Cannabis on Amtrak, in rental cars and in Uber or Lyft

Amtrak bans it outright. Its smoking policy says all Amtrak trains, Amtrak Connection bus services and stations are entirely non-smoking, that the rule covers electronic smoking devices, and that the use or transportation of marijuana in any form, for any purpose, is prohibited, even in states or countries where recreational or medical use is legal. That wording reaches flower, vape cartridges and edibles alike, and it applies on every route, including a trip that starts and ends inside one legal state.

Amtrak's baggage rules point the same way: its prohibited items list marks controlled or illegal substances as not allowed in carry-on bags and not allowed in checked baggage. Amtrak's website refused connections from our network on 16 Oct 2026, so we read the Internet Archive's most recent captures of both pages, the smoking policy from 13 Jun 2026 and the prohibited items list from 24 Jan 2026. Check the live pages before you travel in case either has changed.

The smoking stops on some long-distance trains are not an opening. The policy allows smoking on the platform only at longer stops the crew announces, and it warns that state or local law may ban even that. Marijuana sits in the same policy's list of things no one may smoke on trains, on connecting services or in stations, and the separate ban on transporting it applies the whole way. Travel empty and buy at your destination.

Yes, everywhere, and nothing has changed for adult-use cannabis. The federal rule that took effect on 28 Apr 2026 moved only two categories to Schedule III: FDA-approved drug products containing marijuana, and marijuana covered by a state medical-marijuana license. The rule says any other form of marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance (Federal Register 2026-08176). A purchase from an adult-use shop in any of the 17 adult-use states this guide covers is in neither category and stays in Schedule I, on a train, in a car or anywhere else.

Possessing a controlled substance without a valid prescription is a federal offense. For a first offense, 21 U.S.C. 844 allows up to a year in prison and sets a minimum fine of $1,000, with higher minimums after a prior drug conviction. State legalization works as protection from state prosecution; Nevada's law, for example, is written as an exemption from state prosecution (NRS 678D.200). The broader federal change has not been made: on 29 Sep 2026 DEA's Chief Administrative Law Judge stayed the rescheduling case, which had been heard from 29 Jun to 15 Jul 2026.

State regulators say the same about borders. California's Department of Cannabis Control says you cannot take cannabis across state lines, New York's Office of Cannabis Management says crossing them with cannabis is illegal, medical cannabis included, Colorado says leaving the state with any cannabis product is against the law, New Jersey's commission says transporting it across state lines is illegal, and Illinois' oversight office says it should not be done. For trains into Canada, CBP warns that arriving at a U.S. port of entry with marijuana may mean seizure, fines or arrest.

Regulators in Massachusetts and Ohio agree. Massachusetts' Cannabis Control Commission says taking cannabis out of the state by car, plane, train or boat is against the law, and Ohio's Division of Cannabis Control says federal and state law prohibit crossing state lines with it. Ohio's own protection covers only marijuana bought from its licensed dispensaries or grown at home (R.C. 3796.221, 3796.04), so cannabis carried in from Michigan gets none. Canada's border agency adds that taking cannabis across its border in either direction is illegal.

Seven more regulators say so. Washington's Liquor and Cannabis Board says taking cannabis out of the state is illegal even to a place where it is legal, by plane, train, boat or car, and Maryland's Cannabis Administration says carrying any cannabis into or out of Maryland is illegal. Oregon's Liquor and Cannabis Commission calls taking marijuana across state lines a federal offense, Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection calls it a federal crime even into a state with a medical program, and Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management calls it a federal crime even when both states have legalized cannabis. New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division says cannabis bought there should stay there, and Oklahoma's Medical Marijuana Authority bars its licensed patients from traveling outside state lines with medical marijuana.

No smoking or vaping of anything, and no use of the car to move a controlled substance. Avis's and Budget's U.S. rental terms use the same wording. Paragraph 1.3 says each maintains a 100% smoke-free fleet and that no one may smoke or vape any substance inside or immediately surrounding the vehicle. If the company decides the car smells of smoke, vape or any other substance, it may charge a cleaning fee under paragraph 2.6(c), plus the cost of repairing any damage the violation caused.

