Verify · North Dakota
North Dakota medical marijuana rules: what to know and how to check
North Dakota allows medical marijuana only. Voters turned down adult-use cannabis in November 2024. To buy, you need a qualifying condition, a written certification from a North Dakota health care provider and a state registry ID card. You can buy only at one of the state’s eight registered dispensaries. Check the store on the state’s list before you buy.
Checked against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medical Marijuana Program and North Dakota law on . Next review: .
CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.
Official source
North Dakota’s cannabis regulator: North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Medical Marijuana Program (ND HHS)
- Check a business license Official list of licensed medical cannabis sellers
- See official recalls No public recall list found
- File a complaint Report an unlicensed business or a problem
- Regulator website Laws, rules and news
These links go to the regulator’s own website. CHSA does not copy or host license records, so you always see the official, current version.
What’s different in North Dakota
North Dakota allows medical marijuana only. There is no legal adult-use (recreational) market. On November 5, 2024, voters turned down Measure 5, which would have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older. The official count was 172,174 for and 190,548 against.
To buy, you need a qualifying medical condition, a written certification from a North Dakota health care provider who treats you, and a state registry ID card. The card lasts two years. North Dakota does not accept medical cards from other states. People who live in another state and have a card there can apply for a North Dakota card that lasts 60 days.
The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) runs the Medical Marijuana Program. It registers the businesses that grow and sell medical marijuana. State law allows eight dispensaries, and HHS lists eight. HHS says cardholders may buy only from these in-state dispensaries. Growing your own is not allowed.
State law does not protect having or using medical marijuana on school grounds, on a school bus, at a school event or on the grounds of a jail or prison. The same goes for child care grounds, unless state rules allow it. Do not smoke or vape it where a child who is not the patient would breathe it in. Driving while under the influence of marijuana is illegal.
Hemp products are different. They are sold in regular stores under the state hemp law, run by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. State law bans the sale of hemp products with delta-8 THC or with chemically made cannabinoids such as THC-O, HHC and THCP.
North Dakota medical marijuana rules at a glance
These are the main state rules for medical marijuana. North Dakota has no adult-use market. Numbers in brackets link to the law.
| Topic | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | Medical use only, with a provider's written certification and a registry ID card. Adult patients are 19 or older. Patients under 19 can qualify with a parent's or guardian's written consent, but only a registered caregiver may buy for them, and only products with no more than 6% THC. Caregivers must be 21 or older. | Source [1] N.D.C.C. § 19-24.1-01(18), (31), (35); § 19-24.1-05(5); § 19-24.1-21(4)(a) |
| How much you can have | In any 30 days, a patient may buy up to 2.5 ounces of dried flower and up to 6,000 mg of THC in concentrates and other products. Edibles count toward the 6,000 mg, and HHS says you can buy no more than 310 mg of THC in edibles a day. At any time, a patient may have up to 3 ounces of dried flower and up to 500 mg of THC in edibles. A provider may allow a patient with cancer more flower: 6 ounces per 30 days, and up to 7.5 ounces at a time. | Source [1] N.D.C.C. § 19-24.1-01(3); HHS Products and Limits Information (8/2025) |
| Growing at home | Not allowed. Only businesses registered with HHS may plant or grow marijuana. HHS says state law gives no protection for marijuana that was not bought from an in-state registered dispensary. | Source [1] N.D.C.C. § 19-24.1-01(40), § 19-24.1-02; HHS patients page |
| Delivery | State rules let a dispensary transport medical marijuana from its store to a registered patient or caregiver. We did not find a list of dispensaries that deliver. Buying from anyone other than a registered dispensary is not protected by state law. | Source [2] N.D.A.C. § 33-44-01-29(2)(a)(3) |
| Required lab tests | Every batch must pass lab testing before it goes to a dispensary. Tests cover pesticides, microbes and mold toxins (mycotoxins), heavy metals and THC and CBD amounts. Flower is also tested for water activity and moisture. Concentrates and other products are also tested for solvents. Growers may not use pesticides, except minimum-risk pesticides with written permission from HHS. | Source [2] N.D.A.C. §§ 33-44-01-09, -40, -42, -43, -44 |
| Labels | Labels must show the maker's name and registration number, the batch or lot number, the harvest or production date, the product or strain name, the net weight, the total THC and CBD amounts, how long it takes to start working, an expiration date and the universal symbol. Warnings must say it is for North Dakota registered patients only, to keep it away from children, that driving under the influence is illegal, and that the FDA has not cleared it to treat any disease. The dispensary adds your name, card number, its name and the date dispensed. Labels must stay on the package. | Source [2] N.D.A.C. §§ 33-44-01-26, -27, -28 |
| Packaging | Containers must be plain, opaque, tamper-evident and child-resistant, and resealable if they hold more than one use. Packaging must not appeal to children or look like other products sold in stores. A concentrate container may hold no more than 1 gram. | Source [2] N.D.A.C. § 33-44-01-25; N.D.C.C. § 19-24.1-01(7) |
| Edible THC limits | Edibles must be square lozenges with no more than 5 mg of THC per serving and 50 mg per package. Each piece is marked "THC" and may not be coated in sugar or candy. Packages must be resealable, child-resistant and not see-through, with no cartoons or pictures of the product. | Source [1] N.D.C.C. § 19-24.1-01(8), § 19-24.1-24.1; N.D.A.C. § 33-44-01-24.2 |
| Poison control | North Dakota Poison Center: 1-800-222-1222 . Free, confidential, 24/7. Call 911 if someone has trouble breathing or won’t wake up. | ndpoison.org |
North Dakota recalls
We did not find a public recall list on the Medical Marijuana Program’s website. State rules say each registered business must have a recall plan, including for products that fail lab testing, and dispensaries must keep contact details to tell patients about a recall. 2 CHSA does not monitor North Dakota recalls yet. If you think a product made you sick, call Poison Help, then report it to the Medical Marijuana Program.
How North Dakota compares
Compare North Dakota with the other states CHSA covers.
Sources
- North Dakota Century Code chapter 19-24.1 (Medical Marijuana)
- North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 33-44-01 (Medical Marijuana)
- Medical Marijuana
- ND Medical Marijuana Patients
- Dispensary Locations in North Dakota
- Product Types, Purchase Limits and Possession Limits (8/2025)
- Debilitating Medical Conditions per NDCC 19-24.1
- Patient Application FAQs (8/2025)
- Out-of-State Medical Marijuana Cardholders
- 2025 Legislative Changes to the Medical Marijuana Program
- Medical Marijuana User Guides and Forms
- Session Laws 2025, Chapter 608: Initiated Measures Disapproved (Legalized Cannabis)
- Statutory Initiative Related to Legalization of Cannabis Approved for November 5, 2024 Ballot
- North Dakota Century Code chapter 4.1-18.1 (Hemp)
- North Dakota Administrative Code chapter 7-20-01 (Hemp Products)
- Hemp
- North Dakota Poison Center
CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.