Key Takeaways
- Weed is legal for recreational use in New Jersey for adults aged 21 or over, with a purchase limit of 1 ounce and a possession limit of 6 ounces.
- Medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, with approved patients being allowed to purchase up to 3 ounces in a 30-day period.
- Home cultivation is currently not permitted in New Jersey, but lawmakers are trying to pass bills allowing it each year.
Weed is legal in New Jersey, both for recreational and medical use. Adults aged 21 or older can possess up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational use, and for medical patients, this is increased to three ounces.
Despite New Jersey weed laws being so relaxed, there are still some important rules you should know before you light up in the state, and especially before you grow.
New Jersey Cannabis Laws
Weed is completely legal in New Jersey, both for adults (21 and over) who want to use it for recreational purposes and for medical patients with a qualifying condition.
Recreational Cannabis Laws
New Jersey legalized recreational weed use in November 2020 through the ballot, with the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act.
This makes it explicitly legal (“not unlawful”) for adults aged 21 and over in the state to buy up to one ounce (28.35 grams) of marijuana, or 5 grams of concentrate, or 1000 mg of THC in the form of edibles like gummies.
People can mix these up too, so you could – for example – get 2.5 g of concentrate and half an ounce of flower. You can also transfer this amount legally if you aren’t paid for it.
Additionally, though, there are no punishments for possessing up to six ounces of cannabis.
Penalties for Excess Possession
As in most legal states, there are still limits to how much weed you can have in New Jersey.
However, bill A1897 makes it clear that punishments only actually start if you have more than 6 ounces of cannabis, with anything less effectively decriminalized if not outright legalized.
If you have more than six ounces, it’s considered a crime of the fourth degree, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
Medical Cannabis Laws
Medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, and the most important of the New Jersey medical marijuana laws is S 88, the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.
This allows qualifying patients with a state-issued weed card to buy marijuana from an Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) in the state.
Medical Marijuana Patient Possession Limits
Medical marijuana patients in New Jersey can legally possess up to 3 ounces in a 30-day period.
However, patients who are terminally ill or in hospice care don’t have a possession limit.
How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card in New Jersey?
You need a New Jersey medical marijuana card before you can purchase from an ATC.
The process for getting one is similar to the process in other states, starting when you book an appointment with a physician in the state who is registered with the program.
He or she will have to diagnose you with one of the following qualifying conditions:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Anxiety
- Cancer
- Chronic pain
- Dysmenorrhea
- Glaucoma
- Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
- Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity
- Migraine
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Opioid Use Disorder
- Positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Seizure disorder, including epilepsy
- Terminal illness with a prognosis of less than 12 months to live
- Tourette’s Syndrome
If your physician agrees that you have one of the qualifying conditions and that cannabis will be helpful in your case, he or she will give you a recommendation and a reference number you’ll need for your application.
Get this, together with a recent, full-face, front-facing photograph (the type you’d use for an ID or passport), a government-issued photo ID and proof of your New Jersey residency and go to the Medical Marijuana Program’s New Patient Registration page.
You’ll also have to pay a $10 fee if you want a physical card, which is valid for two years.
Can You Consume in Public in New Jersey?
New Jersey recreational and medical cannabis consumers can smoke cannabis anywhere smoking is allowed.
However, New Jersey’s Smoke Free Air Act outlaws smoking in most public spaces.
Can You Drive Under the Influence of Cannabis?
As is basically true for every state in the country, it’s illegal to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana in New Jersey.
As well as it being illegal to actually operate the vehicle yourself under the influence, it’s also illegal to allow somebody who is under the influence to operate your vehicle or one under your custody.
The state has an implied consent law, but it only applies to alcohol. This means that any test you take to determine whether or not you’re high is solely at your own discretion, and you can’t be punished for refusing to submit to such a test.
However, you can get in trouble for refusing to test for alcohol, and officers can still determine that you’re impaired even without definitive chemical evidence.
If you’re convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana in New Jersey, the punishments are:
- For a first offense, you’ll receive a fine of between $300 and $500, between 12 and 48 hours of detainment, a maximum of 30 days imprisonment, and your license will be revoked for between seven months and a year.
- For a second offense, the fine increases to between $500 and $1,000, you’ll receive 30 days’ community service, you’ll be imprisoned for between 48 hours and 90 days (which can’t be suspended or served on probation), and you lose your license for two years.
- For a third or subsequent offense, you’ll receive a fine of $1,000 and will be imprisoned in a county jail or workhouse for at least 180 days. However, up to 90 days of this (at the court’s discretion) can be replaced with time in an inpatient drug rehab program. You’ll lose your license for 10 years, and after this, you’ll need to have an ignition interlock device in your vehicle.
Is Delta-8 THC Legal in New Jersey?
Yes, delta-8 THC is legal in New Jersey.
State lawmakers passed A 1330, which follows the federal Farm Bill’s guidance and legalizes “hemp” and derivatives provided they contain less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight.
This means that delta-8 is legal by default, and unless other specific rules were passed on the topic, it can be sold pretty much freely.
However, since it’s a legal state, any further regulation would likely just incorporate it into the New Jersey recreational weed program.
RELATED: Delta-8 THC Laws Explained
Is Weed Decriminalized in New Jersey?
Weed is legal for adults in New Jersey up to 1 ounce, but technically, for amounts between 1 ounce and 6 ounces, it’s decriminalized.
This is because there is no criminal charge for this offense, and not even a petty fine or something similar. In short, New Jersey weed law is essentially beyond decriminalization at this point.
Is Growing Weed Legal in New Jersey?
Despite New Jersey’s recreational weed law allowing adults in the state to buy cannabis from dispensaries, growing your own is still illegal.
Essentially the only people who are allowed to grow cannabis are people with approved cultivator licenses, and there is no equivalent system for private individuals.
This has attracted criticism, so it may change in the future, but so far efforts have not been successful.
Things get much worse because the punishments are actually very harsh. Have six ounces in a duffel bag and you can basically get off scot-free, but grow one plant and you’ve committed a felony.
- For less than 10 plants, you can be sentenced to between 3 to 5 years in jail and a fine of up to $25,000.
- For between 10 and 50 plants, it increases to 5 to 10 years in jail and a $150,000 maximum fine.
- For 50 or more plants, you’ll get a sentence of between 10 and 20 years and a fine of up to $300,000.
In short, just use the dispensaries for now and wait for the law to change in the next few years if you want to grow. Many bills have been proposed in 2024 to allow home cultivation.
Conclusion
Weed is legal for both recreational and medical use in New Jersey, and the state has permissive laws on things like delta-8.
However, the cultivation laws are draconian, so it’s important to avoid growing your own and just use the adult-use dispensaries or ATCs in the state.
If you’re 21 or older, you can buy an ounce (or equivalent) very easily and won’t get punished if you have up to 6 ounces (or equivalent), and you can smoke it freely in private places.