Short answer
Yes. Federal agents can arrest you for marijuana possession or sale in a state where adult use is legal. Federal law does not recognize state cannabis programs. Marijuana sits in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812. Simple possession is a federal crime under 21 U.S.C. 844. Sale is a federal crime under 21 U.S.C. 841. As of 2025, 24 states and the District of Columbia allow adult use. That count does not change federal law.
is cannabis federally legal in the united states
State law binds state police, not federal agents
A state cannabis license shields you from state charges. It does not bind the DEA, the FBI, the ATF, or U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A state statute cannot repeal a federal statute. Under the Supremacy Clause, federal law controls when the two conflict. Federal arrests move through federal channels: a U.S. magistrate judge, a U.S. Attorney, federal charges, federal sentencing rules.
How Federal Law Affects Dispensary Banking: A Practical Guide
Where federal arrests happen
- Federal land: national parks, national forests, Bureau of Land Management acreage, military bases. National Park Service rule 36 CFR 2.35 bans marijuana possession on NPS land. A joint in Yosemite is a federal offense.
- Indian country: federal jurisdiction applies in many tribal areas, with results that turn on the tribe and the specific statute.
- Airports and seaports: TSA screening is a federal process. CBP officers at border crossings and inland checkpoints enforce federal law.
- Interstate transport: moving flower, vape carts, or cash across state lines adds federal counts.
- Federal buildings, courthouses, and Veterans Affairs property.
The appropriations rider
Congress has passed an appropriations rider each fiscal year since 2014. The rider bars the Justice Department from spending funds to prevent states from carrying out medical marijuana laws. The Ninth Circuit held in United States v. McIntosh (2016) that the rider blocks prosecution of people who comply with state medical marijuana law. The rider does not cover adult-use programs. It expires unless Congress renews it.
Does Federal Law Allow Medical Marijuana Patients
Penalties
A first federal simple possession count carries up to 1 year in prison and a minimum fine of $1,000. Possession on federal land adds park fines on top of the federal charge. Distribution of under 50 kilograms, or under 50 plants, carries up to 5 years. Weight, prior counts, and firearm possession raise the range. Federal sentencing has no medical or adult-use defense.
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Pardons and policy
President Biden pardoned federal simple possession offenses in October 2022. He expanded that pardon in December 2023. The pardon did not deschedule marijuana. It did not cover distribution. It did not touch state convictions. The Cole memo, a 2013 DOJ policy that limited marijuana enforcement, was rescinded in January 2018. No standing DOJ policy shields adult-use operators from federal charges.
Results beyond arrest
Federal drug charges carry collateral results. A federal drug conviction can block a firearm purchase under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3). Non-citizens can face inadmissibility or removal. Federal employees and contractors can lose security clearances. Banks stay cautious because of federal money laundering statutes.
What is not known
DEA does not publish arrest counts split out by state-legal users. Federal prosecutors do not publish a tally of declinations. Arrests on federal land are tracked by each agency, not in one dataset.