New Hampshire Cannabis Laws: Possession, Penalties, and Medical Use

New Hampshire has not legalized recreational cannabis. Under current New Hampshire cannabis laws, possessing three-quarters of an ounce or less is a civil violation with a $100 fine for a first or second offense, medical patients can buy from seven licensed dispensaries, and anything beyond the decriminalized limit is a misdemeanor or felony. Home growing is illegal for everyone, including registered patients.

What Decriminalized Possession Actually Covers

If you are 18 or older and carrying three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana or less, the offense is treated as a civil violation rather than a crime. A first or second offense carries a $100 fine. A third offense within three years rises to $300. A fourth offense within three years becomes a class B misdemeanor, which is a criminal charge.¹

People under 18 caught with the same amount are handled differently. Instead of a fine, the case triggers a juvenile delinquency petition and moves into the juvenile court system.¹

Decriminalization only reaches possession. Buying, selling, growing, and public consumption are all still prohibited. It is also strictly a state-law rule. Possessing any amount of marijuana on federal land inside New Hampshire, including the White Mountain National Forest, remains a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

Criminal Penalties Above the Decrim Line

Cross the three-quarter-ounce line and the consequences change sharply. Cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance under the state’s Controlled Drug Act,² and RSA 318-B:26 sets the criminal penalties.

Possession

Possessing more than three-quarters of an ounce is a misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum $350 fine and up to one year in jail. Larger quantities, or evidence pointing to intent to sell, push the charge to a class B felony with fines up to $25,000. A second felony offense becomes a class A felony with fines up to $50,000.³

Sale and Distribution

Selling cannabis without a license is a felony at any amount. The penalty tiers:

Less than one ounce: up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
One ounce or more: up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Five pounds or more: up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $300,000. A repeat offense at this level can carry up to 40 years and a $500,000 fine.

Enhanced penalties apply when the sale happens near a school or involves a minor.³

Home Cultivation

Growing cannabis at home is illegal for everyone, including registered medical patients. All legal cannabis has to come from a licensed dispensary.⁴ Cultivation falls under manufacturing, and the felony tiers track the sale schedule:

Less than one ounce produced: up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
One ounce or more: up to 7 years and up to $100,000.
Five pounds or more: up to 20 years and up to $300,000.

Repeat offenses roughly double the maximum penalties across all tiers.³

The Medical Cannabis Program

The Therapeutic Cannabis Program under RSA 126-X is the only legal path to buying cannabis in New Hampshire. Registered patients purchase from Alternative Treatment Centers, the state’s licensed nonprofit dispensaries. There are seven ATC locations statewide, and a patient or caregiver may buy from any of them.⁵

Qualifying Conditions

A patient qualifies with either a stand-alone qualifying condition or a combination of a qualifying diagnosis and a qualifying symptom. Stand-alone conditions include moderate to severe chronic pain, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder (with age-specific requirements), and opioid use disorder. Patients 21 and older can also qualify under a catch-all covering any debilitating or terminal condition where the certifying provider believes the benefits of cannabis outweigh the risks.⁶

A combination diagnosis pairs a listed condition (cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, lupus, and others) with at least one qualifying symptom such as severe pain, seizures, persistent muscle spasms, cachexia, or severe nausea.⁶ A licensed physician or APRN must certify the condition and submit documentation to the Department of Health and Human Services, which issues the registry identification card.

Possession and Purchase Limits

Registered patients may possess up to two ounces at any time and may purchase up to two ounces in any 10-day period. That limit covers all forms combined: flower, concentrates, and edibles. Exceeding the purchase limit can cost you your registry card.⁷

Caregivers

Patients who cannot get to a dispensary can designate a caregiver to buy and transport cannabis for them. Caregivers must be at least 21, hold a registry card, and have no felony convictions. A caregiver may assist up to five patients, or up to nine if both the caregiver and the patient live more than 50 miles from the nearest dispensary.⁸

Out-of-State Patients

Since June 2023, ATCs have been able to sell to visiting patients from other states and Canadian provinces. Visitors must present a valid out-of-state therapeutic cannabis ID card along with matching photo identification. They can generally make up to three purchases per year, but if their qualifying condition also appears on New Hampshire’s approved list, they may purchase at the same frequency as in-state patients. The two-ounce possession limit applies to everyone.⁹

Where You Cannot Use It

In Public

Public use is off-limits even for registered patients. Therapeutic use is confined to privately owned property, and only with written permission from the property owner. On leased property, the tenant may grant permission, but not if the lease bans smoking.⁷ Smoking or vaporizing cannabis in parks, on beaches, on public buses, or in other public areas can lead to arrest, and a patient caught doing it can lose their registry card.

Behind the Wheel

Driving while impaired by cannabis is prosecuted under the same statute as alcohol DUI.¹⁰ New Hampshire has no per se THC limit, so officers rely on field sobriety tests, Drug Recognition Expert evaluations, and sometimes blood or saliva testing. A first offense is a class B misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine and a license suspension of at least nine months, up to two years.¹¹ Repeat offenses bring longer suspensions, mandatory substance abuse programs, and potential jail time. A medical cannabis card is not a defense.

At Work

Employers do not have to accommodate medical cannabis use. The Therapeutic Cannabis Program statute preserves an employer’s right to discipline workers for using cannabis at work or working while impaired.⁷ Having cannabis at your workplace without written employer permission also falls outside the medical program’s protection and could lead to arrest. Employers may run pre-employment drug tests, enforce drug-free workplace policies, and terminate employees who test positive. A positive cannabis test can cost you a job offer or your current job even with a valid medical card, and it is especially common in federally regulated fields like transportation and healthcare.

Clearing an Old Marijuana Conviction

If you have a past marijuana conviction in New Hampshire, you may be able to petition to have your record annulled. The waiting period after finishing your sentence depends on the level of the offense:

Violations (decriminalized possession): eligible one year after completing the sentence.
Class B misdemeanors: eligible after two years.
Class A misdemeanors or felony drug offenses under RSA 318-B:26: eligible after two years.

The court grants annulment if it finds the petition will assist in rehabilitation and is consistent with the public welfare. Prosecutors have 20 days to object after being notified. Fees can total up to $300: $100 for the Department of Corrections investigation, $100 for the Department of Safety to correct the criminal history record, and up to $100 for State Police to remove the annulled record. Violent felonies and felony obstruction of justice convictions cannot be annulled, but most marijuana-specific offenses are eligible.¹²

1
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes 318-B:2-c – Personal Possession of Marijuana
2
United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Scheduling
3
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 318-B:26 – Penalties
4
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Therapeutic Cannabis
5
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Alternative Treatment Centers
6
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Qualifying Medical Conditions
7
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 126-X:3 – Prohibitions and Limitations on the Therapeutic Use of Cannabis
8
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes 126-X:1 – Definitions
9
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Therapeutic Cannabis Patients Visiting from Other States Are Authorized to Access New Hampshire’s Therapeutic Cannabis Dispensaries
10
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes 265-A:2 – Driving or Operating Under Influence of Drugs or Liquor
11
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 265-A:18
12
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 651:5 – Annulment of Criminal Records