Maryland Cannabis Laws 2026: Purchase Limits and Fines

Yes, cannabis is legal for adults in Maryland. Anyone 21 or older can buy, carry and use it, and Maryland cannabis purchase limits cap how much you can buy in one day at a licensed dispensary. Maryland is not medical-only: adult-use sales started on July 1, 2023, and the older medical program still runs alongside it.

The same limit that controls your cart also controls what you can carry. Go a little over it and you face a civil fine. Go well over it and you face a criminal charge. Smoking in public, driving impaired and growing too many plants carry their own penalties.

This guide covers buying, possession, where you can use cannabis, driving, home grow, fines, taxes, medical rules and travel. We checked it against the Maryland Code, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) and Maryland regulations in November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Key takeaways

Adults of legal age can shop at any licensed Maryland dispensary with a valid photo ID, and visitors from other states can shop too.
The amount you can buy in a day is also the amount you can legally carry, so stocking up over several trips doesn’t work.
Small overages bring a civil fine, but larger amounts, unlicensed selling and extra plants are crimes.
Public smoking is banned. Use cannabis on private property where the owner allows it, and never drive impaired.
Rules differ by state. Never take cannabis across state lines, and check the MCA before you rely on any rule.

Is cannabis legal in Maryland?

Yes, for adults 21 and older. Voters approved legalization in November 2022, and the Cannabis Reform Act of 2023 set up the adult-use market. The rules for shoppers sit in the Criminal Law Article (section 5-101 defines the legal amounts, and sections 5-601 and 5-601.2 cover possession and growing). The Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, Title 36, governs the market, and the MCA’s rules are in COMAR Title 14, Subtitle 17.

ID rules for residents and visitors

Maryland doesn’t limit sales to residents. At the counter, staff must check a valid, unexpired photo ID that shows your birth date. COMAR 14.17.12.04 lists the IDs a store accepts:

A driver’s license or state photo ID from any state or Washington, DC
A U.S. passport or passport card, or a foreign passport
A U.S. military ID or a tribal card

Student IDs aren’t accepted. Stores also check every sale against the state tracking system, which is why your ID gets scanned. See why dispensaries scan your ID.

How much cannabis can you buy in Maryland?

Adult-use shoppers can buy up to the “personal use amount” in a single day. The law sets it in three forms: dried flower (including pre-rolls), concentrates (vapes, wax, shatter, rosin and similar) and infused products (gummies, chocolates, drinks, capsules and tinctures). The infographic below shows each number.

Here is how the limit works in practice:

It’s per day, not per visit. Under COMAR 14.17.12.04, staff may not knowingly sell more than the personal use amount to one person in a single day, even across several stores.
Mixed carts share the limit. The MCA tells stores that a shopper who buys the maximum of one form can’t add any other form. Most registers count each item as a share of the total.
Vapes count as concentrate. Vape carts and devices are weighed against the concentrate limit.
Clones and seedlings. Stores can sell young plants for home growing, within the plant limit.
Staff can say no. Agents may refuse a sale if you seem impaired or appear to be buying for someone else to resell.

Visitors get exactly the same limits as residents. Registered medical patients follow a separate, larger 30-day allowance, explained below. To find a store, use our dispensary finder, and check any new shop against the MCA’s licensee list with our guide on how to tell if a dispensary is licensed.

How much cannabis can you have?

Maryland uses one possession limit for everywhere: your home, your pocket and your car. The personal use amount you can buy is also the most you can have on you without a penalty. Above that sits a “civil use amount” band, where you get a fine but not a criminal record. Above that band, possession is a misdemeanor.

In public: You may carry up to the personal use amount, but you can’t smoke it there.
At home: Homegrown cannabis counts too. The plant limit is part of the personal use amount.
In a vehicle: The same amount applies. Keep it sealed and out of reach (see the driving section).
Sharing: Adults can give another adult up to the personal use amount if nothing of value changes hands. A “free gift” tied to a paid item isn’t a gift under the law.

Potency caps for edibles and concentrates

Adult-use edibles, capsules and tinctures have a per-serving and per-package THC cap, and single concentrate products have a weight cap. Stronger products are reserved for registered patients. A canned drink counts as one serving. The infographic lists the caps, and our edible THC limits by state guide compares Maryland with its neighbors.

Hemp products are covered too. The MCA says hemp-derived products above a very low THC level per serving or per package must be made, tested and sold through the licensed cannabis system, not at gas stations or smoke shops. See is THCA flower legal for the federal side.