Paragraph 1.5 lists prohibited uses. Two matter here: operating the car under the influence of any substance the law forbids while driving, and using it in connection with conduct that could be charged as a felony or misdemeanor, including the transportation of a controlled substance or contraband. Any violation is an automatic breach, lets the company demand the car back and, the terms say, voids all liability protection and the loss damage waiver. Neither company's terms mention cannabis by name, and adult-use cannabis remains a controlled substance under federal law.

Hertz and National say their fleets are non-smoking too. Hertz's U.S. FAQ says anyone who occupies a Hertz vehicle in the United States or Canada must comply, and that staff decide by seeing someone smoke, finding ash or burns, or smelling smoke. National's FAQ for USAA members says all vehicles are non-smoking and that extra cleaning fees apply when a car must be cleaned and deodorized after smoking. Enterprise's pages refused our connection, so its terms are not described here. Read the agreement you sign at the counter.

No. Uber's Community Guidelines say drug use and open containers of alcohol are never allowed while using the Uber platform, and they list smoking in a car as property damage, leaving the rider responsible for cleaning and repair fees. The guidelines also prohibit using Uber to commit any crime and give transporting drugs as an example. Uber's zero-tolerance policy adds that a driver can always decline a trip, including when a rider smells strongly of drugs or alcohol.

Lyft's Community Guidelines ask everyone in the car to keep alcohol, cigarettes and weapons out of it, along with any illegal substances. Lyft's help center says smoking inside the vehicle while driving for Lyft is against its community rules, that the company has a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy for drivers, and that riders may not bring open containers of alcohol. Neither company's published guidelines mention carrying a sealed, state-legal purchase, and Lyft does not define what it counts as an illegal substance.

State law mostly reaches the same answer. A rideshare car is a motor vehicle, so the state rules in the next seven sections apply inside it, and most of those states bar passengers from smoking cannabis in a moving car. The exceptions we found are Missouri, where no statute we read reaches passengers; Oklahoma, where we found no rule on a licensed patient's use as a passenger in a private car; and Oregon, whose vehicle ban exempts passengers in a vehicle a common carrier uses mainly to carry passengers for hire. Uber's and Lyft's own rules forbid drug use in their cars regardless. New York adds a separate ban: its smoke-free law, which counts cannabis as smoking, forbids smoking and vaping in taxicabs and limousines when they carry passengers (Public Health Law 1399-o and 1399-n). Massachusetts' smoke-free law covers taxis as public transportation, so smoking cannabis in a cab there carries a civil penalty of up to $100, though that definition does not mention app-based rideshares (M.G.L. c. 270, s. 22; c. 94G, s. 13(c)). Wait until you reach private property where use is allowed.

Several of the newer states also put taxis off limits for smoking. Minnesota counts taxis, limousines and other for-hire vehicles as public transportation, where smoking, which its law defines to include marijuana and electronic devices, is banned (Minn. Stat. 144.413, 144.414). New Mexico makes it unlawful to smoke, cannabis and vaping included, in taxicabs and buses (NMSA 24-16-3, 24-16-4), Pennsylvania's Clean Indoor Air Act lists taxicabs and limousines among the public places where smoking is banned (Act 27 of 2008, section 2), Oklahoma bans smoking or vaping marijuana in any vehicle providing public transportation (63 O.S. 1-1523), and Maryland's Cannabis Administration names taxicabs and limousines as public transportation where cannabis may not be smoked.

In California, keep it sealed or in the trunk and never use it in a moving car. Health and Safety Code 11362.3 bars an open container or open package of cannabis while driving or riding as a passenger, and bars smoking or ingesting it while driving or riding as a passenger. The one passenger exception is a vehicle operated under Business and Professions Code 26200 with no one under 21 aboard. Vehicle Code 23221 separately makes passenger smoking or ingesting on a highway an infraction.

Vehicle Code 23222 makes it an infraction, with a fine of up to $100, for a driver to carry an opened package or loose flower on their person, unless it is in the trunk. Taxi and limousine passengers get no cannabis exception: Vehicle Code 23229 exempts them from the passenger rule only as it applies to alcohol. The Department of Cannabis Control's consumer page sums it up: cannabis in a vehicle must be in a sealed package or container, or in the trunk.

