Where do I start with a Connecticut cannabis guide?
Hi! People Cannabis Market keeps its Connecticut cannabis guide on this page and sorts the guides below it by task: your first visit and ID, the law, products and formats, and delivery. Each guide has its own page.
Your first visit and ID
Bring your ID every time. DCP says any adult 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID may buy from licensed adult-use retailers, and a driver's license or identity card with a full-face photograph counts as legal proof of age.
Bring cash or a debit card too. Both of our stores take cash and debit cards. Neither store takes credit cards, and our Derby store has an ATM on site if you need cash. Online ordering takes orders at any hour, so you can order ahead on the live menu for pickup. Derby and Hartford are our two Hi! People Cannabis Market stores, and opening times are on each store page. Hartford takes pickup orders only.
- First-time visit guide: what to bring to the counter, starting with a valid government-issued photo ID.
- What to expect at the Derby Bud Bar: the Bud Bar is toward the back of the Derby showroom and needs no appointment. NBC Connecticut reported on April 2, 2025 that the Derby bud bar's U-shaped display cases allow customers to see products before they buy them.
- Buying as an out-of-state resident: DCP says there is no residency requirement for adult-use purchases.
- Do you need a medical card: state law exempts only a sale of cannabis for palliative use from the state cannabis tax and the municipal cannabis tax, and our stores are adult-use retailers.
The law: age, limits, tax and where you can use cannabis
Adult-use sales began on January 10, 2023 at licensed retailers. Adults 21 and older may carry one and one-half ounces of cannabis plant material on their person, and DCP says possession of up to 1.5 oz became fully legal on July 1, 2021.
A store can sell you up to one ounce of cannabis or the equivalent in products per day, no matter how many transactions you make, and Public Act 26-8 keeps the one ounce per day retail limit for consumers. Adults 21 and older may keep five ounces of cannabis plant material in a locked container at home or in a locked glove box or trunk of their car. Those limits come from chapter 420b of the state's General Statutes.
Where you use cannabis is its own question. If you rent, DCP's guidance lets a landlord ban smoking and vaping at home, though a landlord generally cannot ban possessing or consuming other forms of cannabis.
If you shopped here before this fall, your tax lines are figured differently. Before October 1, 2026, the statewide cannabis tax was based on the milligrams of THC in a product. Per the Department of Revenue Services cannabis tax page, it is now a flat 10.75% of gross receipts from adult-use sales. The same date brought a privacy rule: effective October 1, 2026, a retailer cannot keep the personal data it collects to verify your age for longer than 24 hours without your express written consent. Retailer infused beverages may now contain up to 10 mg of THC per container, and DCP lists the changes in its notice on the legislative updates.
- Cannabis laws overview: the age rule, the daily retail sales limit and the statewide tax in one place.
- How much cannabis you can legally possess: the same limit applies to out-of-state residents as to Connecticut residents.
- How the state cannabis tax works: the state sales tax, the municipal cannabis tax and the statewide cannabis tax, one line at a time.
- Home grow rules: home grown plants must be grown indoors and must not be visible from the street.
- Where you can legally smoke weed: you generally cannot smoke or vape cannabis anywhere you cannot smoke or vape tobacco.
- Driving and cannabis: DCP says cannabis should not be consumed before or during operation of a motor vehicle.
- THC drink laws: only cannabis retail establishments and package stores with an endorsement to sell infused beverages may sell beverages containing THC, and from October 1, 2026 infused beverage manufacturers may sell them on-premises for off-site consumption.
Products and formats
Start with the live menu. On October 7, 2026, every flower product on our Derby and Hartford live menus listed a THC value, and terpene values appeared on 98 of 100 sampled Derby flower products and all 56 Hartford flower products, so when two flowers sit close on THC you have a second line to compare. We prioritize products from licensed Connecticut cultivators and processors, and you can browse the flower we carry before you come in. Once a package is in your hand, every cannabis label sold in the state must carry a DCP-issued symbol showing it contains THC and a symbol that it is not safe or legal for people under 21.
Edibles follow their own cap: DCP says edibles can have no more than 100 mg of THC total in a multiple-serving package, a separate limit from the drink cap above.
