Cannabis Laws in the ACT: What Adults Can and Can't Do

By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 15 April 2026.

In the ACT, an adult aged 18 or over who has up to 50 grams of dried cannabis (150 grams if not dried), or grows up to 2 plants where they live (no more than 4 per home, and not hydroponically or under artificial light or heat), commits no ACT offence; selling, sharing, smoking in public, driving with cannabis in your system and any possession by someone under 18 remain offences, and Commonwealth law still applies.

Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989 and its Regulation, the Criminal Code 2002 and its Regulation, the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977, the Commonwealth Criminal Code, the ACT Government's cannabis guidance, Legal Aid ACT and ACT Policing.

What adults can do

• Age and place: the exceptions apply only to a person aged 18 or over, and only to cannabis possessed or grown in the ACT. Legal Aid ACT points out that the law is different in New South Wales and every other state and territory.
• Decriminalised, not legal: both Legal Aid ACT and ACT Policing stress that cannabis is not legal in the ACT; adults within the limits simply commit no ACT offence.
• Since 31 January 2020, when the Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Act 2019 commenced.
• Medical authorisation: the possession offences do not apply to someone authorised under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008, or another territory law, to possess cannabis.

What is still an offence

A penalty unit is $160 for an individual (Legislation Act 2001 s 133), so 50 penalty units is $8,000.

• Defences: for more than 4 plants at a home, it is a defence that you lived there and did not know, and could not reasonably have known, how many were being grown. For storage, it is a defence that you took all reasonable steps to keep children from the cannabis. For smoking near a child, it is a defence that you took all reasonable steps to keep the child from the smoke, or believed on reasonable grounds that they were 18 or over.
• The sale presumption: if you have 300 grams or more, the law presumes you intended to sell it unless you prove you did not (Criminal Code s 604). Growing 10 or more plants brings the same presumption about growing to sell (s 617).
• Sharing and gifts: Legal Aid ACT and ACT Policing both say that sharing or giving cannabis to another person, even an adult, is an offence.
• Buying: you do not become part of the seller's trafficking only because you bought from them (Criminal Code s 605), but whatever you hold must stay within the possession limits.

If you are under 18

• Any amount is an offence. Having up to 50 grams of dried cannabis (150 grams not dried) carries a maximum of 1 penalty unit ($160); more than that, 50 penalty units, 6 months' jail or both. Growing 1 or 2 plants carries 1 penalty unit (Drugs of Dependence Act ss 162(1), 171AA).
• A notice instead of court: for a small quantity or 1 or 2 plants, police can give a simple drug offence notice. If, within 60 days, you pay the $100 penalty or attend the first session of an approved drug diversion program, nothing more happens and you are not treated as convicted (s 171A; Drugs of Dependence Regulation 2009 s 3A).
• What police usually do: ACT Policing says officers will take the cannabis and will likely first refer the young person to Canberra Health Services for a health session. A parent or guardian is told and, if a notice is given, receives a copy.
• If it goes to court: Legal Aid ACT says you could get a criminal record and a fine of up to $160.

Driving

• The offence: driving on a road or road-related area with a prescribed drug in your oral fluid or blood. The ACT Government and Legal Aid ACT say this covers any cannabis in your system; you do not have to be affected.
• First offence: up to 25 penalty units ($4,000), and an automatic 6-month licence disqualification on conviction, which the court can reduce to no less than 3 months (s 29).
• Repeat offence: up to 50 penalty units, 6 months' jail or both, and an automatic 12-month disqualification, reducible to no less than 6 months (s 30).
• How long it shows: the ACT Government's 2020 guidance says a roadside saliva test can typically detect cannabis for up to 12 hours after use, and more than 30 hours for frequent users, and blood for longer. Legal Aid ACT warns it can stay in your system for weeks, and you can test positive after the effects have worn off.
• Hemp foods: you cannot rely on a mistaken belief about the effect of eating a cannabis food product on the THC in your system (s 20(4)).

For licence suspension by police on the spot and restricted licences in the ACT, see our page on drink driving penalties in the ACT.

Commonwealth law

• The federal offence: the Commonwealth Criminal Code makes it an offence to possess a controlled drug, with a maximum of 2 years' jail, 400 penalty units, or both (s 308.1). The ACT Government's guidance says cannabis is a controlled drug under the Commonwealth regulations.
• A possible defence: the federal drug offences (other than import and export) do not apply to conduct in a state or territory that is justified or excused by that state's or territory's law (s 313.1), and there is a defence of a mistaken but reasonable belief that it was (s 313.2). The ACT Government's guidance says whether either defence is accepted "will be a matter for the Court".
• In practice: ACT Policing says its officers can use ACT or Commonwealth law depending on the situation, and that its policy supports the ACT Government's harm-reduction approach. Legal Aid ACT warns that the Australian Federal Police can still charge you under federal law in the ACT.

If police seize cannabis

If police seize cannabis and you are arrested, charged or likely to be charged, they must give you a written statement, as soon as practicable, saying that the government analyst may destroy it without a court order and that you can apply to the Magistrates Court for an order to preserve it. If you do not apply within 24 hours, it may be destroyed with only a sample kept (Drugs of Dependence Act s 171B).

Other drugs

• Only cannabis is decriminalised. Other drugs remain illegal to possess, make or sell in any amount (Legal Aid ACT).
• Smaller penalties since 28 October 2023: possessing a small quantity of another drug carries a maximum of 1 penalty unit, and police can give a $100 notice or refer you to a health session instead (Drugs of Dependence Act ss 169(1), 171(1), 171A). Small quantities include 1.5 grams of cocaine, amphetamine, methylamphetamine or MDMA, 1 gram of heroin and 1.5 grams of psilocybine (Regulation s 6).
• Three or more drugs: having 3 or more different drugs, each within its small quantity, is an offence if, counted as fractions of their small quantities, they add up to more than 2. The maximum is 50 penalty units, 6 months' jail or both (s 171AAD). For adults, cannabis is not counted.
• More than a small quantity of another drug carries up to 50 penalty units, 6 months' jail or both (ss 169(2), 171(2)).

Free help in the ACT

See also our guide to criminal law across Australia.

How Go To Court Lawyers can help

Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in the ACT is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether what you have or grow is within the law, on a simple drug offence notice, and on a possession, growing, supply or drug driving charge, and can act for you in the ACT Magistrates Court. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.

General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989 (republication 42, effective 16 November 2025), the Drugs of Dependence Regulation 2009 (republication 3, effective 28 October 2023), the Criminal Code 2002 (republication 58, effective 23 February 2026), the Criminal Code Regulation 2005 (republication 14), the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977 (republication 53, effective 26 November 2025), the Legislation Act 2001 (republication 126, effective 23 February 2026), the Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Guidance Material 2020, the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (compilation 174, 30 June 2026), Legal Aid ACT's fact sheet "Criminal law: Cannabis" (last reviewed 23 April 2026) and ACT Policing's "Drugs and the law" page, on 23 October 2026.