Alaska Marijuana Laws
Adult marijuana use is completely legal in Alaska, for both medicinal and recreational purposes. It can be purchased from licensed dispensaries across the state, and adults are permitted to cultivate their own cannabis at home.

LAW BREAKDOWN
Adult marijuana use is completely legal in Alaska, for both medicinal and recreational purposes. It can be purchased from licensed dispensaries across the state, and adults are permitted to cultivate their own cannabis at home.
Simple Possession
Alaska marijuana law allows residents and visitors 21 years and older to buy marijuana, use it on private property, and give it to others in small amounts. Possession of up to an ounce is legal for adults over 21.
Possession of between one and four ounces is allowed at home under court rulings but not under Ballot Measure 2, the law that legalized marijuana. Possession of between one and four ounces in public is a misdemeanor with maximum a penalty of one year in jail and $10,000 in fines.
Possession of more than four ounces is a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $50,000 in criminal fines. Possession of any amount within 500 feet of a school or recreation center carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines. But defendants accused of possession in a school zone may raise an affirmative defence at trial if the marijuana was kept entirely within a private home.
Public consumption remains a civil offense and carries a $100 fine.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
Personal Use | |||
1 oz or less | None | None | $ 0 |
1 – 4 oz in your residence* | Not classified | N/A | $ 0 |
1 – 4 oz | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $ 10,000 |
4 oz or more | Felony | 5 years | $ 50,000 |
Any amount within 500 feet of school grounds or rec. center** | Felony | 5 years | $ 50,000 |
Public consumption | Violation | None | $ 100 |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Possession with Intent to Distribute
Possession of less than an ounce with intent to distribute is a misdemeanor unless it occurs within the state’s legal marijuana retail system. Possession of one ounce or more with intent to distribute is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $50,000.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
Possession With Intent to Distribute | |||
Less than 1 oz*** | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $ 10,000 |
1 oz or more | 1 oz or more | 5 years | $ 50,000 |
* Based on an Alaskan Supreme Court decision, possession in the home for personal use is protected conduct by the right-to-privacy provision in their state constitution. | |||
** If charged with possession of marijuana in a school zone, an affirmative defense may be raised in court that the conduct took place entirely within a private residence. | |||
*** The law will change in November 2016 when retail stores are established to sell up to one ounce. Currently, a person may convey up to one ounce to anyone 21 years old or older without compensation. |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Sale or Distribution
Sale or distribution of less than an ounce is a misdemeanor unless it occurs within the state’s legal marijuana retail system. The maximum penalty is one year in jail and $10,000 in fines. Sale or distribution of one ounce or more is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $50,000 in fines. Sale or distribution to a person under age 19 is a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $100,000 in fines, unless the seller is no more than three years older than the minor.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
Less than 1 oz | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $ 10,000 |
1 oz or more | Felony | 5 years | $ 50,000 |
To a person under 19 who is 3 years or more younger than the seller. | Felony | 10 years | $ 100,000 |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Cultivation
Alaska marijuana laws allow residents to legally grow up to six plants at home, with no more than three of them mature at any given time. Growing between six and 25 plants is in a legal gray area; although not explicitly permitted, an Alaskan Supreme Court ruling dictates that possession at home for personal consumption is protected conduct by the right-to-privacy provision in the state’s constitution.
Cultivation of 25 or more plants is a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $1,000 in fines. No specific penalty has yet been established for the cultivation of between seven and 24 plants. Growing marijuana for a person under age 19 is a felony punishable by as many as 10 years in prison and fines of up to $100,000, unless the grower is less than three years older than the minor.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
Up to 6 plants (no more than 3 mature) | None | None | $ 0 |
6 – 25 plants in your residence* | Not classified | N/A | $ 0 |
25 plants or more | Felony | 5 years | $ 1,000 |
To a person under 19 who is 3 years or more younger than the seller. | Felony | 10 years | $ 100,000 |
* Based on an Alaskan Supreme Court decision, possession in the home for personal use is protected conduct by the right-to-privacy provision in their state constitution. |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Hash and Concentrates
Marijuana law in Alaska does not provide any specific rules to govern legal hashish and concentrates. Under current state law, possession of three grams or less of hash, hash oil, or other concentrated forms of marijuana is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to one year in jail and $10,000 in fines.
Possession of more than three grams of concentrate or hash is a felony with a maximum penalty of two years in prison and $50,000 in fines. Distribution, manufacture, or possession with intent to distribute any amount of concentrate or hash is a felony punishable by between one and three years in prison, plus a maximum fine of $100,000.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
Possession of 3g or less | Misdemeanor | 0 – 1 year | $ 10,000 |
Possession of more than 3g | Felony | 0 – 2 years | $ 50,000 |
Delivery, manufacture, or possessing with intent to distribute any amount | Felony | 1 – 3 years | $ 100,000 |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Paraphernalia
Marijuana paraphernalia is now legal in Alaska. As yet there is no statute limiting possession of paraphernalia to adults or prohibiting any specific types of paraphernalia.
Miscellaneous
Vehicles and other assets can be seized in a civil proceeding, regardless of whether criminal charges are brought.
Offense | Penalty | Incarceration | Max. Fine |
---|---|---|---|
If under 1 ounce of marijuana is gifted | No Liability | None | $ 0 |
Offense within owned structure | Felony | 5 years | $ 500,000 |
Administrative revocation of license to drive for consumption or possession |
Scroll to see the rest of the table.
Medical Marijuana
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Medical marijuana was approved by ballot initiative in Alaska Nov. 3, 1998 by 58% of voters. State-level criminal penalties have been removed for patients who use, possess and cultivate marijuana with a written recommendation from their physician advising they “might benefit from the medical use of marijuana.”
QUALIFYING CONDITIONS:
Cachexia, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Nausea and Seizures
PATIENT POSSESSION LIMITS:
One ounce of usable marijuana
HOME CULTIVATION:
Yes, six plants allowed, with no more than three mature at any one time
STATE-LICENSED DISPENSARIES:
No
CAREGIVERS:
Yes. In order to qualify as a caregiver for a patient, a person must be at least 21 years of age and have never been convicted of a felony. Caregivers must be listed by the patient as either the primary caregiver or an alternate caregiver, and a patient may only list one primary caregiver and one alternate caregiver in the registry. Caregivers may only care for one patient at a time, unless multiple patients are related to the caregiver by at least the fourth degree of kinship by blood or marriage.
RECIPROCITY:
No
Alaska Marijuana Attorneys
The following Alaska lawyers are actively involved in the practice of cannabis law: