Key Takeaways
- Weed is legal for recreational use in Massachusetts. If you’re over 21, you can have 1 ounce on your person or up to 10 ounces locked away at home.
- If you have more than 1 ounce out of the house (but less than 2 ounces), the only punishment is a $100 civil fine and the loss of the extra marijuana.
- Medical marijuana is legal for people with a certification from a physician in Massachusetts, with patients eligible to have a 60-day supply (10-ounce guideline).
Weed is legal in Massachusetts for both recreational and medical use. The Massachusetts recreational marijuana law was approved by voters in 2016 and sales began in late 2018.
Since then, any adult aged 21 or older in the state has been legally allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana in their personal possession or up to 10 ounces at home.
Medical users can have larger amounts, depending on what their physician determines they need. While everything is basically legal in Massachusetts, as in any legal state, there are still rules you need to know to make sure you stay on the right side of the law.
Is Weed Legal in Massachusetts?
Weed is legal for both recreational and medical use in Massachusetts. Adults aged 21 or over can have 1 ounce on their person and 10 ounces locked up at home.
Is Recreational Weed Legal in Massachusetts?
Yes, you can buy weed for recreational use in Massachusetts.
Voters in the state passed Question 4 in 2016, and it was written into state law with the limits from the ballot. The law stipulates that adults aged 21 or over can possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana on their person, with at most 5 g of this being concentrate.
You can also have up to 10 ounces in your primary residence (you should lock it up), and you can have up to 6 plants per person and the marijuana produced by them. You can also transfer, without payment, weed to another adult with the 1-ounce limit.
Penalties for Excess Marijuana Possession
Although you can have plenty of marijuana legally, there are punishments for having excess marijuana.
- If you have more than an ounce on your person but less than two ounces, you’ll be given a civil penalty of $100 and will have to forfeit the excess marijuana. However, you cannot receive jail time for this.
- For more than two ounces, in the first instance, you can receive a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both.
- For a second or subsequent offense, the punishments increase to up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.
Is Medical Marijuana Legal in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts’ medical marijuana program passed by popular vote in 2012, making it legal for qualifying patients in the state to possess and use marijuana.
As in most states, this is only for specific qualifying conditions, but as a medical patient, you can possess more cannabis than a regular adult user. Medical patients are also permitted to cultivate up to 12 flowering and 12 non-flowering plants.
Patient Possession Limits
There is no specific possession limit written into Massachusetts law, but it does say that patients can have a “60 day supply” of weed.
This makes the actual limit dependent on what a day’s supply is for the specific patient, which is really down to what your physician determines is enough.
The state has also placed a guideline of up to 10 ounces, but your healthcare provider can deem that more is medically necessary.
How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card?
The process for getting a medical marijuana card in Massachusetts is basically the same as in any other medical state. The first step is getting an appointment with a certifying health care provider (which can include physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) and being diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions:
- Cancer
- Glaucoma
- HIV/AIDS
- Hepatitis C
- Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS)
- Crohn’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Other debilitating conditions as determined in writing by a certified physician
With the last option basically covering anything your doctor thinks is appropriate to be treated with cannabis. They will issue you a written certification for the medical use of cannabis, and you can use this to register for the program online.
The Cannabis Control Commission stopped charging a fee for registration, but if you need a replacement card it costs $10 unless you can opt out because of financial hardship.
You have to renew annually, including a new visit to your healthcare provider for certification.
Can You Consume Weed in Public?
As in most states that have legalized marijuana, you can’t smoke, vape, or eat cannabis products in public in Massachusetts.
The state imposes a maximum $100 fine for consuming marijuana in public or where smoking is banned.
Theoretically, the state allows for social consumption venues (i.e. approved sites where you can consume weed, like bars for alcohol), but practically this hasn’t happened (officially) yet for a variety of reasons. If localities approve such venues, these would be exempted from the law.
Can You Drive Under the Influence of Marijuana?
You can’t drive under the influence of marijuana in Massachusetts (or anywhere else).
There is an implied consent law in the state, which means that you’ve consented to blood and breath tests automatically by choosing to drive in Massachusetts.
However, the law stipulates that the tests are for “intoxicating liquor” without mentioning drugs, which led NORML to conclude that such tests are voluntary in the case of marijuana or controlled substances.
However, this is no guarantee that refusal will lead to positive outcomes for you in practice.
If you’re convicted of a DUI, the punishments are:
- For a first offense, you’ll be fined between $500 and $5,000, be imprisoned for up to 30 months (i.e. two and a half years), or possibly both. Your license will also be suspended for a year.
- For a second offense, you’ll be fined between $600 and $10,000 and you’ll receive between 60 days and 30 months in prison (with 30 days as a mandatory minimum). Your license will be suspended for two years.
- For a third offense, the fine increases to between $1,000 and $15,000, and between 180 days and 5 years in state prison, with 150 days being a mandatory minimum. Your license will be suspended for 8 years.
- For a fourth offense, everything increases even more: fines from $1,500 to $25,000, imprisonment for between 2 years (one-year mandatory minimum) and 5 years, and license suspension for 10 years.
- For a fifth offense, fines increase to between $2,000 and $50,000, prison time could be anything from 30 months (two years mandatory minimum) to 5 years, and your license will be revoked for life.
Is Delta-8 THC Legal in Massachusetts?
Delta-8 THC cannot be legally sold as hemp in Massachusetts.
State law defines hemp in the same way as the Federal Farm Bill, based on the delta-9 THC content, and makes “hemp” (as defined) legal in the state.
However, the law gives the Department of Agricultural Resources the authority to determine “reasonable commercial uses” of hemp, and they have determined that delta-8 THC products don’t qualify.
It is technically possible that delta-8 THC could be sold in the adult-use marijuana program, but this doesn’t appear to happen.
RELATED: Delta-8 THC Laws Explained
Is Weed Decriminalized in Massachusetts?
Weed is legal in Massachusetts, so decriminalization really doesn’t capture the reality of the situation anymore.
Technically, possession of between 1 and 2 ounces on your person is decriminalized, because this can only be punished by a civil fine.
Is Growing Weed Legal in Massachusetts?
Growing weed is legal in Massachusetts, through both the medical and recreational cannabis programs.
Recreational consumers can grow up to 6 plants, provided they are aged 21 or over and that there are no more than 12 plants at any one household (regardless of the number of adults present).
The plants must be hidden from public view (unless they use visual aids, drones or so on), and they should be in a locked area. The punishment for breaking these rules is a $300 civil fine and forfeiture of the marijuana.
As a medical patient, you can grow up to 12 flowering plants and 12 non-flowering plants. If you qualify for hardship cultivation, you can grow enough to meet your 60-day supply allowed under the medical program.
Conclusion
Massachusetts has legalized weed for recreational use and also offers a strong medical marijuana program, making it one of the best states for weed smokers in the country. Of course, there are rules, such as not consuming marijuana in public and the expected limitations on driving after smoking, but overall the state is very permissive towards marijuana.
The situation for delta-8 THC isn’t so great, but with such loose rules around possessing, buying and growing, the demand for delta-8 will probably be fairly low anyway.