California cannabis rules for visitors

Adults 21+ may buy up to 28.5 grams of non-concentrated cannabis and 8 grams of concentrate per day from a licensed retailer, including concentrate inside edibles, vapes, and tinctures. Medical patients with a physician's recommendation may buy more. Confirm current Department of Cannabis Control rules before you shop.

Visitors 21+ can buy at DCC-licensed shops with a valid government photo ID, an Armed Forces ID or a passport from any country; the ID rule has no residency condition. Use cannabis on private property where the owner allows it, not in public, and do not smoke or vape it in a hotel room, which state law has made smoke-free since 1 Jan 2024. Adult-use cannabis remains Schedule I under federal law, so keep it off federal land such as national parks and do not take it across state lines.

The regulator is the Department of Cannabis Control. Check any shop's license on the state license lookup before you buy.

Adults 21 and older can buy up to 28.5 g of non-concentrated cannabis, 8 g of concentrate and 6 immature plants from a licensed retailer in a single day (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, § 15409). The same 28.5 g and 8 g figures are the possession limits in Health and Safety Code 11362.1.

The 8 g limit counts concentrate inside products, so vapes, edibles and tinctures draw from it. The statute says concentrate counts "including as contained in cannabis products," and the retailer is responsible for working out how much a product holds. A shop also cannot stack adult-use and medicinal limits to sell you more than either allows.

You can give cannabis within those limits to another adult 21 or older, but only if nothing is paid for it. Every storefront must hold a license from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), and cities and counties can be stricter than the state. DCC's map counts 302 of California's 540 cities and counties that allow no retail cannabis business at all.

Licensed stores may sell and deliver only between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and a city or county can set shorter hours. Our first dispensary visit guide covers what happens at the counter.

Bring a valid ID that proves you are 21 or older: a government-issued document with your name, date of birth, height, gender and photo (a driver's license, for example), an Armed Forces ID, or a passport issued by the United States or any foreign government. 4 CCR 15404(c) lists these forms, and none of them depends on residency, so out-of-state and international visitors can use them.

The check happens at the door because 4 CCR 15402 lets customers into the retail area only after staff confirm age and identity. Business and Professions Code 26140 also bars a sale unless the buyer first shows ID that reasonably appears to be a valid government ID showing age 21 or older. DCC's retail page puts it in one line: retailers must verify age by checking ID. The rules require the check, not a particular device. When a shop scans your card, the scan is its way of doing the age and identity check the regulation requires.

Expired and paper IDs: no DCC page or regulation we found speaks to them directly. 4 CCR 15404 requires the retailer to inspect "a valid form of identification," and the government documents it lists carry a photo; it does not say whether an expired card or a paper temporary license without a photo counts. The clerk makes the final call at the counter. Bring an unexpired photo card or your passport and you avoid the question.

Medicinal customers can be 18 or older with a valid physician's recommendation. A store licensed only for adult use cannot let anyone under 21 inside, and staff who hand over curbside orders must verify age too.

Use cannabis on private property where the owner allows it. State law bans smoking or eating it in a public place, except at a lounge that a city or county has authorized (Health and Safety Code 11362.3).

Smoking is also banned anywhere tobacco smoking is banned, and within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center or youth center while children are present. Under Health and Safety Code 11362.3, vaping with an electronic device counts as smoking. DCC names restaurants and bars as public places where you cannot use cannabis.

Hotels cannot let you smoke or vape: since 1 Jan 2024 California law makes hotels, motels and other transient lodging 100% smoke-free, guest rooms included (SB 626, Labor Code 6404.5(e)), and cannabis may not be smoked where tobacco smoking is banned. For edibles, DCC says most hotels do not allow guests to use cannabis in their rooms and suggests asking the reception desk; in a vacation rental, ask the owner. Any private property owner can ban cannabis, and state and local agencies can ban it inside buildings they own, lease or occupy.

Cars, planes and federal land have separate rules, covered in the sections below.

Yes, where the city or county allows them. Business and Professions Code 26200(g) lets a local government authorize smoking, vaping and eating cannabis on the premises of a licensed retailer or microbusiness.

A lounge must keep the consumption area to adults 21 and older, post a warning at each entrance, and keep use out of view of any public place or area open to people under 21. Alcohol and tobacco cannot be sold or used on the premises.

