The short answer
Five US states with legal adult-use sales ban home growing: Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Nevada sits in between. Adults there may grow six plants per person, 12 per household, if no licensed retail store is within 25 miles of the home.
where is recreational cannabis legal map
Outside the US, cannabis is legal nationwide in Canada, and two provinces, Quebec and Manitoba, prohibit home cultivation. Quebec's ban survived a Court of Appeal challenge in 2023.
States where sales are legal and growing is not
Washington
Voters approved adult-use sales in 2012. Possession of up to 1 ounce of flower is legal for adults 21 and older. Cultivation is not. Growing any number of plants at home remains a criminal offense. Bills to allow up to six plants have been filed in several sessions and have not passed.
New Jersey
Adult sales started in April 2022. The law that authorized them did not include home grow. Cultivation remains a criminal offense for adults, and medical patients cannot grow either. New Jersey blocks patients as well as recreational users, which makes it the strictest state on this list.
Where Is Cannabis Legal Globally? Country and State List
Illinois
Adult sales began Jan. 1, 2020. Adults 21 and older may buy and possess cannabis. They may not grow it. Registered medical patients are the exception. They may cultivate up to five plants in an enclosed, locked space. Anyone outside the medical program who grows faces criminal charges.
Rhode Island
Adult sales began in December 2022. The legalization law left home cultivation out. Registered medical patients and their caregivers may still cultivate under the medical program. Adults who grow without that registration break state law.
Delaware
Delaware legalized possession of up to 1 ounce for adults 21 and older in April 2023. Retail sales followed in 2025. Home cultivation was not part of either law. Medical patients also have no right to grow.
Nevada's distance rule
Nevada allows adults 21 and older to grow up to six plants, 12 per household, in a locked enclosure that is not visible from the street. The catch: the right applies when no licensed retail store sits within 25 miles of the residence. In Las Vegas, Reno, and most populated parts of the state, stores are closer than that. The rule ties home grow to retail access, so a store opening nearby can remove the right.
Medical states with no home grow
Several states allow medical cannabis and prohibit cultivation for everyone, patients included. Examples: Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah, Iowa, and New Hampshire. These states require patients to buy from licensed dispensaries.
Why the bans hold
States that ban home grow route all legal cannabis through licensed growers, testing labs, and retailers. Lawmakers cite product testing, seed-to-sale tracking, and tax revenue. Retail access is the trade. In Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey, dispensaries operate in most counties, so the argument that patients need a home supply carries less weight than it did in 2012 or 2015.
One result: in these states, convenience sets the terms. A resident with a store nearby can buy tested flower, edibles, and vapes, and cannot keep a plant under state law. In Nevada, the same logic is written into statute, with a 25-mile line that decides who may grow.
What to check before planting
- State statute. Search the state cannabis authority, not a dispensary blog.
- Medical registration. Illinois and Rhode Island allow patient cultivation. The card matters.
- Plant counts and enclosure rules. Counts differ, and most states require locked, non-visible space.
- Local and landlord rules. City ordinances and lease terms can prohibit growing where state law permits it.
- Federal law. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law, and federal property and housing rules follow that.