Colorado Revised Statute 18-18-406 CRS is the state’s marijuana law. This section explains when possessing, cultivating, and selling marijuana is a crime what penalties it carries.
The full text of the statute reads as follows:
CRS 18-18-406. (1)(a) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than two and one-half pounds of marijuana or more than one pound of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 1 drug felony subject to the mandatory sentencing provision in section 18-1.3-401.5 (7).
(b) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than six ounces, but not more than two and one-half pounds of marijuana or more than three ounces, but not more than one pound of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 2 drug felony.
(c) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of more than one ounce, but not more than six ounces of marijuana or more than one-half ounce, but not more than three ounces, of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 3 drug felony.
(d) The sale, transfer, or dispensing of not more than one ounce of marijuana or not more than one-half ounce of marijuana concentrate to a minor if the person is an adult and two years older than the minor is a level 4 drug felony.(2)(a)(I) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly process or manufacture any marijuana or marijuana concentrate or knowingly allow to be processed or manufactured on land owned, occupied, or controlled by him or her any marijuana or marijuana concentrate except as authorized pursuant to part 1 of article 280 of title 12 or part 2 of article 80 of title 27.
(II) A person who violates the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) commits a level 3 drug felony.
(b)(I) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section and except as authorized by part 1 of article 280 of title 12, part 2 of article 80 of title 27, or part 2 or 3 of this article 18, it is unlawful for a person to knowingly dispense, sell, distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell, or distribute marijuana or marijuana concentrate; or attempt, induce, attempt to induce, or conspire with one or more other persons, to dispense, sell, distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell, or distribute marijuana or marijuana concentrate.
(II) As used in subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section, “dispense” does not include labeling, as defined in section 12-280-103 (23).
(III) A person who violates any of the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b) commits:
(A) A level 1 drug felony and is subject to the mandatory sentencing provision in section 18-1.3-401.5 (7) if the amount of marijuana is more than fifty pounds or the amount of marijuana concentrate is more than twenty-five pounds;
(B) A level 2 drug felony if the amount of marijuana is more than five pounds but not more than fifty pounds or the amount of marijuana concentrate is more than two and one-half pounds but not more than twenty-five pounds;
(C) A level 3 drug felony if the amount is more than twelve ounces but not more than five pounds of marijuana or more than six ounces but not more than two and one-half pounds of marijuana concentrate;
(D) A level 4 drug felony if the amount is more than four ounces, but not more than twelve ounces of marijuana or more than two ounces but not more than six ounces of marijuana concentrate; or
(E) A level 1 drug misdemeanor if the amount is not more than four ounces of marijuana or not more than two ounces of marijuana concentrate.(3)(a)(I) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly cultivate, grow, or produce a marijuana plant or knowingly allow a marijuana plant to be cultivated, grown, or produced on land that the person owns, occupies, or controls.
(II)(A) Regardless of whether the plants are for medical or recreational use, it is unlawful for a person to knowingly cultivate, grow, or produce more than twelve marijuana plants on or in a residential property; or to knowingly allow more than twelve marijuana plants to be cultivated, grown, or produced on or in a residential property.
(B) Except as provided in section 25-1.5-106 (8.5)(a.5)(I) or section 25-1.5-106 (8.6)(a)(I.5) for a medical marijuana patient or a primary caregiver with a twenty-four-marijuana-plant-count exception to subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section, it is not a violation of subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section if a county, municipality, or city and county law expressly permits the cultivation, growth, or production of more than twelve marijuana plants on or in a residential property and the person is cultivating, growing, or producing the plants in an enclosed and locked space and within the limit set by the county, municipality, or city and county where the plants are located.
(III) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section commits:
(A) A level 3 drug felony if the offense involves more than thirty plants;
(B) A level 4 drug felony if the offense involves more than six but not more than thirty plants; or
(C) A level 1 drug misdemeanor if the offense involves not more than six plants.
