Recreational marijuana is legal for adults 21 and over in 24 states and Washington, D.C. Seventeen more states allow only medical cannabis, six permit nothing beyond low-THC or CBD oil, and three — Idaho, Indiana and Kansas — have no legal access at all. Federal law has not caught up: since April 2026, state-licensed medical marijuana sits in the less restrictive Schedule III, but recreational cannabis is still a Schedule I drug and illegal under federal law in every state.
That split matters in practice. A purchase that is legal in a Denver dispensary becomes a federal offence on a plane, in a national park or across the state line, and for non-citizens even legal use can cause serious immigration trouble.
Last checked: 20 October 2026. State laws change often — two cannabis measures are on the ballot on 3 November 2026, and we update this guide and the map below when the rules change.
Map: Where Weed Is Legal in the US
Key Takeaways
- 24 states + D.C. allow adults 21+ to possess cannabis. In 23 of those states licensed shops are open; Virginia’s stores open on 1 July 2027, and D.C. has no legal adult-use shops at all because Congress blocks them.
- 41 states have a medical cannabis program (the 24 adult-use states plus 17 medical-only states), according to the Marijuana Policy Project’s count. Texas and Georgia joined the list after expanding their programs in 2025 and 2026.
- About 54% of Americans live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center analysis; no state has legalised since then.
- Federally, adult-use cannabis is still illegal. Medical marijuana sold under a state licence moved to Schedule III on 28 April 2026; a decision on all other marijuana is on hold.
- Intoxicating hemp products face a federal ban from 11 December 2026, when a new federal definition of hemp takes effect.
- On 3 November 2026 voters in Massachusetts decide whether to end adult-use sales (Question 8), and Idaho votes on an amendment that would let only the Legislature legalise marijuana (HJR 4).
Where Recreational Weed Is Legal
In these 24 states and D.C., adults 21 and older can legally possess cannabis. Limits refer to adult-use possession; many states set higher limits for medical patients. Public consumption is banned almost everywhere, and driving under the influence is a crime in every state.
| State | Legal since | Shops | Possession limit | Home grow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | February 2015 | Open | 1 oz (including concentrates) | 6 plants (3 mature) per adult, 12 per household |
| Arizona | November 2020 | Open | 1 oz, of which max 5 g concentrate | 6 plants per adult, 12 per household |
| California | November 2016 | Open | 28.5 g; 8 g concentrate | 6 plants per residence |
| Colorado | December 2012 | Open | 2 oz; 2 oz concentrate; 800 mg THC edibles | 6 plants (3 flowering) per adult, 12 per residence |
| Connecticut | July 2021 | Open | 1.5 oz on person; 5 oz locked at home or in car | 3 mature + 3 immature per adult, 12 per household |
| Delaware | April 2023 | Open | 1 oz; 12 g concentrate | not allowed |
| District of Columbia | February 2015 | No legal shops | 2 oz | 6 plants (3 mature) per adult, 12 per household |
| Illinois | January 2020 | Open | 60 g flower, 10 g concentrate, 1,000 mg THC in products (non-residents: half) | patients only (5 plants) |
| Maine | January 2017 | Open | 2.5 oz incl. up to 5 g concentrate | 3 mature, 12 immature plants per adult |
| Maryland | July 2023 | Open | 1.5 oz flower; 12 g concentrate; 750 mg THC in products | 2 plants per household |
| Massachusetts | December 2016 | Open | 1 oz in public (5 g concentrate); 10 oz at home | 6 plants per adult, 12 per household |
| Michigan | December 2018 | Open | 2.5 oz in public (15 g concentrate); 10 oz at home | 12 plants per household |
| Minnesota | August 2023 | Open | 2 oz in public, 2 lb at home; 8 g concentrate; 800 mg THC edibles | 8 plants (4 flowering) per household |
| Missouri | December 2022 | Open | 3 oz | 6 flowering, 6 non-flowering, 6 clones per adult (state permit) |
| Montana | January 2021 | Open | 1 oz; 8 g concentrate; 800 mg edibles | 2 mature + 2 seedlings per adult, 4 + 4 per household |
| Nevada | January 2017 | Open | 2.5 oz; 1/4 oz concentrate | 6 plants per adult, 12 per household; only 25+ miles from a store |
