marijuana, and current tenants who use can face eviction. Medical marijuana isn’t recognized as a reasonable accommodation for a disability in federal housing, so a California recommendation or card won’t protect you.²⁰ Housing authorities have discretion in how aggressively they enforce, but the authority to deny or terminate assistance is there.

Federal Land and Airports

National parks, national forests, military installations, VA medical centers, and federal courthouses all sit under federal jurisdiction. Possessing any amount of cannabis on federal land is a crime punishable by up to one year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense.²¹ California has huge amounts of federal land, including Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and dozens of national forests, so this comes up more than people expect.²²

Airports and aircraft are the same trap. TSA’s focus is security threats, not cannabis, but officers are required to report suspected federal violations to law enforcement when they find marijuana during screening. What happens next depends on the airport: many California airports may simply have you dispose of the product, but that’s up to the responding officer. Flying internationally with cannabis is a serious criminal offense in virtually every country.

Clearing Old Cannabis Convictions

Proposition 64 created a pathway for people with prior marijuana convictions to have those records reduced, dismissed, or sealed. If you’re still serving a sentence for something Prop 64 legalized or reclassified, you can petition the sentencing court for resentencing. If you’ve completed your sentence, you can apply to have the conviction dismissed and sealed, or redesignated as a lower-level offense.²³

Most of this relief is now automatic. Assembly Bill 1793 required the state Department of Justice to review its criminal history database and identify qualifying convictions, and Assembly Bill 1706 required courts to actually grant that relief by March 2023 in cases where prosecutors didn’t object. If you think you have an eligible conviction the automatic review missed, you can still file a petition directly with the court that handled your case.²³

1
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11362.1
2
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11357
3
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Medicinal Cannabis Guidelines
4
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11362.2
5
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11358
6
Department of Cannabis Control. Retail
7
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Cannabis Retailers with Cannabis Businesses
8
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Facts for Cannabis Businesses
9
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. An Overview of California Sales and Use Tax and Cannabis Tax Laws
10
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11362.3
11
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11362.45
12
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 23222
13
California Department of Motor Vehicles. California Driver Handbook – Alcohol and Drugs
14
California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 12954
15
LegiScan. California Senate Bill SB700 – 2023-2024 Regular Session
16
U.S. Department of Labor. Drug-Free Workplace Regulatory Requirements
17
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 11359
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
19
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record
20
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Use of Marijuana in HUD-Assisted Housing
21
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 U.S.C. 844 – Penalties for Simple Possession
22
U.S. Forest Service. Cannabis Use on National Forest System Lands
23
California Courts. Proposition 64 – The Adult Use of Marijuana Act