Growing Weed Legally at Home
Growing weed at home is legal for adults 21 and older in many U.S. states and in Canada, but each place sets its own plant limits, and some states allow use but not home cultivation. Below are the rules state by state, plus countries and distance limits. Laws change often, so check official sources.
For every home-grow law guide in one place, see our Laws & Legal Home Growing topic guide.
Guides in this series
- Schedule 3 and home growing: How Schedule 3 changes growing cannabis at home.
- Marijuana growing licenses: A step-by-step guide to getting a cannabis grow license.
- Decriminalization vs legalization: The difference between marijuana decriminalization and legalization.
- History of legal cannabis in the USA: The history of legal cannabis in the USA, from ancient times to today.
- Selling homegrown weed: Whether selling your homegrown weed is legal.
Legality of Growing Weed
In Many Places Weed is Legal
If you plan to start cultivating your own weed at home, it is good to know the laws of the land for your own safety. There are different types of cannabis laws which make it legal to use but not to grow, so you have to get it from a dispensary, or in some cases, you can do both.
If you live in Canada, you are in luck because it is one of the countries where the federal government fully legalized cannabis on October 17, 2018. Each household is now permitted to grow up to 4 plants at home (Quebec and Manitoba do not allow home growing). Before that, growing for recreational purposes was strictly prohibited. Growing cannabis at home was for medical reasons only.
Alaska permits the use, possession, purchase, and cultivation of marijuana with a few rules and regulations of course. In California, adults over the age of 21 can possess 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of marijuana concentrate. Those so inclined can grow up to 6 living marijuana plants per private residence.
In 2013 Uruguay completely legalized all forms of cannabis so long as you are 18 years or older and a resident.
Related: The Costs of Growing Marijuana
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Cannabis Should Be Legal, It’s Just a Plant
It’s crazy that a plant such as cannabis with so many health benefits is even illegal in many places. A plant that naturally grows in nature should be accessible to all who need it or simply want to enjoy the experience. Nature provides everything needed to live happy, healthy, and whole lives.
This includes marijuana!
Marijuana has so many potential uses for patients suffering from chronic pain, insomnia, PTSD, seizures, and more. It’s a plant, it’s natural, and it won’t poison us, so there is no valid reason to make it illegal.
Overview of All States/Countries Where Marijuana is Legal
We already listed a few places where it’s legal to grow marijuana such as California, Uruguay, Colorado, and Canada. Here is a general overview of all legal states/countries.
Please note that state cannabis laws change often, and some of the details below date from 2022. You should always confirm the most up to date statutes for your state when beginning a grow. For example, Connecticut adults 21 and older have been allowed to grow since July 1, 2023 (3 mature and 3 immature plants per adult, up to 12 plants per household).
| Place | Plant limit | Household max | Extra rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 6 living plants per residence | 6 | Per residence, not per person |
| Colorado | 6 per person, max 3 flowering | 12 | – |
| Massachusetts | 6 mature per person | 12 | Not visible from a public place |
| Michigan | 12 per home | 12 | Enclosed, not visible from a public place |
| New York | 6 per adult, 3 mature | 12 (6 mature) | Plants count toward the 3 oz limit |
| Ohio | 6 per adult | 12 | Enclosed, secured, out of public view |
| Nevada | 6 per adult | 12 | Only if over 25 miles from a retail shop |
| Canada | – | 4 per household | No home growing in Quebec or Manitoba |
Laws change often. Check your state’s official sources for the current rules before you plant.
Alaska
Adults 21 years of age or older may grow up to 6 plants total with no more than 3 being mature.
Arizona
Adults in a private residence may grow up to 6 plants for non-commercial purposes. Adults may transfer up to 6 plants to another adult– so you can share plants with your friends!
California
Adults 21 years of age or older may grow up to 6 living plants per private residence (not per person). Caregivers and patients may grow up to 6 plants.
Related: When to Plant Pot Outside in California
Colorado
Adult residents of Colorado are welcome to grow up to 6 plants per person so long as no more than 3 plants are in the flowering stage at any time. Only 12 total plants are permitted per residence no matter how many people are occupying the home.
Connecticut
Adults 21 years of age or older may grow up to 3 mature and 3 immature plants each, with a maximum of 12 plants per household (CGS 21a-278c).
District of Columbia
It is legal for an adult 21 years or older to cultivate up to 6 cannabis plants in their home so long as no more than 3 of them are mature. The maximum number of plants for a household is 12, with 6 or fewer being mature, flowering plants.
Hawaii
A registered medical marijuana patient is permitted to grow no more than 10 plants total and up to 4 oz. of usable weed jointly between the caregiver and patient. Marijuana can only be grown at either the caregiver’s residence or the qualifying patient’s home.
Maine
Maine residents can cultivate no more than 3 mature plants,12 immature plants, and as many seedlings as they want per home for recreational use. Adults are permitted to possess all marijuana produced by their plants.
Maryland
Maryland voters in 2022 have made it so that adults 21 and older are allowed to grow up to two plants for personal use. The best part is that cannabis can be gifted without remuneration. That means that you and your friends can all grow weed and share!
Massachusetts
If you are 21 or older, the law permits you to cultivate up to 6 mature plants per person for personal use. The max per household is 12 plants and they must not be visible from a public place. A qualifying medical marijuana patient may grow enough plants to produce a 60-day supply only for patient use.
Michigan
Adults 21 years old may cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants in their home for personal use in an enclosed facility. Plants must not be visible from a public place.