| New Jersey | February 2021 | Open | 6 oz (1 oz per purchase) | not allowed |
| New Mexico | June 2021 | Open | 2 oz in public; 16 g extract; 800 mg edibles; no limit at home | 6 mature plants per adult, 12 per household |
| New York | March 2021 | Open | 3 oz; 24 g concentrate | 3 mature + 3 immature per adult, 6 + 6 per household |
| Ohio | December 2023 | Open | 2.5 oz; 15 g extract | 6 plants per adult, 12 per household |
| Oregon | July 2015 | Open | 2 oz in public, 8 oz at home; 1 oz extract | 4 plants per household |
| Rhode Island | May 2022 | Open | 1 oz in public; 10 oz at primary residence | 3 mature + 3 immature plants per dwelling |
| Vermont | July 2018 | Open | 2 oz; 10 g hashish | 2 mature + 4 immature plants per household |
| Virginia | July 2021 | Not yet (from July 2027) | 1 oz in public (rises to 2 oz when retail sales start in July 2027) | 4 plants per household |
| Washington | December 2012 | Open | 1 oz flower; 16 oz solid edibles; 72 oz liquid; 7 g concentrate | patients only |
A few rules stand out. Illinois doubled its possession limits in June 2026, and Vermont did the same from 1 July 2026. Ohio went the other way: since March 2026 cannabis bought outside an Ohio dispensary or not grown at home is illegal to possess again, intoxicating hemp may only be sold in dispensaries, and smoking in public is a criminal offence. Washington, New Jersey, Delaware and (for non-patients) Illinois still do not allow home growing. In Nevada, adults may grow only if they live more than 25 miles from a cannabis store.
Recent sales figures show how established these markets are: Illinois is selling record numbers of products at falling prices, while courts are still drawing the limits of police powers, as in New York’s marijuana odour case.
Where Only Medical Marijuana Is Legal
These 17 states allow cannabis only for registered patients with a qualifying condition. A medical card from another state is usually not valid; some states (for example Oklahoma and Utah, with conditions) offer temporary cards to visitors, but most do not.
| State | Patient limit | Small amounts decriminalised | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | up to 70 daily doses; no flower, vapes or smokables | No | |
| Arkansas | 2.5 oz per 14 days | No | |
| Florida | up to 2.5 oz smokable flower per 35 days | No | A 2026 legalisation amendment failed to make the ballot. |
| Georgia | up to 12,000 mg THC in products; vaping 21+, no smoking | No | Expanded in July 2026: no THC percentage cap, vaping allowed for patients 21+. |
| Hawaii | 4 oz | Yes | |
| Kentucky | 30-day supply (up to 112 g flower) | No | |
| Louisiana | 2.5 oz flower per 14 days | Yes | |
| Mississippi | 98 g flower, 28 g concentrate | Yes | |
| Nebraska | 5 oz in the law, but state rules cap supply at 5 g THC per 90 days and bar flower, vapes and edibles | Yes | Medical law in force, but no dispensaries are open yet (first sales expected in 2027 at the earliest). |
| New Hampshire | 2 oz per 10 days | Yes | The only New England state without legal adult use. |
| North Dakota | 3 oz flower per 30 days | Yes | |
| Oklahoma | 3 oz on person, 8 oz at home | No | |
| Pennsylvania | 30-day supply | No | |
| South Dakota | 3 oz | No | |
| Texas | max 10 mg THC per dose; no flower or smoking | No | Very limited program; delta-8 is now treated as an illegal drug. |
| Utah | 113 g flower per month; no smoking | No | |
| West Virginia | 30-day supply | No |
The programs differ enormously. Florida, Oklahoma and Arkansas run large markets with flower sales, while Alabama opened its first dispensary only on 3 June 2026 and sells no flower, vapes or conventional edibles. Texas expanded its Compassionate Use Program on 1 September 2025 to chronic pain, traumatic brain injury and other conditions and replaced its 1% THC limit with a cap of 10 mg THC per dose, but flower and smoking remain banned. For the full picture, see our guide Is Weed Legal in Texas? Georgia removed its 5% THC cap on 1 July 2026 and now allows vaping for patients aged 21 and over (smoking remains banned). Nebraska‘s voter-approved medical law is in force, but no dispensary has opened yet.
How many Americans actually use these programs is tracked in our report on US medical marijuana patient numbers.