(IV) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section commits:
(A) A level 1 drug petty offense for a first offense if the offense involves more than twelve plants, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of up to one thousand dollars;
(B) A level 1 drug misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense if the offense involves more than twelve but not more than twenty-four plants; or
(C) A level 3 drug felony for a second or subsequent offense if the offense involves more than twenty-four plants.
(V) Prosecution under subsection (3)(a)(II)(A) of this section does not prohibit prosecution under any other section of law.
(b) It is not a violation of this subsection (3) if:
(I) The person is lawfully cultivating medical marijuana pursuant to the authority granted in section 14 of article XVIII of the state constitution in an enclosed and locked space;
(II) The person is lawfully cultivating marijuana in an enclosed and locked space pursuant to the authority granted in section 16 of article XVIII of the state constitution; except that, if the cultivation area is located in a residence and:
(A) A person under twenty-one years of age lives at the residence, the cultivation area itself must be enclosed and locked; and
(B) If no person under twenty-one years of age lives at the residence, the external locks of the residence constitutes an enclosed and locked space. If a person under twenty-one years of age enters the residence, the person must ensure that access to the cultivation site is reasonably restricted for the duration of that person’s presence in the residence.
(c) For purposes of this subsection (3):
(I) “Flowering” means the reproductive state of the cannabis plant in which there are physical signs of flower budding out of the nodes in the stem.
(II) “Plant” means any cannabis plant in a cultivating medium which plant is more than four inches wide or four inches high or a flowering cannabis plant regardless of the plant’s size.
(III) “Residential property” means a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. “Residential property” also includes the real property surrounding a structure, owned in common with the structure, that includes one or more single units providing complete independent living facilities.
(3.5) A person is not in compliance with the authority to assist another individual granted in section 14 (2)(b) or section 16 (3)(e) of article XVIII of the state constitution and is subject to the offenses and penalties of subsection (3) of this section if the person possesses any marijuana plant he or she is growing on behalf of another individual, unless he or she is the primary caregiver for the individual and is in compliance with the requirements of section 25-1.5-106.(4) On or after March 1, 2020:
(a) Repealed.
(b) A person who possesses more than six ounces of marijuana or more than three ounces of marijuana concentrate commits a level 1 drug misdemeanor.
(c) A person who possesses more than two ounces of marijuana but not more than six ounces of marijuana or not more than three ounces of marijuana concentrate commits a level 2 drug misdemeanor.(5)(a) Repealed.
(b)(I) Except as described in section 18-1-711, a person who openly and publicly displays, consumes, or uses two ounces or less of marijuana commits a drug petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of up to one hundred dollars and up to twenty-four hours of community service.
(II) Open and public display, consumption, or use of more than two ounces of marijuana or any amount of marijuana concentrate is deemed possession thereof, and violations shall be punished as provided for in subsection (4) of this section.
(III) Except as otherwise provided for in subsection (5)(b)(I) of this section, consumption or use of marijuana or marijuana concentrate is deemed possession thereof, and violations must be punished as provided for in subsection (4) of this section.
(IV) Public display, consumption, or use of marijuana or marijuana concentrate pursuant to the provisions of section 44-10-609, when such display, consumption, or use is within the licensed premises of a marijuana hospitality business licensed pursuant to section 44-10-609, is not a violation of this subsection (5).
(V) Public display, consumption, or use of retail marijuana or retail marijuana concentrate pursuant to the provisions of section 44-10-610, when such display, consumption, or use is within the licensed premises of a retail marijuana hospitality and sales business licensed pursuant to section 44-10-610 and when an individual’s display, consumption, or use does not exceed the sales limit established by the state licensing authority by rule pursuant to section 44-10-203 (2)(ff)(II), is not a violation of this subsection (5).
(c) Transferring or dispensing not more than two ounces of marijuana from one person to another for no consideration is a drug petty offense and is not deemed dispensing or sale thereof.(5.5)(a) It is unlawful for a person to transfer marijuana or marijuana concentrate at no cost to a person if the transfer is in any way related to remuneration for any other service or product.