Minnesota
Adults 21 years of age or older may grow up to 8 plants per residence, with no more than 4 being mature (Minn. Stat. 342.09).
Missouri
As of 2022, adults 21 and older can grow up to six flowering marijuana plants, six immature weed plants, and six plants under 14 inches if they obtain a registration card.
Montana
Adults 21 and over may grow no more than two plants and two seedlings. In households with multiple adults, may grow a maximum of four plants and four seedlings.
Nevada
Adults 21 years old and older can legally grow up to 6 plants in their residence if they live more than 25 miles from a retail cannabis shop. The law allows up to 12 plants max per household.
New Mexico
Adults 21 and older may grow up to 6 mature and 6 immature plants each, with a maximum of 12 mature plants per household (NMSA 26-2C-25).
New York
Single adults can grow 6 plants, with 3 being mature. This goes up to 12 plants per household, 6 mature and 6 immature. However, it gets a little tricky as cultivating is also considered possessing some keep your plants small so you don’t go over the 3 oz limit for no penalty of possession.
Ohio
Adults 21 years of age or older may grow up to 6 plants each, with a maximum of 12 per residence, in an enclosed, secured area out of public view (ORC 3796.04, effective Mar 20 2026).
Oklahoma
Qualified medical marijuana patients may cultivate up to 12 plants with no more than 6 mature plants at any time.
Oregon
For personal use, growers 21 years of age or older are permitted to cultivate no more than 4 plants per home. Registered Oregon patients may have up to 6 mature plants at the registered residence.
Rhode Island
As of 2022, adults age 21 and over are allowed to grow up to 3 mature and 3 immature plants per dwelling unit with no penalty.
Vermont
All adults are permitted to grow up to 6 plants (2 mature and 4 immature) privately in their home. There is also no limit on the amount of homegrown weed you are able to have in your possession so, no worries about pulling down a big harvest.
Virginia
Those age 21 and older are permitted to grow up to 4 plants, with 4 being the maximum allowed per household. No marijuana plants may be visible to the public and each plant should be labelled with a tag that includes the grower’s name, an identification number, and a note saying this plant is intended for personal use.
Washington
Qualifying medical marijuana patients may cultivate as many as 6 plants and have up to 8 ounces of usable weed grown from their plants.
Canada
Households may legally grow up to 4 plants in total (Cannabis Act s.12(5)). Quebec and Manitoba do not allow home growing.
Grow rules by state
Home-grow laws differ by state and change often. This list is not legal advice; check your state’s official sources for the current rules.
- growing weed in Arizona
- growing cannabis in Florida
- growing weed in Georgia
- growing weed in Illinois
- growing cannabis in Massachusetts
- growing cannabis in Mississippi
- Montana cannabis grow rules
- growing cannabis in New Jersey
- growing cannabis in New York
- growing weed in Ohio
- growing cannabis in Pennsylvania
- growing cannabis in Texas
- growing cannabis in Virginia
List of Countries Where Marijuana is Legal
– Turkey legalized marijuana for medical use only.
– Uruguay is fully legal.
– Puerto Rico – legal for medicinal use
– Poland – partially medically legal
– The Philippines legalized it for medical use
– Mexico – medically decriminalized and legalized
– Macedonia – Medically legal
– Jamaica – partially legal/decriminalized for medicinal use
– Italy – medically legalized
– Israel – medically legalized
– India – illegal federally, however, legal in certain states
– Germany – medically legalized/decriminalized
– Czech Republic – medically legalized
– Croatia – medically legalized
– Colombia – medically legalized/decriminalized
– Chile – medically legalized
– Australia – medically legalized/partially decriminalized
– Argentina – CBD is legal and partially medically legalized/decriminalized
Overview of States with Distance Restrictions on Home Cultivation of Marijuana
Certain states extend grow and use limits based on how far you are from dispensaries. Living far from the city, for example, may make it hard to obtain marijuana when you need it.
Nevada
Any resident 21 years of age or older may grow up to 6 plants per person (12 per household) if they reside more than 25 miles from the closest marijuana shop.
Arizona
Medical marijuana patients living more than 25 miles from the closest cannabis dispensary may grow up to 12 plants at home.
Related: How Cannabis Became Pot
Growing Hemp for CBD
What about growing hemp for CBD? It’s also worth noting that many states in the US have restrictions for THC products only. With the passage of the Farm Bill, hemp is federally legal in the USA. Hemp is classified as any cannabis product with less than 0.3% THC. And the only way to know that a plant is hemp or marijuana is to have it tested which is expensive and labor intensive.
For example, Indiana has laws in place that classify marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. But, Indiana law also explicitly exempts CBD products from their criminal definition of marijuana. So, you can grow all the CBD weed you want in Indiana provided that the final product tests at less than 0.3% THC.
FAQs about How to Grow Weed Legally
What states can you grow your own weed 2022?
As of writing, only 13 out of 50 states in the U.S. have not legalized marijuana in any form—which means either for medical or recreational use. While different states have varying weed cultivation laws, here are the places where home cultivation is legal so you can grow your own weed at home.
For medical or recreational purposes:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
For medical use only:
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Washington
What US states have recreational cannabis or medical marijuana programs but NO legal home cultivation options?
Is weed really considered legal if you can’t grow it yourself? These are the states to pay attention to when it comes to your local ballot and make sure to vote when given the option for home cultivation of marijuana:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- West Virginia
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