Since AB 1775 (chaptered 30 Sep 2024), a local government can also let a lounge prepare and sell non-cannabis food and drinks and host live music or other performances with ticket sales. Lounges cannot prepare or sell hemp products. Where local rules allow, you can bring in or order non-alcoholic food from a restaurant or delivery service to the consumption area.

As of 23 Sep 2026 we did not find a statewide lounge list on DCC's site, so check with the city you are visiting. California also licenses temporary cannabis events, which DCC describes as lasting one to four days at a location the city or county approves, such as a county fair. Adults 21 and older can buy and consume on site, and alcohol and tobacco are not allowed.

Keep cannabis sealed or in the trunk, and do not drive high. Vehicle Code 23152(f) makes it unlawful to drive under the influence of any drug, and DCC says the potential penalties match those for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Health and Safety Code 11362.3 bars an open container or open package of cannabis while you drive or ride in the passenger seat of a car, boat, aircraft or other vehicle, and bars smoking or eating it while driving. Under Vehicle Code 23222(b), carrying an opened package or loose flower on your person while driving is an infraction with a fine of up to $100. The rule does not apply if the opened package is in the trunk.

Passengers cannot smoke or eat cannabis in a vehicle on a California highway either (Vehicle Code 23221). The California DMV handbook sums it up: if you carry cannabis in your vehicle, the container must be sealed and unopened.

Police can pull you over for a sobriety test if they suspect you are driving a car, boat or other vehicle under the influence. Vehicle Code 23152(f) does not set a THC number; the test is whether you are under the influence.

Not with adult-use cannabis. It remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and DCC says you cannot take cannabis across state lines.

A federal final rule that took effect 28 Apr 2026 (Federal Register 2026-08176) moved FDA-approved marijuana drugs and marijuana under state medical licenses to Schedule III. The same rule says marijuana outside those two categories "remains a schedule I controlled substance," which covers what you buy at a California adult-use counter. DEA's hearing on moving marijuana to Schedule III (Federal Register 2026-08177) took place from 29 Jun to 15 Jul 2026, and on 29 Sep 2026 DEA's Chief Administrative Law Judge stayed the case pending a motion to add a September 2026 GAO report to the record; the Federal Register had published no final rule on that change by 3 Nov 2026.

What TSA's page says: its "Medical Marijuana" entry, last updated 27 Apr 2026, lists "Yes (Special Instructions)" for carry-on and checked bags. It says officers do not search for illegal drugs but refer any illegal substance they find to law enforcement, and that the officer makes the final decision at the checkpoint. What it does not say: it never spells out the special instructions, it covers medical marijuana only, and it says nothing about adult-use cannabis or the laws of the state you are flying to.

The practical move: buy for the time you are in California, use it where it is allowed, and leave it here. If your trip continues east, see our tourist cannabis rules guide and the New York rules page.

No. DCC says you cannot use or possess cannabis on federal lands such as national parks, and the National Park Service says possession or use of marijuana inside any park unit (parks, preserves, rivers and monuments) is prohibited.

Death Valley National Park puts it directly: even though California and Nevada legalized recreational use, possession and use on federal lands is prohibited by federal law. The federal rule effective 28 Apr 2026 did not change this for adult-use cannabis, which stays in Schedule I.

If a trip includes a national park, leave cannabis at your lodging outside the park boundary, where the owner allows it.

Yes. Adults 21 and older can grow up to 6 living cannabis plants and keep what they produce, and the limit is 6 per private residence, not 6 per person (Health and Safety Code 11362.1 and 11362.2).

Plants, and any harvest above 28.5 g, must stay at the residence in a locked space that is not visible from a public place. A city or county cannot fully ban growing inside a private residence or a secure, enclosed accessory structure, but DCC notes that some require permits or indoor-only grows. Turning plants into concentrate with volatile solvents such as butane or propane is illegal.

Licensed retailers may sell immature plants only if they are not flowering and are under 18 inches tall and wide, up to 6 per adult-use customer per day. Breaking the home-grow rules is an infraction with a fine of up to $250.

You pay a 15% state cannabis excise tax on the gross receipts of each retail sale, plus sales tax. The 15% rate has applied since 1 Oct 2025, and AB 564 holds it there through 30 Jun 2028.

