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March 18, 2024 Clear | 38°F
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Section 7: Personal use of marijuana

Section 7. Personal use of marijuana

(a) Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person 21 years of age or older shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or disqualified under the laws of the commonwealth in any manner, or denied any right or privilege and shall not be subject to seizure or forfeiture of assets for:

(1) possessing, using, purchasing, processing or manufacturing 1 ounce or less of marijuana, except that not more than 5 grams of marijuana may be in the form of marijuana concentrate;

(2) within the person's primary residence, possessing up to 10 ounces of marijuana and any marijuana produced by marijuana plants cultivated on the premises and possessing, cultivating or processing not more than 6 marijuana plants for personal use so long as not more than 12 plants are cultivated on the premises at once;

(3) assisting another person who is 21 years of age or older in any of the acts described in this section; or

(4) giving away or otherwise transferring without remuneration up to 1 ounce of marijuana, except that not more than 5 grams of marijuana may be in the form of marijuana concentrate, to a person 21 years of age or older, as long as the transfer is not advertised or promoted to the public.

(b) Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if the import or export of marijuana to or from the commonwealth is not prohibited by federal law, a person 21 years of age or older shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or disqualified under the laws of the commonwealth in any manner, or denied any right or privilege and shall not be subject to seizure or forfeiture of assets for possessing, using, purchasing, cultivating, processing or manufacturing any amount of marijuana or marijuana products for personal use.

(c) Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or otherwise denied any benefit and shall not be subject to seizure or forfeiture of assets for allowing property the person owns, occupies or manages to be used for any of the activities conducted lawfully under this chapter or for enrolling or employing a person who engages in marijuana-related activities lawfully under this chapter.

(d) Absent clear, convincing and articulable evidence that the person's actions related to marijuana have created an unreasonable danger to the safety of a minor child, neither the presence of cannabinoid components or metabolites in a person's bodily fluids nor conduct permitted under this chapter related to the possession, consumption, transfer, cultivation, manufacture or sale of marijuana, marijuana products or marijuana accessories by a person charged with the well-being of a child shall form the sole or primary basis for substantiation, service plans, removal or termination or for denial of custody, visitation or any other parental right or responsibility.

(e) The use of marijuana shall not disqualify a person from any needed medical procedure or treatment, including organ and tissue transplants.

(f) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person 21 years of age or older shall not be arrested, prosecuted, penalized, sanctioned or disqualified and is not subject to seizure or forfeiture of assets for possessing, producing, processing, manufacturing, purchasing, obtaining, selling or otherwise transferring or delivering hemp.

(g) For the purposes of this section, ''marijuana concentrate'' shall mean the resin extracted from any part of the plant of the genus Cannabis and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of that resin but shall not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare marijuana products.