Federal update: DOJ partially rescheduled medical cannabis to Schedule III (April 28, 2026 final order). State-licensed medical operators may apply for expedited DEA registration through June 27, 2026; DEA hearing on full rescheduling set for June 29, 2026.
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State-by-State Cannabis Gifting Laws

The legal headroom for cannabis gifting changes at every state line. Some states allow an ounce; some allow two-and-a-half; one (Vermont) has been particularly aggressive about banning commercial workarounds. This page walks through the rules that actually matter and the federal backdrop that applies everywhere.

Last verified: April 2026

The Four Federal Rules That Override Everything

Before any state limit applies, these federal rules apply in every U.S. state, every tribal nation, and every airport:

  • Both parties must be 21 or older. No exception.
  • No money, goods, or services exchanged. The second anything of value is traded, it becomes distribution under federal law.
  • No interstate transport. Federal minimum for a first-offense interstate trafficking charge is 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
  • No USPS, FedEx, UPS, or common-carrier shipping. Every one of these is a federal felony, tracked automatically, and prosecuted regularly.

Adult-Use States — Gifting Limits

California

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower or 8 grams of concentrate to another adult. No sales without a license. Gifting must be personal — “gifting parties” charging cover and including cannabis are treated as unlicensed retail under Bureau of Cannabis Control guidance.

Michigan

Adults 21+ may gift up to 2.5 ounces of flower or 15 grams of concentrate. Michigan’s limit is among the most generous in the country. The state’s BYOC lounge culture leans heavily on this — guests often bring product gifted by a friend to consume at a licensed consumption establishment. See our BYOC rules page.

Vermont

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower or 5 grams of concentrate. The important Vermont detail: the Attorney General issued guidance in 2018 explicitly banning commercial gifting workarounds. Businesses that sell a non-cannabis item and “gift” cannabis in the transaction are considered unlicensed retailers and have been prosecuted as such. Vermont was one of the first states to draw this line clearly.

Colorado

Adults 21+ may gift up to 2 ounces of flower or 8 grams of concentrate. Private gifting between adults is unrestricted within the possession limit; commercial workarounds are prohibited.

Washington

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower, 16 ounces of infused solid, 72 ounces of infused liquid, or 7 grams of concentrate. Washington’s relatively generous infused-product limits make it one of the easier states for gifting prepared edibles.

Oregon

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower in public or up to 8 ounces of flower from a private residence. Oregon also permits gifting of seeds (up to 10) and immature plants (up to 4), which is unusual.

Nevada

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower or 1/8 ounce of concentrate. Nevada’s lounge law prohibits outside cannabis (see our Nevada lounges page), so gifted product cannot be brought into a state-licensed lounge — only consumed at a private residence.

Massachusetts

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower or 5 grams of concentrate in public, or possess up to 10 ounces at a private residence. Commercial workarounds are prohibited.

New York

Adults 21+ may gift up to 3 ounces of flower or 24 grams of concentrate. New York’s limit is one of the most generous in the country, and the state’s enforcement focus has been on the unlicensed “gifting shop” storefronts that proliferated before licensed retail caught up, not on private gifting between individuals.

New Jersey

Adults 21+ may gift up to 1 ounce of flower. New Jersey’s CRC guidance treats gifting with any exchange of value as unlicensed sales; enforcement has focused on delivery services offering “free” cannabis with purchases of other items.

Illinois

Adults 21+ may gift up to 30 grams of flower, 5 grams of concentrate, or 500mg of THC in infused products. Illinois residents have slightly higher possession limits than non-residents — something that matters when gifting between an Illinois host and an out-of-state guest.

Other Adult-Use States

Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Virginia all permit personal gifting within their possession limits. Limits vary from 1 ounce (most) to 2.5 ounces (Michigan, some others). Each state treats commercial workarounds differently; most have followed Vermont’s example and banned the T-shirt-plus-cannabis model.

When in doubt, stay well under the limit

If you are gifting across a situation where the recipient may already have cannabis on hand, the combined possession between the two of you is what gets you into trouble. Gifting a modest quantity (an eighth, a pre-roll, a small edible pack) keeps everyone comfortably within any state’s ceiling.

Medical-Only and Prohibition States

In states without adult-use legalization, personal gifting is not protected. Cannabis possession of any amount is technically illegal, and so is giving it to another person. Medical patients are typically limited to possessing their own legally obtained product and may not share it with caregivers, family members, or other patients.

In prohibition states (Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and others), gifting even a small amount can result in felony distribution charges. Do not travel to a prohibition state with cannabis you intend to gift.

D.C. — A Category Of Its Own

D.C.’s Initiative 71 allows personal gifting of up to 1 ounce of flower between adults 21+, but the “gifting economy” that grew up around it has been aggressively unwound by the 2025–2026 ABCA enforcement push. Thirty-three unlicensed gifting shops have been shut down. Private gifting between individuals remains legal; commercial gifting models do not. See our D.C. gifting page for the full story.

Tribal Nations

Federally recognized tribes that operate their own cannabis programs — the Paiute of Las Vegas, the Mashantucket Pequot, the Eastern Band of Cherokee, and others — set their own gifting rules. If you are on tribal land, the tribe’s rules govern. The best default is to treat any product purchased on tribal land as stay-here product: consume it there or leave it there.

A Word On Enforcement

Private gifting between adults, done modestly and in a state that permits it, is very rarely prosecuted. Enforcement energy is directed at commercial workarounds, interstate trafficking, and gifting to minors. Keep your gifting personal, proportional, and in-state, and you are well within the safe zone.

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