The rate moved in 2025. CDTFA raised it from 15% to 19% on 1 Jul 2025. AB 564 took effect 22 Sep 2025, returned the rate to 15% on 1 Oct 2025, and delayed the next rate adjustment until fiscal year 2028–2029.

Sales tax comes on top. It is calculated on the total after the excise tax is added, the statewide base rate is 7.25%, and district taxes push it higher in many areas. Your receipt must list the excise tax separately. Cities and counties can also tax cannabis retailers; since SB 1059 (2024), they cannot count state cannabis, sales and use taxes as part of the gross receipts they tax.

Holders of a state Medical Marijuana Identification Card who show it with a government ID pay no sales tax on medicinal purchases, but the excise tax still applies. From 1 Jan 2028, the excise tax will also apply to intoxicating hemp products sold at retail.

Yes, from a licensed retailer, to a physical address in California. DCC says licensed stores take online orders for delivery or in-store pickup. Under Business and Professions Code 26090, a city or county cannot stop a licensed delivery on public roads.

Only licensed retailers, microbusinesses and licensed nonprofits may deliver. Drivers cannot deliver to addresses on publicly owned land or in buildings leased by a public agency, or to K-12 schools, day care centers or youth centers. They cannot leave California with cannabis in the vehicle, and they must be back at the store by 10:00 p.m.

You sign the delivery receipt, by hand or electronically, when the order arrives. Keep a paper or electronic copy of your delivery request, because the law requires you to show it to officers on request. The delivery rules do not mention hotels, so confirm with your hotel before ordering to a room.

Adults 18 and older with a physician's recommendation can buy medicinal cannabis in California, with higher daily limits than adult-use customers. The state's Medical Marijuana Identification Card is optional.

A retailer may sell a medicinal patient up to 8 ounces of dried flower and 12 immature plants per day, or the amount a physician's recommendation specifies. Patients and caregivers may possess up to 8 ounces of dried cannabis per patient under Health and Safety Code 11362.77.

The card comes only from a county program, not from a physician or evaluation center. You must live in the county where you apply, the county fee cannot exceed $100 (half for Medi-Cal beneficiaries), and a card can be valid for up to one year. Enrollment is voluntary, and the card works in every county.

California does not recognize medical cards from other states, according to the California Department of Public Health. A visitor 21 or older shops as an adult-use customer.

Public use and open-package breaches are infractions with fines. Possession over the limit can bring up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.

An adult 18 or older with more than 28.5 g of cannabis or more than 8 g of concentrate faces up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both (Health and Safety Code 11357). People aged 18 to 20 caught with up to 28.5 g of cannabis or 8 g of concentrate commit an infraction with a fine of up to $100.

Using cannabis in a public place is an infraction with a fine of up to $100. Smoking where tobacco is banned, smoking within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center or youth center while children are present, or carrying an open container while driving is an infraction with a fine of up to $250, as is breaking the home-grow rules (Health and Safety Code 11362.4). An adult with cannabis on K-12 school grounds during school hours commits a misdemeanor even within the personal limit: a fine of up to $250 for a first offense, and up to $500, up to 10 days in county jail, or both for a later offense.

Driving under the influence is a separate offense under Vehicle Code 23152(f), and DCC says it carries the same potential penalties as an alcohol DUI.

Check the license in the window first. Retailers must display their state license where customers can see it, and you can scan its QR code to confirm the status, or look the shop up in DCC's license search. DCC warns that some stores that look legitimate are not licensed and may sell untested products.

Know edible onset times. DCC says edibles can take up to 2 hours to start working and up to 4 hours to reach full effect. Our edibles basics and how to read a label guides explain onset and labels in more detail.

Ask for the state brochure. Under SB 540, retailers must display a one-page brochure on responsible use and offer a copy to each new customer.

Store and dispose of products carefully. DCC advises keeping cannabis in a sealed child-resistant package, and single-use vapes and products with batteries count as hazardous waste. A licensed store may take back a product it sold you but cannot resell it, and state law (Business and Professions Code section 26000.5) bars licensed cannabis stores from selling industrial hemp until 1 Jan 2028 while DCC develops the rules that will let them sell it.