New York bans consuming cannabis in a motor vehicle on a public highway, for drivers and passengers alike, as a traffic infraction (Vehicle and Traffic Law 1227); its one exception covers use other than burning by passengers on permitted for-hire vehicles built for 10 or more. The Office of Cannabis Management says adults may carry the legal limits, 3 ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of concentrate (Penal Law 222.05), in a closed container, that no one may open packaging in a vehicle, and that smoking is illegal whether the car is moving or parked.

Nevada makes smoking or otherwise consuming cannabis in a vehicle a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $600, and the statute makes no exception for passengers; the only place it carves out is a licensed consumption lounge (NRS 678D.310). The Cannabis Compliance Board puts it plainly: you cannot use cannabis in a moving vehicle, even as a passenger. The adult-use chapter sets no separate sealed-package rule, and possession within the limits is exempt from state prosecution (NRS 678D.200).

Colorado's state cannabis site says neither drivers nor passengers may open cannabis packaging and use the product in a vehicle, even when it is not moving. A traffic charge can follow if the seal is broken, some product is gone and there is evidence it was used in the car. The Colorado Department of Transportation adds that adults 21 and older may carry up to 2 ounces, and Denver's FAQ says marijuana can ride in a car but not in an open container.

Arizona's law does not allow anyone to consume marijuana while driving, operating or riding in the passenger seat or compartment of an operating motor vehicle, boat or aircraft (A.R.S. 36-2851). Adults may possess and transport 1 ounce, of which no more than 5 grams may be concentrate (A.R.S. 36-2852). The adult-use sections we read set no trunk or sealed-package rule, but smoking in a public place or open space, which includes a public sidewalk, is a petty offense (A.R.S. 36-2850 and 36-2853).

In New Jersey a driver may not consume any cannabis item while operating a motor vehicle, and a passenger may not smoke, vape or aerosolize one while the vehicle is being operated (N.J.S.A. 39:4-51a). A first offense is a $200 fine, and a later one is $250 or 10 days of community service. The statute does not mention passengers eating edibles, but Uber's and Lyft's own rules forbid drug use in their cars regardless.

Unsealed cannabis meant to be smoked, vaped or aerosolized has to ride in the trunk, behind the last upright seat of a vehicle without one, or in a motor home's living quarters (N.J.S.A. 39:4-51b), with the same fines. Unsealed means anything other than the original package, such as a bag, box or wrapping. The Attorney General's guidance tells officers at a traffic stop to check exactly that, and to treat suspected impaired driving as a separate matter.

Illinois bars using cannabis in any motor vehicle (410 ILCS 705/10-35), and its Vehicle Code requires drivers and passengers to keep it in a secured, sealed or resealable, odor-proof, child-resistant container that is inaccessible, with violations a Class A misdemeanor (625 ILCS 5/11-502.15). Public Act 104-463, now in effect, drops the inaccessible requirement for dispensary purchases kept in that kind of container in their original packaging. Visitors may possess 30 g of flower, 5 g of concentrate and 500 mg of THC in infused products.

None of the four lets a driver use cannabis or a passenger smoke it, and Massachusetts, Washington and Ohio also keep opened packages out of the passenger area. In Massachusetts, anyone in a vehicle on a public way, or anywhere the public has access, faces a civil penalty of up to $500 for an open container of cannabis in the passenger area (M.G.L. c. 94G, s. 13(d)). A broken seal or a partly used package counts as open, while the trunk and a locked glove compartment fall outside that area. That leaves a passenger no legal way to use cannabis on the road, and the Cannabis Control Commission says consuming while operating a car is strictly prohibited.

Michigan's adult-use law does not authorize a driver to consume marijuana while operating a vehicle, or anyone to smoke it in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public way (MCL 333.27954), and that reaches taxis, rental cars and Uber or Lyft rides. For passengers, the statute names only smoking. Adults may transport up to 2.5 ounces, no more than 15 grams of it concentrate (MCL 333.27955), and the adult-use sections we read set no sealed-package or trunk rule.

