Is Weed Legal in New York? (2026)

Instrument

Personal use of cannabis

Source

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/222.05

Retrieved

2026-11-07

Fingerprint

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§ 222.05 Personal use of cannabis.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary:

1. The following acts are lawful for persons twenty-one years of age
or older: (a) possessing, displaying, purchasing, obtaining, or
transporting up to three ounces of cannabis and up to twenty-four grams
of concentrated cannabis;

(b) transferring, without compensation, to a person twenty-one years
of age or older, up to three ounces of cannabis and up to twenty-four
grams of concentrated cannabis;

(c) using, smoking, ingesting, or consuming cannabis or concentrated
cannabis unless otherwise prohibited by state law;

(d) possessing, using, displaying, purchasing, obtaining,
manufacturing, transporting or giving to any person twenty-one years of
age or older cannabis paraphernalia or concentrated cannabis
paraphernalia;

(e) planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, processing or
possessing cultivated cannabis in accordance with section 222.15 of this
article; and

(f) assisting another person who is twenty-one years of age or older,
or allowing property to be used, in any of the acts described in
paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subdivision.

2. Cannabis, concentrated cannabis, cannabis paraphernalia or
concentrated cannabis paraphernalia involved in any way with conduct
deemed lawful by this section are not contraband nor subject to seizure
or forfeiture of assets under article four hundred eighty of this
chapter, section thirteen hundred eleven of the civil practice law and
rules, or other applicable law, and no conduct deemed lawful by this
section shall constitute the basis for approach, search, seizure, arrest
or detention.

3. Except as provided in subdivision four of this section, in any
criminal proceeding including proceedings pursuant to section 710.20 of
the criminal procedure law, no finding or determination of reasonable
cause to believe a crime has been committed shall be based solely on
evidence of the following facts and circumstances, either individually
or in combination with each other:

(a) the odor of cannabis;

(b) the odor of burnt cannabis;

(c) the possession of or the suspicion of possession of cannabis or
concentrated cannabis in the amounts authorized in this article;

(d) the possession of multiple containers of cannabis without evidence
of concentrated cannabis in the amounts authorized in this article;

(e) the presence of cash or currency in proximity to cannabis or
concentrated cannabis; or

(f) the planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, processing or
possessing cultivated cannabis in accordance with section 222.15 of this
article.

4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section shall not apply
when a law enforcement officer is investigating whether a person is
operating a motor vehicle, vessel or snowmobile while impaired by drugs
or the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs
in violation of subdivision four or subdivision four-a of section eleven
hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, or paragraph (e) of
subdivision two of section forty-nine-a of the navigation law, or
paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks,
recreation and historic preservation law. During such investigations,
the odor of burnt cannabis shall not provide probable cause to search
any area of a vehicle that is not readily accessible to the driver and
reasonably likely to contain evidence relevant to the driver’s
condition.