- How to read a cannabis label: the two DCP symbols every cannabis label must carry.
- Cannabis glossary: the state definitions of flower, cannabis product and concentrate.
- Eighth, quarter and half weights: any combination up to 14 total grams equals 1/2 ounce.
- Cannabis terpenes guide: PubChem describes the odor of limonene as pleasant and lemon-like.
- Indica vs sativa vs hybrid: Sativa-labelled and Indica-labelled samples were genetically indistinct on a genome-wide scale.
- Live resin, rosin and distillate: rosin is a solventless extract obtained through mechanical compression using heat and pressure.
- Infused pre-rolls vs regular pre-rolls: infused pre-rolls are comprised of bud and or shake combined with one or more of extract, concentrate or hemp.
- Vape cartridge vs disposable: CDC says disposable e-cigarettes are designed to be used one time only.
- THC drinks vs edibles: the law directs a standardized serving of an edible cannabis product or beverage to contain not more than five milligrams of THC.
- How long edibles take to kick in: what public-health sources say about how long an edible can take, with their own ranges.
- How to store cannabis: DCP says to store cannabis products in their original packaging, locked up and out of reach of children and pets.
Delivery
State law allows delivery: a delivery service may deliver cannabis from a retailer directly to a consumer. The delivery service must verify the identity of the person and the age of the consumer upon delivery, so only the adult 21 or older who placed the order can accept it. Scheduled delivery goes out from Pershing Drive, and checkout confirms each address you enter. Hartford takes pickup orders only.
- Cannabis delivery rules: no municipality shall prohibit delivery of cannabis to a consumer by an authorized licensee.
- Our delivery page: the towns Derby delivers to, with checkout confirming each address.
Questions shoppers ask about cannabis
Can I buy cannabis in Connecticut if I live in another state?
Yes, if you are 21 or older. DCP says non-residents are charged the same state and local taxes as Connecticut residents for adult-use cannabis, and the same 1.5 oz possession limit applies to out-of-state residents as to Connecticut residents. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID, and read our out-of-state guide for the full list.
When did adult-use sales start in Connecticut?
Adult-use sales began on January 10, 2023 at licensed retailers. Possession came earlier for adults 21 and older, because DCP says possession of up to 1.5 oz became fully legal on July 1, 2021. Our overview of the cannabis laws gathers the age rule, the sales limit and the tax in one place.
Can cannabis be delivered to my home?
State law allows it: a delivery service may deliver cannabis from a retailer directly to a consumer. On the Derby live menu you pick a scheduled slot, and checkout confirms the address you enter. Hartford takes pickup orders only. The delivery service must verify the identity of the person and the age of the consumer upon delivery, so only the adult 21 or older who placed the order can accept it.
Do I need a medical card to shop at Hi! People?
No. DCP says any adult 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID may buy from licensed adult-use retailers, and DCP lists both Hi! People stores as cannabis retailers serving adults 21 and older. State law exempts only a sale of cannabis for palliative use from the state cannabis tax and the municipal cannabis tax, and our stores are adult-use retailers.
How do I pay at Hi! People?
Both of our stores take cash and debit cards. Neither store takes credit cards, and our Derby store has an ATM on site if you need cash. Online ordering takes orders at any hour, so you can order ahead on the live menu for pickup. If you have a payment question before you come in, call us at 860-420-BUDS (2837).
How much cannabis can I buy in one day?
A store can sell you up to one ounce of cannabis or the equivalent in products per day, no matter how many transactions you make. Public Act 26-8 keeps the one ounce per day retail limit for consumers. That sales cap sits below the carry limit: adults 21 and older may carry one and one-half ounces of cannabis plant material on their person.
Start with the menu, then plan the trip
Open our live menu first, and check our deals page for current offers. When your cart is ready, plan the trip from the Derby store page or the Hartford store page, or see all of our locations together. A New Haven store is planned and coming soon, and the New Haven page is where opening news will go. Anything this guide did not answer may be on our FAQ page, and you can always call us at 860-420-BUDS (2837).