Washington's rule names the owner, the driver and every passenger. On a highway, cannabis has to be in the trunk, in a space no one in the car normally occupies or can reach if there is no trunk, or in a package that has not been opened, and a glove or utility compartment counts as within reach (RCW 46.61.745). Consuming cannabis in any manner, including smoking or ingesting it, in a vehicle on a public highway is also a traffic infraction, which rules out a passenger edible. The base penalty for a traffic infraction may not exceed $250 unless another statute allows more, before mandatory fees (RCW 46.63.110).

Ohio allows smoking or vaping cannabis only on private residential or agricultural property, which rules out every car (R.C. 3796.06(C)(2)). A passenger who smokes or vapes while the driver is operating the vehicle commits a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, and a driver who does it is handled under the OVI and physical-control laws (R.C. 3796.99(A), 2929.24, 2929.28). Since 20 Mar 2026, cannabis from an Ohio dispensary may ride only in its original unopened package or, once opened, in the trunk or, in a car without one, behind the last upright seat or in another area no one normally occupies and the driver cannot easily reach; homegrown cannabis always goes in the trunk or that space, and the law bars carrying any other marijuana in a car, which on our reading includes cannabis bought in another state (R.C. 3796.062(A), (C)). Each violation is a minor misdemeanor (R.C. 3796.062(B), 3796.99(I)).

None of the four allows impaired driving, and Washington and Ohio also set THC numbers. In Washington, a THC concentration of 5.00 nanograms per milliliter of whole blood within two hours of driving is DUI, as is driving while affected by cannabis at any level, and being entitled to use cannabis under state law is no defense (RCW 46.61.502, 46.04.586). Ohio's per se OVI levels for marihuana are 2 nanograms per milliliter of whole blood, serum or plasma, or 10 nanograms per milliliter of urine, with separate thresholds for marihuana metabolite (R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(j)).

Massachusetts charges cannabis impairment under its operating-under-the-influence statute, which sets a 0.08 alcohol level but no THC level, so the test is whether the driver was under the influence (M.G.L. c. 90, s. 24). Michigan's Vehicle Code also gives numbers only for alcohol, but a separate clause bars driving with any amount of a schedule 1 substance in the body, and marijuana is on that list (MCL 257.625(8), 333.7212). The Michigan Supreme Court held that the clause does not apply to registered medical patients who are not under the influence (People v Koon, 2013), and we found no appellate ruling on adult-use drivers 21 and older.

Maryland's statute is aimed at the driver: whoever is behind the wheel may not smoke or consume cannabis in the vehicle's passenger area on a highway, whether the car is moving, stopped or standing (Md. Code, Transportation 21-903). That area covers the seats and anything reachable from them, but not a locked glove compartment or the trunk, and in a car with no trunk, not the space behind the last upright seat. Breaking the rule is a misdemeanor that can bring a fine of up to $500 (Transportation 27-101). Passengers are not named in the statute, though the Maryland Cannabis Administration says using cannabis while driving is illegal for the driver and for passengers alike.

Maryland's vehicle statute governs use, not how a sealed purchase rides, and the Administration's consumer guide asks buyers to keep products in their original child-resistant packaging. Impairment is its own offense. The Vehicle Law makes it a crime to drive when any drug has left you unable to drive safely; a first conviction can mean up to 2 months in jail, a $500 fine or both, and having used lawfully helps only if you did not know the drug would impair you (Transportation 21-902). There is no THC blood number, and the Administration says officers can arrest for cannabis DUI when roadside field sobriety tests show impairment.

Connecticut sets limits by where the cannabis sits. Up to 1.5 ounces may ride anywhere in the car, while amounts up to 5 ounces must be in a locked glove box, or in a locked trunk that cannot be reached from the passenger compartment, of the person's own vehicle, and the cargo area of a hatchback, wagon or SUV is not a trunk for this purpose (Conn. Gen. Stat. 21a-279a). Because the larger allowance is written for the person's own vehicle and we found nothing saying a rental car counts, plan around 1.5 ounces in a rental.

Using cannabis in a car that is being driven is a crime for everyone aboard. The two statutes cover smoking, other inhaling and ingesting on a public highway, in a parking lot for ten or more cars and on school property. For the driver it is a class C misdemeanor, with up to three months in jail and a $500 fine; for a passenger in a car another person is driving it is a class D misdemeanor, with up to 30 days and a $250 fine (53a-213a, 53a-213b, 53a-36, 53a-42). Edibles, taxis, rideshares and rentals are all included. Drug DUI is charged under the alcohol DUI statute, which sets no THC blood level; a first conviction means a fine of $500 to $1,000, jail or community service, and a 45-day loss of the license or of a nonresident's privilege to drive in the state, then a year of driving only with an ignition interlock (14-227a).

Oregon bans consuming cannabis in a motor vehicle on a highway for drivers and passengers alike, and consuming includes inhaling smoke; it is a Class B traffic violation with a maximum fine of $1,000 (ORS 811.482, 153.018). The section exempts passengers in a vehicle a common carrier uses mainly to carry passengers for hire, and we found no statute, rule or OLCC guidance saying whether a taxi or rideshare qualifies, though the cannabis law separately bans use in areas used in connection with public passenger transportation (ORS 475C.009, 475C.377). The Vehicle Code's rules of the road hold no cannabis container rule that we found, but the 2 ounce public limit on usable marijuana applies on the road (ORS 475C.337). DUII covers any intoxicant and sets no THC level, and a first conviction carries a minimum fine of $1,000 (ORS 813.010).

New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division limits all consumption, edibles included, to a private residence or a licensed consumption lounge, and it calls cannabis use while driving illegal. The state smoke-free law reaches public transit: smoking or vaping, cannabis included, is unlawful in buses, taxicabs and other public transit (NMSA 24-16-3, 24-16-4). We did not find a statute addressing a passenger who eats an edible in a private car, or any cannabis container rule in the Motor Vehicle Code; adults may carry up to 2 ounces of cannabis, 16 grams of extract and 800 milligrams in edibles (26-2C-25(A)(1)). DWI depends on impairment by any drug, not a THC number, and a first conviction can bring 90 days in jail, a $500 fine or both (66-8-102(B), (E)).

Missouri's constitution protects adults who possess and transport up to 3 ounces (Article XIV, Section 2.10(1)(a)) but leaves room for laws against driving under the influence, consuming marijuana while operating a vehicle, or smoking it in a vehicle that is being operated (Section 2.3(1)(d), (e), (f)). We found no Missouri statute that uses that room to ban use by drivers or passengers, and no open-container rule for marijuana, so plan on no use at all in a moving car; rental car and rideshare companies may ban it in their vehicles (Section 2.3(4)). Driving while intoxicated covers controlled substances and drugs, and a first offense is a class B misdemeanor, which can bring six months in jail and a $1,000 fine (RSMo 577.001, 577.010, 558.011, 558.002). Missouri sets no THC blood level, and for drivers 21 and older a conviction needs evidence that the driver was in fact under the influence, not only THC or its metabolites in the body (Section 2.3(1)(d)).

Minnesota bars using cannabis or hemp edibles in a motor vehicle, apart from a medical patient's use of medical products without smoking or vaping (Minn. Stat. 342.09, subd. 1), and its open package law makes using them in a vehicle on a street or highway a misdemeanor. The same law makes it a misdemeanor to carry them in a private vehicle in packaging that is opened, unsealed, partly emptied or not compliant with state rules, unless the package rides in the trunk or, in a vehicle without one, an area the driver and passengers do not normally occupy; a glove or utility compartment counts as occupied (169A.36). Minnesota misdemeanors carry up to 90 days and $1,000 (609.03). The open package law exempts passengers on a motor carrier's bus, in a pedal-powered party vehicle or in a limousine, but chapter 342's ban on use in a motor vehicle has no such exception. Minnesota's DWI law covers cannabis and hemp products, sets no THC blood level and excludes cannabis from its any-amount rule for Schedule I and II drugs (169A.20, subd. 1).

In the four medical-only states the first question is whether a visitor may have marijuana in the car at all, and in Florida the answer is no. Florida offers no reciprocity for out-of-state cards, and for anyone without a Florida registration, holding up to 20 grams of plant cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, which can bring a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, while any vape cartridge, concentrate or extract-infused edible is a third-degree felony regardless of weight unless it qualifies as hemp (Fla. Stat. 893.13(6), 893.02(3), 775.082, 775.083). Even registered patients may not use marijuana in a vehicle or boat, except low-THC cannabis that is not smoked; doing so is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a patient must keep everything in its original packaging (s. 381.986(1)(k)5, (12)(c), (14)(a)). Florida's DUI law asks whether normal faculties were impaired and sets no THC number, and a first conviction means a $500 to $1,000 fine and as much as 6 months in jail (s. 316.193).

Pennsylvania serves only registered Pennsylvania patients, who must be residents, and accepts no other state's card (35 P.S. 10231.103, 10231.303), so for a visitor any cannabis in a car, rental or rideshare is possession, a misdemeanor even at 30 grams or less (35 P.S. 780-113(a)(31), (g)). A patient must keep medical marijuana in its original package with the ID card and may not smoke it anywhere (35 P.S. 10231.303, 10231.304). The DUI law is zero tolerance: any trace of a Schedule I drug or its metabolite in a driver's blood is DUI, marijuana is on that schedule, the Medical Marijuana Act makes no exception for patients, and a first offense brings at least 72 consecutive hours in jail and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 (75 Pa.C.S. 3802(d)(1), 3804(c)).

Oklahoma is the one medical-only state here that licenses visiting patients from other states. A holder of a medical license from another state's regulated program can apply for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority's 30-day out-of-state patient license. Without an OMMA license, any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor that can bring a year in confinement and a $1,000 fine, though someone who can state a medical condition and has 1.5 ounces or less faces only a fine of up to $400 (63 O.S. 420(B), (F), 2-402). As far as we found, Oklahoma law says nothing about where a licensed patient keeps medical marijuana in a private car, while smoking or vaping it in a vehicle that provides public transportation is banned (63 O.S. 1-1523). The DUI statute is zero tolerance: a test showing any marijuana or metabolite in the driver's blood, saliva, urine or another bodily fluid means DUI, holding a patient license is no defense, and a first conviction brings 10 days to a year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines (47 O.S. 11-902).

Texas has no program that lets a visitor possess marijuana, and its possession law works the same inside a car: up to 2 ounces of marihuana is a Class B misdemeanor, with up to 180 days in jail, a $2,000 fine or both, while a THC vape, oil or edible bought at another state's dispensary is a Penalty Group 2 substance, and less than a gram of it is a state jail felony (Health and Safety Code 481.121, 481.116; Penal Code 12.22, 12.35). Texas defines intoxication as losing the normal use of mental or physical faculties to any drug or substance, with no THC figure, and a first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor carrying at least 72 hours in jail (Penal Code 49.01, 49.04). Registered Texas patients get no driving exception, and at the Border Patrol checkpoints that stop every northbound vehicle on the highways out of the Big Bend area, federal possession law applies (21 U.S.C. 844).

No smoking or vaping on any of them. BART says smoking or vaping is prohibited in stations and on trains, and its Customer Code of Conduct, revised on 28 Apr 2022, bars possessing, using or selling any illicit substance on BART vehicles, facilities and property. The code does not say whether state-legal cannabis counts as illicit, but California law separately bars smoking cannabis anywhere smoking tobacco is prohibited (Health and Safety Code 11362.3), and smoking in that law includes vaping.

Caltrain says smoking is prohibited on its trains and station property, and its Passenger Code of Conduct, adopted by its board on 3 Sep 2026, lists using or selling marijuana, tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaporizers or illegal drugs among prohibited actions. SMART's Code of Conduct says smoking any material by any means is not permitted on any SMART train or SMART property, and that violations may bring arrest, a fine, refusal of service or ejection from the system.

ACE, which runs between Stockton and San Jose, names cannabis too. Its Passenger Code of Conduct, adopted by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission on 1 Mar 2024, lists smoking tobacco, cannabis or any other substance on board, including e-cigarettes and vaping pens, as disorderly conduct. The same section prohibits consuming or possessing any illegal or controlled substance, without saying how it treats cannabis that is legal under state law.

Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road ban smoking on trains, in indoor station areas and on outdoor ticketing, boarding and platform areas, Metro-North's rule naming vaping too, and both bar consuming any controlled substance except under a valid prescription (21 NYCRR 1085.5 and 1097.5). State law settles the cannabis question: New York's smoke-free law, which defines smoking to include cannabis, bans smoking and vaping on public mass transit, in terminal waiting areas and on MTA railroad platforms (Public Health Law 1399-o).