Maryland cannabis limits at a glance

Where can you use cannabis in Maryland?

The short answer is private property, with the owner’s permission. Smoking cannabis or hemp in any public place is a civil offense, and the MCA lists parks, streets, sidewalks, bars, restaurants, public transit and indoor workplaces as public places.

Your home: Allowed, including smoking, vaping and edibles.
Rentals: Landlords and property managers can ban smoking and growing in the lease. Condo and HOA rules can do the same.
Hotels: Most ban smoking in rooms. Ask before you book.
Lounges: State law allows on-site consumption licenses, where cannabis may be consumed but not smoked indoors. The MCA was not yet issuing them as of November 2026, and none were legally open that we could confirm.
Workplaces: Employers can still bar use and impairment on the job. A 2026 law adds protections only for fire and rescue workers who are medical patients.
Campuses: Colleges that take federal funds ban cannabis on campus and in dorms.
Federal land: National parks, military bases and other federal property follow federal law, where possession is still illegal.

Driving and cannabis in Maryland

Driving while impaired by drugs or a controlled dangerous substance is a crime under Transportation Article section 21-902. Maryland has no per se THC blood limit. Officers judge impairment from driving behavior, field tests and drug recognition exams, and a blood test may follow. Registered patients can be charged too.

Inside the car, keep these rules in mind:

No one in the vehicle may smoke cannabis in the passenger area on a public road (Criminal Law 10-125). That includes passengers.
Carry cannabis in its sealed package, ideally in the trunk, so no one can reach it while you drive.
Police can’t start a stop or search based only on the smell of cannabis or on a legal amount, under Criminal Procedure 1-211. Evidence found that way can’t be used, even with consent.

Read our cannabis and driving laws guide for how testing works across states.

Can you grow cannabis at home in Maryland?

Yes. Adults 21 and older can grow up to two plants per household, no matter how many adults live there. Criminal Law 5-601.2 adds these conditions:

Plants can’t be visible from public view, including from a neighbor’s property, without binoculars or aircraft.
You must take reasonable steps to keep plants away from anyone under 21, such as a locked grow tent or room.
You can grow only on property you lawfully occupy, or with the owner’s consent.
No one under 21 may grow cannabis.

Renters need the landlord’s permission, and leases can ban growing outright. You can’t sell homegrown cannabis, but you can gift it within the personal use amount.

Maryland cannabis fines and penalties

Maryland separates civil offenses, which work like a ticket, from crimes that can bring jail and a record. The table runs from the least to the most serious charges. Courts may also send people under 21 to a drug education program. Under 18, cases go through the juvenile system.

Offense	Type	Maximum fine	Possible jail
Smoking in a vehicle’s passenger area on a road (CR 10-125)	Civil	$25	None
Smoking in public, first offense (CR 5-601)	Civil	$50	None
Smoking in public, repeat offense	Civil	$150	None
Under 21 with up to the personal use amount	Civil	$100	None
Carrying the civil use amount (above the personal limit)	Civil	$250	None
Carrying more than the civil use amount	Misdemeanor	$1,000	6 months
Growing more than the plant limit (CR 5-601.2)	Misdemeanor	$5,000	3 years
Selling without a license or possession with intent to distribute (CR 5-602, 5-607)	Misdemeanor	$5,000	3 years
Driving impaired by drugs, first offense (TR 21-902(c))	Misdemeanor	$500	2 months
Driving impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, first offense (TR 21-902(d))	Misdemeanor	$1,000 to $1,200 (sources differ)	1 year
Possessing 50 pounds or more (CR 5-612)	Misdemeanor (volume dealer)	$50,000	10 years
Crossing state lines or possession on federal land	Federal crime	At least $1,000 for simple possession	1 year (first offense)

For a criminal-amount possession case, officers must try a criminal citation before an arrest. Repeat impaired-driving charges carry higher penalties, so check with the Maryland Judiciary or a lawyer if you’ve been charged.

Cannabis taxes you pay at the register

Adult-use cannabis and cannabis products carry a 12% state sales and use tax. The rate rose from 9% on July 1, 2025. Counties and cities can’t add their own cannabis tax, so the rate is the same everywhere in the state.

A $40 pre-roll pack, for example, comes to $44.80 at the register. Accessories such as rolling papers and glass pipes are charged the regular 6% sales tax instead. Registered medical patients pay no sales tax on cannabis within their certified amount. Compare rates with our cannabis tax rate by state guide.

