If you are 21 or older in New York, you can carry up to 3 ounces of cannabis flower and up to 24 grams of concentrate on you at any time. At home, the limit is higher: up to 5 pounds total. Those three numbers cover almost every question people ask us at the counter on Main Street.
The limits come from the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, the 2021 law that legalized adult-use cannabis in New York. They have not changed since. Here is what each number means in practice, why home and away are different, and how to stay well inside the line.
What you can carry away from home
Out in public, on your person, in a bag, or in your car, the cap is 3 ounces of flower and 24 grams of concentrate. Concentrate covers things like vape cartridges, rosin, live resin, and the oil inside edibles. Flower and concentrate are counted separately, so you can be at both limits at once and still be legal.
For scale, 3 ounces is a lot. A common retail flower package is an eighth, which is 3.5 grams. There are a little over 28 grams in an ounce, so 3 ounces is roughly 85 grams, or about two dozen eighths. Most people walk out of a dispensary holding a small fraction of the legal carry limit.
How much cannabis can you legally carry in New York?
Adults 21 and older can carry up to 3 ounces of cannabis flower and up to 24 grams of concentrate on their person, in a bag, or in a vehicle. These are counted separately, so you can hold both maximums at once. The numbers come from New York's Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
What you can keep at home
Inside your residence, the limit is more generous. New York allows adults to keep up to 5 pounds of cannabis at their home. That higher cap exists partly to make room for home cultivation, which New York also permits, so a personal harvest plus retail purchases does not instantly put a legal grower over the line.
Five pounds is far more than a typical customer will ever stock. The practical takeaway is simpler: you do not need to rush to use anything, and a few weeks of stock at home is nowhere near a legal concern. The bigger issue at home is freshness and safe storage, not the cap.
Home growing has its own rules
Home cultivation is legal for adults 21 and older in New York. Each adult may grow up to six plants, three mature and three immature at a time, with a maximum of twelve plants per household no matter how many adults live there. Plants must be kept in a secured spot that people under 21 cannot readily access.
How much cannabis can you keep at home in New York?
Adults 21 and older may keep up to 5 pounds of cannabis at their private residence. The home limit is higher than the public carry limit partly to accommodate legal home growing. Cannabis kept at home must be stored securely and out of reach of anyone under 21, children, and pets.
Where the limits stop mattering: consumption
Carrying within the limit is one thing; using in public is another. In New York you can generally consume cannabis wherever you can smoke tobacco, plus in private homes. You cannot use it in a motor vehicle, even parked, on federal land like national parks, or in many public outdoor spaces and state parks. When in doubt, save it for home.
Three ounces on you, five pounds at home, and nothing in the car. That sentence covers the law most people actually run into.
A note for visitors riding the Hudson Line up to the Rivertowns: the same possession limits apply to you whether you live here or are visiting for the day. There is no resident-only rule. Buy within the limit, keep it sealed in your bag, and consume privately, not on the Metro-North platform or along the Old Croton Aqueduct trail.
None of this is a prescription, and effects may vary. Please consume responsibly. If you want to talk through how much to buy for a first trip versus a restock, our budtenders at The Highline on Main Street do this all day. Browse the real menu and place an order for pickup or same-day Rivertowns delivery at /order.