NJ Transit says smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited on all its vehicles, stations and platforms. New Jersey's cannabis law reaches the same place: it bars smoking, vaping or aerosolizing cannabis in any public place, and it defines public place to include public transportation facilities and the vehicles used for public transportation (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10a and 24:6I-33). NJ Transit trains into New York Penn Station also cross a state line, which both states' regulators say cannabis may not do.

Metra's Passenger Code of Conduct, effective 1 Feb 2024, names marijuana outright. It prohibits smoking any kind of tobacco or marijuana, or using e-cigarettes or vaporizers, on trains, in stations and within 15 feet of station entrances, and it bans possessing or consuming illegal narcotic substances. Metra adopted the code under a 2023 Illinois law that lets transit agencies act against riders, and the policy allows Metra to suspend riding privileges or confiscate fare media.

Smoking is banned on all eight systems in this section, and most of their rules name vaping too, though none of the rules we read names cannabis. In Boston, the MBTA prohibits smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes in all of its stations and vehicles and says breaking its rules can bring tickets, fines or arrest. Massachusetts law adds its own layer: the smoke-free law bans smoking on public transportation and in train and bus stations (M.G.L. c. 270, s. 22(b)(2)), smoking cannabis anywhere tobacco smoking is banned carries a civil penalty of up to $100 (M.G.L. c. 94G, s. 13(c)), and the Cannabis Control Commission says cannabis may not be used in any form in public places.

In Seattle, Sound Transit tells riders on its buses and trains not to smoke, vape or consume alcohol or drugs, and King County Metro's code of conduct makes smoking or carrying a lighted pipe, cigar or cigarette in a transit vehicle or on a tunnel platform a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both. State law makes the same conduct a misdemeanor on any transit vehicle or at any station (RCW 9.91.025) and treats public conveyances and their depots and waiting rooms as public places, where consuming cannabis is a class 3 civil infraction with a $50 maximum before assessments (RCW 66.04.010, 69.50.445, 7.80.120).

In Detroit, DDOT says city code makes it illegal to smoke on its buses and that violators may face a fine of up to $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both (Detroit Municipal Code 58-4-2). The People Mover bans smoking on its trains and station platforms, the QLINE streetcar's code bars smoking, vaping and alcohol, and SMART's rules bar smoke-producing products, e-cigarettes included, on its buses and at its facilities. Michigan's adult-use law adds that it does not authorize consuming marijuana in a public place, a term it leaves undefined (MCL 333.27954, 333.27953).

In Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority bans smoking in its vehicles and facilities and bars using or possessing a controlled substance, without saying how it treats cannabis that is legal under Ohio law. Breaking its code can lead to removal, suspension from service or prosecution. Ohio law makes smoking on a regional transit authority's vehicles or in its facilities, where the ban is clearly marked, a minor misdemeanor for a first offense (R.C. 2917.41), and it allows smoking or vaping cannabis only on private residential or agricultural property (R.C. 3796.06(C)(2)).

No smoking or vaping of any substance. TriMet's rules for riding say smoking of any kind is prohibited on its buses and trains and on all TriMet property, shelters included. Its code bars anyone aboard a TriMet vehicle, at a TriMet station or where signs prohibit smoking from smoking an electronic cigarette, tobacco or any other substance, inhaling water vapor through a heated device, or carrying any heated, lighted or smoldering substance, and it bars eating aboard its vehicles (TriMet Code 28.15(A)(2), (3)). A violation is punishable by a fine of up to $250, with a presumptive fine of $175, and staff may refuse entry or require a rider to leave (TriMet Code 28.20); TriMet's rules page adds that violations can bring exclusion from the system.

Portland Streetcar says smoking is prohibited on board and at all shelters and platforms, and that eating is not allowed on the streetcar. Oregon law adds its own ban: the cannabis law treats areas used in connection with public passenger transportation as public places, and using marijuana items there is a Class B violation, which can bring a fine of up to $1,000 (ORS 475C.009, 475C.377, 153.018). Neither TriMet's code nor the streetcar's rules name cannabis.