Medical cannabis patients in Maryland

The medical program still matters after legalization, mainly for limits, taxes and product access. The main differences:

Larger allowance: The standard certification is 120 grams of flower or 36 grams of THC in processed products over a rolling 30-day window. A certifying provider can set a higher or lower amount.
Shared allowance: The MCA tracks flower and THC as percentages of one limit, so buying one form reduces the other.
Stronger products: Patients can buy higher-strength edibles and larger concentrates that adult-use shoppers can’t.
Under 21: Younger patients can join the program, and minors buy through a registered caregiver.
Registration: It’s free. A plastic card is optional and costs extra, and a digital ID works at the counter.
Use it or lose it: A new written certification becomes void if it isn’t used for a purchase within 120 days.

Stores must give patients either a daily patient-only hour or a dedicated patient line. Patients still can’t smoke in public or drive impaired.

Travelling with cannabis from Maryland

Cannabis has to stay in Maryland. Taking it into Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia or Washington, DC is a federal offense, even when the other place also allows cannabis, and each neighbor has its own possession rules. Mailing or shipping it is also illegal.

At BWI and other airports, TSA screening follows federal law. TSA officers don’t hunt for cannabis, but they refer what they find to local police, and airlines can refuse it. See can you bring weed on a plane. Cruise terminals and ferries crossing state lines follow federal rules too.

Maryland cannabis at a glance

$28.7Madult-use cannabis sales tax collected from April to June 2026 (Comptroller of Maryland, 2026)

$1B+expected combined adult-use and medical sales in 2025 (Maryland Cannabis Administration, 2025)

175,000+cannabis convictions pardoned by Governor Moore in June 2024 (Office of the Governor, 2024)

13%of Maryland adults reported cannabis use in the past 30 days in 2023 (MCA biannual study, 2025)

Recent changes and what’s next

June 2024: Governor Wes Moore issued a mass pardon covering simple cannabis possession and paraphernalia convictions.
July 1, 2025: The cannabis sales tax rose from 9% to 12% under the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025.
July 1, 2025: Delivery to adult-use shoppers moved to licensed micro dispensaries. A 2026 law (HB 622) lets standard and converted dispensaries keep delivering to medical patients through June 30, 2027.
2025: Senate Bill 215 changed on-site consumption rules, limiting lounges to places where local law allows them.
2026 session: Lawmakers passed changes to advertising rules (SB 594) and agent training (HB 622). Bills to allow cannabis drinks in liquor stores and to make smoking in a car with a child a misdemeanor did not get a vote.
Federal hemp change: A 2025 federal law narrows the definition of hemp, which will remove most intoxicating hemp products from federal protection. It was set for November 12, 2026, and Congress voted in September 2026 to push most of it to December 11, 2026. Check the current date before you buy hemp THC products.

We found no statewide cannabis question on Maryland’s November 3, 2026 ballot. Check the State Board of Elections for local questions.

For dispensaries and delivery services

Run a store or delivery service? Our Maryland dispensary and delivery rules guide covers buying stock, Metrc tracking, delivery vehicles and advertising. For license types and rounds, see our cannabis license guides.

Frequently asked questions

Can tourists buy cannabis in Maryland?

Yes. Any adult with a valid ID showing they’re old enough can buy, including foreign visitors with a passport. Plan to use it on private property where you’re staying, and finish or leave it behind before you head home.

Can I get cannabis delivered in Maryland?

Yes, from a licensed micro dispensary, to a home address in its service area. Deliveries run only from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., you’ll need to give your name and birth date when you order, and the driver checks your ID before you pay. Anonymous orders aren’t allowed.

Can I smoke cannabis on my porch or balcony?

On your own property, usually yes, if it isn’t a public place and your lease or HOA allows it. In apartments, shared balconies and common areas often count as smoke-free under building rules, so read the lease.

Can I use drive-thru or curbside pickup?

Yes, at stores the MCA has approved for it. Curbside spots must be close to the store entrance and covered by cameras, and you still show ID before the hand-off.

Can a dispensary keep my purchase history?

Only with your clear permission. Maryland rules bar stores from building a customer profile without your consent, and they can’t refuse to sell to you if you say no.

Can I bring my kids into a dispensary?

Generally no. Stores are limited to adults and registered patients and caregivers. Young children may enter only with a patient or caregiver, and only if the store allows it.

Sources

Last updated: November 2026. Laws and prices change; always check your state or provincial regulator.