Overview

This policy topic covers state statutes and regulations governing the cultivation, sale, possession, or use of cannabis for other than medical (hereafter referred to as “recreational”) purposes in states that have legalized cannabis.

In this context, “legalized" means that no civil or criminal penalties are imposed for the recreational use of cannabis by an adult. “Legalized” should not be confused with “decriminalized,” which means that no criminal penalties are imposed for certain activities, although some activities may result in civil penalties. Some States have decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis but have not fully legalized such use.

For purposes of this policy topic, “cannabis” refers to a genus of flowering plant of the Cannabaceae or hemp family, including Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis, which together are also commonly known as marijuana. This policy topic covers legal provisions that pertain to the dried tops, leaves, stems, and seeds of the plant, as well as products derived from them, such as concentrates, oils, and edibles.

Cannabis contains chemical compounds called cannabinoids. One important cannabinoid is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which has a psychoactive effect and is the chemical commonly associated with recreational use. Another cannabinoid is cannabidiol, or CBD, which has a sedative and mildly analgesic effect and is the chemical often associated with medicinal use.

Note that APIS does not include information on the legal use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. For policy data regarding medical cannabis, researchers may wish to consult the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s “Prescription Drug Abuse Policy System,” available at: https://pdaps.org/ or the National Conference of State Legislatures’ “State Medical Marijuana Laws” page, available at: https://www.ncsl.org/health/state-medical-cannabis-laws.

Use of Pesticides

States may impose restrictions on whether and how pesticides are used in the production of recreational cannabis, and whether states require testing the product for pesticide presence. If a state is listed as “restricted”, it means that there are limitations on how pesticides may be used in the production of recreational cannabis. This includes restricting certain products or ingredients entirely, and only allowing ingredients or products from a state-approved list. Additionally, a state may require that the cannabis is tested for the presence of one or more pesticides. Most states that restrict pesticides also require testing in some form. 

Health & Safety Warning Requirements

Most states that permit retail sale of recreational cannabis require the use of health and/or safety-related warnings on labels and packaging. APIS tracks eight different health/warning labels that may be required. Most states mandate the inclusion of multiple of these warnings. 

•    Pregnancy. 

•    Breastfeeding. 

•    Child Access. 

•    Impairment of Driving. 

•    Serving Size. 

•    Presence of Cannabis or THC. 

•    Amount of THC. 

•    Other:  This category pertains to warnings not discernibly among the first seven listed items. Examples include: intoxicating or delayed effects of cannabis; its habit forming/addictive nature; the health risks of use; instructions for use; legal requirements; the presence of allergens in products; lists of pesticides used in the product, and more. 

The most common health and safety warning requirements are the inclusion of the amount of THC in the product, noting whether cannabis or THC is present in the product, and warnings around the impact of the product on pregnant persons.  

Note that this policy variable does not include requirements for ingredients lists or nutrition information or any other food-specific, non-cannabis-related regulatory requirements. 

Packaging Requirements

States regulate packaging requirements for cannabis products sold in retail settings. As tracked by APIS, these requirements include packaging intended to reduce youth appeal and access. This includes products that: are child-proofed to prevent accidental ingestion; are opaque to reduce visibility and prevent appeal to minors; and, include universal symbols to indicate the presence of cannabis. Additionally, states may require packaging that is tamper-proof or tamper-resistant; tamper-evident, so that it can be determined if the product has previously been opened; and limitations on serving size. Other requirements may include: having resealable packaging when multiple serving sizes are present; having no deceptive marks on packaging; having no images that appeal to children; and more. Most states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use include a packaging requirement that cannabis products be child-proof. 

Explanatory Notes and Limitations Specifically Applicable to Cannabis Packaging / Health & Safety Requirements

1. The Recreational Use Legalized column displays a check mark for jurisdictions that have legalized the purchase, possession, or consumption of cannabis for recreational use by an adult resident. For purposes of this topic:

• "Legalized" means no civil or criminal penalties are imposed for at least one of following activities with respect to the recreational use of cannabis by an adult resident: purchase, possession, or consumption
• "Recreational" means for other than medical purposes
• "Adult" means a person 21 years of age or older

This topic does not address prohibitions or penalties that may exist in the jurisdictions that have not legalized recreational cannabis use as defined here.

Note that although a jurisdiction may have legalized recreational cannabis use as defined here, certain limitations may nevertheless be imposed, for example limits on the amount that a person may purchase or possess, or restrictions concerning the locations in which cannabis may be consumed. This topic does not currently address these limitations.

2. Some Recreational Use of Cannabis laws have different effective dates for various provisions. For example, the date establishing a licensing system for the cultivation, testing, manufacturing, processing, distribution, transportation, and retail sale of recreational cannabis may be a year or more earlier than the date when recreational cannabis may lawfully be sold to the public. If significant terms of a State's policy become effective on one date, even though full implementation or enforcement is not effective until a later date, the earlier date is displayed in the comparison tables. In such cases, a Row Note is included to indicate the date when the program is to be fully implemented and enforceable.

3. The Packaging Requirements variable addresses requirements applicable to the physical packaging of recreational cannabis specifically. This variable does not address requirements that apply to the packaging of food, agricultural, or consumer products in a State generally, or that apply only to cannabis cultivated or produced for medical use in a jurisdiction. “Serving Size” is coded when there is a requirement that cannabis product packaging apportion or allow for the apportionment of the product into one or more particular servings, for example by:

• packaging the product into designated servings;
• physically scoring, marking or separating the product into identifiable servings; or
• providing a means for the consumer to apportion the product into designated servings.

4. For purposes of the Health & Safety Warning Requirements variable, “Serving Size” is coded when there is a requirement that the label or packaging of a cannabis product state or identify the number of servings and/or the serving size of the product.

