Cannabis in California

California allows adults 21 and older to use cannabis under Proposition 64, approved by voters on November 8, 2016, and licensed adult-use sales have run since January 2018. Adults 18 and older may also buy with a physician's recommendation for medicinal use. Every retailer, delivery service, grower and manufacturer needs a license from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), which the state created in July 2021 by merging three earlier cannabis programs. Cities and counties can ban shops or set stricter rules, so access varies widely.

Adults may possess, buy or give away up to 28.5 grams of non-concentrated cannabis and 8 grams of concentrate, and may grow six plants at home (local rules can require permits or indoor grows). Retailers may sell an adult-use customer no more than 28.5 grams of flower, 8 grams of concentrate and six immature plants per day; medicinal patients can buy up to 8 ounces a day, or more if their recommendation says so. Delivery is legal statewide through licensed retailers, including delivery-only (non-storefront) licensees.

Cannabis may be used on private property but not in public places such as restaurants and bars. It is illegal to smoke wherever tobacco smoking is banned or within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or youth center while children are present, and open containers are not allowed in vehicles. Landlords and most hotels can prohibit use. Some cities license on-site consumption lounges, such as those in West Hollywood and San Francisco.

Buyers pay a 15% state cannabis excise tax (it briefly rose to 19% from July to September 2025 before AB 564 restored 15% on October 1, 2025), then sales tax on the total, plus any local cannabis tax. Patients with a state Medical Marijuana Identification Card and ID are exempt from sales tax but not the excise tax. Licensed stores must display their license with a QR code, and the DCC license search lets shoppers verify any business before buying.