(b) A violation of this subsection (5.5) is a level 1 drug misdemeanor.(6) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who possesses, uses, prescribes, dispenses, or administers any drug classified under group C guidelines of the national cancer institute, as amended, approved by the federal food and drug administration.
(7) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who possesses, uses, prescribes, dispenses, or administers dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a federal food and drug administration approved drug product, pursuant to part 1 of article 280 of title 12 or part 2 of article 80 of title 27.
Legal Analysis
Colorado Revised Statute 18-18-406 CRS spells out the penalties for all the state’s marijuana crimes. (Note that some of the sentences below may be enhanced if the defendant has prior offenses or if there are aggravating circumstances.)
Simple possession
| More than 6 oz. of marijuana, or
More than 3 oz. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 1 drug misdemeanor
|
| More than 2 oz. to 6 oz. or marijuana, or
Up to 3 oz. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 2 drug misdemeanor
|
Example: Betty has two ounces of marijuana in her Denver home. Betty’s neighbor Bill has three ounces of marijuana in his home.
Here, Betty committed no crime because she is possessing only two ounces (the state limit) in her private residence. However, Bill could be charged because he is possessing more than the two ounce-limit.
Cultivation of marijuana in/on a residential property
| First offense involving more than 12 plants | Level 1 drug petty offense
|
| Subsequent offense involving more than 12 to 24 plants | Level 1 drug misdemeanor
|
| Subsequent offense involving more than 24 plants | Level 3 drug felony
|
Cultivation of marijuana on land
| More than 30 plants | Level 3 drug felony
|
| 7 to 30 plants | Level 4 drug felony
|
| Up to 6 plants | Level 1 drug misdemeanor
|
Dispensing, selling, distributing marijuana – or possessing marijuana with intent to dispense, sell, or distribute
| More than 50 lbs. of marijuana, or
More than 25 lbs. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 1 drug felony
|
| More than 5 lbs. to 50 lbs. of marijuana, or
More than 2.5 lbs. to 25 lbs. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 2 drug felony
|
| More than 12 oz. to 5 lbs. of marijuana, or
More than 6 oz. to 2.5 lbs. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 3 drug felony
|
| More than 4 oz. to 12 oz. of marijuana, or
More than 2 oz. to 6 oz. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 4 drug felony
|
| Up to 4 oz. of marijuana, or
Up to 2 oz. of marijuana concentrate |
Level 1 drug misdemeanor
|
Selling, transferring, or dispensing marijuana to a minor if you are at least 18 years old and at least 2 years older than the minor
| More than 2.5 lbs. of marijuana or 1 lb. or marijuana concentrate | Level 1 drug felony
|
| More than 6 oz. to 2.5 lbs of marijuana or more than 3 oz. to 1 lb. of marijuana concentrate | Level 2 drug felony
|
| More than 1 oz. to 6 oz. of marijuana or more than .5 oz. to 3 oz. of marijuana concentrate | Level 3 drug felony
|
| Up to 1 oz. of marijuana or up to .5 oz. of marijuana concentrate | Level 4 drug felony
|
Other crimes
Using up to 2 oz. of marijuana – or transferring up to 2 oz. for no consideration – is a drug petty offense carrying up to $100. Using marijuana in public also carries 24 hours of community service.
Transferring marijuana at no cost if the transfer is related to remuneration for any other service or good is a level 1 drug misdemeanor, carrying
- Probation of up to 2 years;
- Possibly 180 days in jail; and
- Up to $1,000
Processing or manufacturing marijuana – or knowingly allowing it to be processed or transferred on land you own, control, or occupy – is a level 3 drug felony. This carries
- 2 to 4 years in prison and/or
- $2,000 to $500,0001
It is legal under CRS 18-18-406 to possess up to 2 oz. of marijuana in a private home.
See our related articles on driving with an open container of marijuana (42-4-1305.5) and medical marijuana.
Legal References
- Colorado Revised Statute 18-18-406 CRS – Offenses relating to marijuana and marijuana concentrate – definitions. See also: People v. Torline (2020) 487 P.3d 1284; People v. Valencia (Colo. App. 2007) 169 P.3d 212.