Where Cannabis Is Still Illegal
In the remaining nine states there is no legal market. Six allow only low-THC or CBD oil for a narrow list of patients; Idaho, Indiana and Kansas allow essentially nothing.
| State | What is allowed | Small amounts decriminalised |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | No legal access | No |
| Indiana | No legal access | No |
| Iowa | Patients: 4.5 g THC per 90 days; no flower | No |
| Kansas | No legal access | No |
| North Carolina | Hemp extract oil for intractable epilepsy only | No (fine only, but still a criminal offence) |
| South Carolina | Low-THC CBD oil for severe epilepsy only | No |
| Tennessee | CBD oil up to 0.9% THC for qualifying patients | No |
| Wisconsin | CBD oil with physician certification | No |
| Wyoming | Hemp extract for epilepsy only | No |
Penalties in these states can be severe. In Idaho, possession of less than 3 oz is a misdemeanour with a mandatory minimum fine of $300 and anything more is a felony, and in Wyoming possession of up to 3 oz can bring up to a year in jail. Tennessee banned THCA and most hemp-derived THC products from 1 July 2026, so products sold legally a few months ago are now illegal there.
Six states without adult-use legalisation have at least decriminalised small amounts, replacing jail with a civil fine: Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Dakota. In North Carolina possession of up to 0.5 oz is punished with a fine only, but it remains a criminal misdemeanour.
Federal Law: What Changed With Schedule III
Marijuana has been a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act since 1970. That began to change with an executive order signed by President Trump on 18 December 2025, which told the Justice Department to finish moving marijuana to Schedule III.
- 28 April 2026: a final rule moved two categories to Schedule III, with immediate effect: FDA-approved drugs containing marijuana, and marijuana and marijuana products held under a state medical marijuana licence.
- Everything else stays in Schedule I, including all adult-use cannabis. State-legal recreational businesses still violate federal law, and possession outside a state medical program remains a federal offence.
- A DEA hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III ran in June and July 2026, but the administrative law judge put it on hold on 29 September. A final decision before the November election is unlikely.
- A court challenge to the medical rescheduling is pending in the D.C. Circuit; the court refused to suspend the rule on 9 September 2026.
For businesses the biggest effect is tax: medical operators are no longer hit by the 280E rule that bans ordinary deductions, while adult-use operators still are. Banking, interstate commerce and federal employment rules are unchanged. We looked at the politics behind the decision in Trump’s rescheduling vs. state markets, at what it means for researchers in why rescheduling has not unlocked the science, and at the money involved in Yale’s estimate of a federal marijuana tax.
The Federal Hemp Ban: Delta-8, THCA and THC Drinks
Since the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp-derived THC products — delta-8 gummies, THCA flower, THC seltzers — have been sold in gas stations and online even in states where marijuana is illegal. That loophole is closing.
A law signed on 12 November 2025 rewrote the federal definition of hemp. It counts total THC, including THCA, against the 0.3% limit, excludes cannabinoids made synthetically or converted outside the plant, and caps finished consumer products at 0.4 mg of total THC per container. A follow-up law signed on 2 September 2026 delayed most of these changes to 11 December 2026; cannabinoids the plant cannot produce naturally become illegal on 12 November 2026.
Once the new definition applies, delta-8 and other converted cannabinoids, THCA flower and nearly all THC gummies and drinks fall outside the definition of hemp and count as federally illegal marijuana, whatever state law says. Several bills in Congress would delay or soften the change, but none had passed by mid-October 2026. The lobbying fight around it is covered in the alcohol industry’s campaign against hemp THC drinks.
On the Ballot on 3 November
Two statewide marijuana measures are on the ballot this year:
- Massachusetts, Question 8 would end licensed adult-use sales from 1 January 2028. Adults could still possess up to 1 oz (5 g of concentrate), larger amounts up to 2 oz would draw a $100 civil fine, and medical sales would continue. A September 2026 MassINC poll found 27% of voters in favour and 61% against.
- Idaho, HJR 4 is a constitutional amendment that would give the Legislature the exclusive power to legalise marijuana and other drugs, ruling out citizen initiatives on the subject. It would not change current law.
Several other campaigns failed to qualify: Florida’s adult-use amendment fell short of the required signatures, as did Idaho’s medical cannabis initiative and a referendum against Ohio’s new hemp and cannabis law, and a Nebraska adult-use initiative did not make the ballot either. Polls show strong national support for legalisation regardless — see why lawmakers keep saying no although most Americans back legal marijuana.
Rules That Apply in Every State
Even in a state where cannabis is legal, federal rules apply in these situations:
- Flying. Aircraft and airports are under federal law. TSA does not search for drugs, but officers report suspected violations to the police, and medical rescheduling did not change TSA’s policy. Flying with cannabis is illegal even between two legal states.
- Crossing state lines. Taking cannabis from one state to another is federal interstate transport of a controlled substance, even between legal states. Taking it across the border to Canada or Mexico is a serious crime in both directions.
- Federal land. National parks, national forests, military bases and federal buildings follow federal law; possession there is an offence even inside a legal state. A state medical card is not a federal prescription.
- Driving. Driving under the influence of cannabis is illegal in every state, and open-container rules apply in most legal states.
- Guns. On 18 June 2026 the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Hemani that prosecuting a regular but non-impaired marijuana user under the federal “unlawful user” gun ban violated the Second Amendment in that case. The ruling is narrow: the federal gun-purchase form still asks about marijuana use, and a false answer is a separate felony.
- Work. Federal employees, federal contractors in safety-sensitive roles and people with security clearances remain subject to drug-free rules. Private employers in many states may still test and fire for cannabis use.
Visiting the US? What Tourists Should Know
Foreign visitors aged 21 and over can legally buy cannabis in adult-use states with a valid passport, and the same possession limits apply to them (Illinois sets lower limits for non-residents). But a few points matter more for visitors than for locals:
- Immigration risk. Under federal immigration law marijuana is still a controlled substance. Admitting to use, a conviction or even working in the cannabis industry can make a non-citizen inadmissible to the US or lead to a visa or green-card refusal — even if the use was legal in the state. Do not discuss cannabis use with border officers without legal advice, and do not bring any cannabis products, including CBD, across the border.
- Where to consume. Public use is banned in almost every legal state, most hotels and rental cars forbid smoking, and licensed consumption lounges exist only in a few places such as Nevada, Colorado and parts of California.
- Leave it behind. Buy only what you can use, and do not take cannabis home or onward to another state or country.
If you are travelling on, our guides cover cannabis laws in Europe country by country and the rules for tourists in Thailand.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many states have legalised recreational weed? 24 states and Washington, D.C. The most recent were Delaware (April 2023), Minnesota (August 2023) and Ohio (December 2023). No state has legalised adult use since then.
Is weed federally legal now that it is in Schedule III? No. Only FDA-approved drugs and marijuana sold under a state medical licence moved to Schedule III in April 2026. Recreational marijuana remains a Schedule I drug and is illegal under federal law.
Can I buy weed in a legal state if I am from another state or country? Yes, if you are 21 or older and show valid ID. You must follow that state’s possession limits and must not take cannabis across state or national borders.
Can I use my medical card in another state? Usually not. A few states accept out-of-state cards or issue temporary visitor cards, but most do not, and medical cards are never valid on federal land or flights.
Are delta-8 and THCA legal? Until 11 December 2026 delta-8 and THCA products are federally legal as hemp if they meet the old definition (products with synthetic cannabinoids the plant cannot produce become illegal earlier, on 12 November 2026), but many states have already banned or restricted them, including Texas, Tennessee and Ohio. After 11 December 2026 almost all intoxicating hemp products become federally illegal.
Which states might legalise next? Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Hawaii have come closest in their legislatures, but none passed a law in 2026. Massachusetts voters decide on 3 November whether to end adult-use sales.
This guide is for information only and is not legal advice. Laws change quickly; check official state sources before you buy, travel or act on this information.
Sources
- Marijuana Policy Project: state laws and medical cannabis state count
- Federal Register: Executive Order 14370 (23 December 2025)
- DEA: administrative law judge’s stay order, 29 September 2026
- Congressional Research Service: new federal hemp definition (IF13136, 28 September 2026)
- Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth: Question 8
- Idaho Capital Sun: HJR 4 voter guide
- Pew Research Center: share of Americans living in legal states
- Illinois IDFPR: SB 3222 fact sheet
- Vermont Legislature: Act 176
- MPP: Georgia becomes the 41st comprehensive medical cannabis state
- Texas DPS: Compassionate Use Program changes
- TSA: medical marijuana
- National Constitution Center: United States v. Hemani