5. The Use of Pesticides variable addresses requirements that apply to the cultivation and production of recreational cannabis specifically. This variable does not address requirements that apply to the cultivation or production of food, agricultural, or consumer products in a State generally, or that apply only to cannabis cultivated or produced for medical use in a jurisdiction. In the jurisdictions that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis, the law typically defines “pesticides” to include any substance intended to prevent or control any form of plant or animal life normally considered a pest, including substances commonly referred to as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, etc. APIS has adopted this definition for purposes of this variable.

Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to All APIS Policy Topics

1. State law may permit local jurisdictions to impose requirements in addition to those mandated by State law. Alternatively, State law may prohibit local legislation on this topic, thereby preempting local powers. For more information on the preemption doctrine, see the About Alcohol Policy page. APIS does not document policies established by local governments.

2. In addition to statutes and regulations, judicial decisions (case law) also may affect alcohol-related policies. APIS does not review case law except to determine whether judicial decisions have invalidated statutes or regulations that would otherwise affect the data presented in the comparison tables.

3. APIS reviews published administrative regulations. However, administrative decisions or directives that are not included in a State's published regulatory codes may have an impact on implementation. This possibility has not been addressed by the APIS research.

4. Statutes and regulations cited in tables on this policy topic may have been amended or repealed after the specific date or time period specified by the site user's search criteria.

5. The operation or enforcement of statutes or regulations affecting the policies addressed on APIS may have been suspended or modified by executive or administrative orders issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  With the exception of the COVID-19 Digest and Dataset, APIS research does not address these orders or the effects they may have on the policies covered by APIS.

6. Policy changes in APIS are presented as of the date these changes take effect as law. Users should be aware that in some situations there may be a delay between the effective date of a law and the time a corresponding policy change occurs in practice. Because APIS research is based entirely on primary legal source materials (codified statutes and regulations and, on rare occasions, published court opinions), APIS is unable to accurately determine when policy changes may appear in practice.

7. If a conflict exists between a statute and a regulation addressing the same legal issue, APIS coding relies on the statute.

8. A comprehensive understanding of the data presented in the comparison tables for this policy topic requires examination of the applicable Row Notes and Jurisdiction Notes, which can be accessed from the body of the table via links in the Jurisdiction column.

APIS reviews federal law pertaining to the use of cannabis, including its classification as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Discussion of this law and its implications, as well as the interplay of federal law and state law on cannabis, is available at this link.

FEDERAL CITATIONS AND RELEVANT TEXT EXCERPTS

21 U.S.C. § 812

§ 812. Schedules of controlled substances

(a) Establishment

There are established five schedules of controlled substances, to be known as schedules I, II, III, IV, and V. Such schedules shall initially consist of the substances listed in this section. * * *

21 U.S.C. § 841

§ 841. Prohibited acts A

(a) Unlawful acts

Except as authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally--

(1) to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance; or

(2) to create, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to distribute or dispense, a counterfeit substance.

21 U.S.C. § 844

§ 844. Penalties for simple possession

(a) Unlawful acts; penalties

It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess a controlled substance unless such substance was obtained directly, or pursuant to a valid prescription or order, from a practitioner, while acting in the course of his professional practice, or except as otherwise authorized by this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter. * * *

* * *

21 U.S.C. § 846

§ 846. Attempt and conspiracy

Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense defined in this subchapter shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy.

Source for all citations on this page: www.govinfo.gov/, a service of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). Excerpts from the United States Code are current as of 2024. Excerpts from the Code of Federal Regulations are current as of 2025. Excerpts from Public Laws of Congress are current as of the year of enactment. The GPO’s Public Domain & Copyright Notice is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/about/policies#copyright.

Legalization

1. Carlini, B. H., Kellum, L. B., Garrett, S. B., & Nims, L. N. (2024). Threaten, Distract, and Discredit: Cannabis Industry Rhetoric to Defeat Regulation of High-THC Cannabis Products in Washington State. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 85(3), 322-329.
2. Schauer, G. L., Johnson, J. K., Rak, D. J., Dodson, L., Steinfeld, N., Sheehy, T. J., ... & Collins, S. P. (2023). A research agenda to inform cannabis regulation: how science can shape policy. Clinical therapeutics, 45(6), 506-514.

Cannabis Packaging / Health & Safety Requirements

1. Cooper, M., & Shi, Y. (2023). Appeal rating and visual attention associated with youth-appealing cannabis packaging: An eye-tracking experiment. Drug and alcohol dependence, 253, 110992.
2. Dilley, J. A., Hendrickson, R. G., Everson, E. M., & Jeanne, T. L. (2024). Monitoring Cannabis Adverse Events: Lessons From Edible Packaging Policies and Child Poisonings. American Journal of Public Health, 114(S8), S631-S634.
3. Gantiva, C., Illidge-Cortes, J., González-Millares, D., Maldonado-Hoyos, V., & Valencia, L. (2024). Health warning labels on cannabis products. What is the best design?. International Journal of Drug Policy, 126, 104355.
4. Massey, Z. B., Hammond, D., & Froeliger, B. (2023). A systematic review of cannabis health warning research. Preventive medicine reports, 102573.
5. Woods, L. (2023). I Can’t Believe It’s Not Skittles! Broad Summary of Advertising and Packaging Regulations for Cannabis Dispensaries in New York State.

• Warning Signs: Drinking During Pregnancy
• Warning Signs: Drugs During Pregnancy

Cannabis Policy Taxonomy

How to Measure Law for Quantitative Research – A Resource Guide 

Sources of Data to Measure the Outcomes of Policy Change

Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking 

Peer-Reviewed Publications Using APIS Data 

Federal Cannabis Law