Updated 3/24/2021
Under California law, adults 21 or older can use, carry, and grow cannabis. You can also use cannabis if you are 18 or older and have a current qualifying physician’s recommendation or a valid county-issued medical marijuana identification card.
This page provides a high-level summary of cannabis for adult personal use, medical, and commercial activities in Ventura County. Please follow the links provided on this page for further information.
NOTE: Cannabis used as a drug remains classified as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and its purchase, possession, distribution, or use within California may be unlawful under federal law. While it is our intention to provide current information, this website is not for the purpose of providing legal advice and can become outdated. Contact your attorney if you have questions about cannabis, what is (or is not) legal under state or federal law or need legal advice.
Personal Adult Recreational and Medical Activities
- You can consume cannabis on private property, but you cannot consume, smoke, eat, or vape cannabis in public places.
- Property owners and landlords may ban the use and possession of cannabis on their properties.
- Even though it is legal under California law, you cannot consume or possess cannabis on federal lands like national parks, even if the park is in California.
- You can buy and possess up to one ounce (28.5 grams) of cannabis and up to eight grams of concentrated cannabis.
- For personal adult recreation and medical uses, you can also plant, harvest, dry, and process up to six cannabis plants in your private residence or on the grounds of your residence.
Commercial Cannabis Activities
Retail
- Commercial activities such as retail sale is currently prohibited in unincorporated Ventura County but is allowed in the following cities in Ventura County:
Cultivation
- In the November 2020 General Election, voters passed Measure O which is an ordinance that allows for the cultivation of cannabis in preexisting greenhouse and other specified indoor structures starting on January 1, 2021.
Industrial Hemp
Under California law, at the discretion of each county, county Agricultural Commissioners may accept applications for the cultivation of industrial hemp on behalf of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Hemp is defined as Cannabis sativa that is low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of Cannabis. It is grown locally for cannabinoid oils, (CBD, CBG, etc.), as “smokable” hemp, and for seed and nursery stock for those uses.
- Cultivation of flowering industrial hemp is currently prohibited in Ventura County within a quarter mile of certain sensitive sites including residential zones within cities, certain unincorporated residential areas, schools, daycare centers, colleges, medical facilities and the Tierra Rejada Valley area.
- Research plots of 5 acres or less, low-odor varieties, hemp grown in odor-controlled greenhouses, and hemp grown with the permission of all sensitive sites within a quarter mile are exempted from the prohibition.
- For more information, please refer to the following documents.
Resources
Ventura County Cannabis Information
- Medical Marijuana Identification Program
(Health Care Agency) - Commercial Cannabis Regulations Development History
(Resource Management Agency) - Industrial Hemp Program
(Agricultural Commissioner) - Cannabis Regulations
Cultivator Resources
State Resources for Cannabis
- California’s Cannabis Portal
- California Department of Food and Agriculture Cannabis Cultivation Licensing Program
- Cannabis and Pesticides – California Department of Pesticide Regulation
- California Industrial Hemp Program
Cannabis State Law Background
- Trailer Bill Consolidation of Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) and Proposition 64
- MMRSA of 2015 – Assembly Bill 243 (Wood) (PDF)
- MMRSA of 2015 – Assembly Bill 266 (Bonta) (PDF)
- MMRSA of 2015 – Assembly Bill 643 (McGuire) (PDF)
- Assembly Bill 21 (Wood) – MMRSA Clean Up
- Senate Bill 837 (Budget Committee) – MMRSA Clean Up, “Marijuana” Changed to Cannabis
- Proposition 64 – The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, Approved by Voters November 8, 2016
