There is no federal right to grow cannabis at home. Cultivation is legal only in states that have passed their own authorization, and the terms come from state law, not federal law. Most legal states allow a set number of plants per adult, cap the total per household, and require that plants stay out of public view. Hemp, the plant class used for most CBD, runs on a separate federal track. If you want to know what applies to you, the state where the plants sit is the deciding factor.
Hemp and marijuana follow different rulebooks
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and defined it as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis. Hemp growers need a license issued under a USDA-approved state, tribal, or federal plan, and crops must be sampled and tested before harvest. Marijuana cultivation is not covered by that framework. Any cannabis plant above the THC threshold, grown without state authorization, is treated as marijuana under federal law regardless of the strain name on the seed packet.
Prerequisites before you plant
- Know your state category: recreational, medical-only, low-THC/CBD-only, or fully prohibited.
- Check your city and county ordinances, since local bans are common even in legal states.
- Hold a valid medical cannabis card if your state permits cultivation for patients only.
- For hemp, hold an active USDA or state hemp license tied to the exact grow location.
- Confirm you own the property or have written permission from the owner.
How to check your state's cultivation rules
- Search your state legislature's website for the statute that legalized cannabis or hemp and read the cultivation section.
- Identify the state agency that regulates cannabis, usually a department of agriculture, revenue, or health.
- Look up the plant count per adult and the separate household maximum, because the two numbers often differ.
- Check whether plants must be indoor, locked, tagged, or kept in a secured enclosure.
- Verify whether home grow is limited to medical patients or open to any adult of legal age.
- Read your city and county code for a local prohibition or stricter plant cap.
- Confirm seed, clone, and plant sourcing rules, since some states restrict where genetics may come from.
- Print or save the current rule text and note the date, because these limits change between legislative sessions.
Limits that show up in most legal states
- Plant caps per adult commonly land between three and six, with household caps around six to twelve.
- Plants must be hidden from public view and reachable only by the person allowed to grow them.
- Growing for sale without a license is a separate and more serious offense than growing for personal use.
- Possession limits on harvested flower are usually measured separately from the plant count.
- Some states allow no home grow at all, even where retail sales are legal.
Where CBD buyers fit in
Buying CBD is not the same act as growing cannabis. A finished CBD product sold across state lines is regulated as a hemp-derived good, provided the THC content stays within the federal limit and the source farm held a valid license. That is why lab testing matters: a certificate of analysis shows the THC level and confirms the product came from compliant hemp rather than unauthorized marijuana. If you grow your own hemp under a license, your crop is tested the same way before it can legally leave the field.
Cannabis Growing Laws in US States: What's Actually Legal Where You Live