No card required: what Connecticut law asks of an adult-use shopper
If you are 21 or older, the ID in your wallet is what you need to shop with us. The adult-use rules ask for age and identification, nothing more: DCP's answer for shoppers without a medical card says any adult 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID may buy from licensed adult-use or hybrid retailers.
Where you live does not change that. A visitor from another state and someone who lives a few streets from our Derby store meet the same requirement at the same counter.
We are a licensed adult-use cannabis retailer at both stores, Derby and Hartford, so a medical card is not part of buying from us.
Where a medical card does change the picture
The medical marijuana program also runs through a different kind of store. Under DCP's definition, a hybrid retailer may sell cannabis to adults over 21 and medical marijuana products to qualifying patients and caregivers.
Tax and carry limits: what changes with a card
Tax is the first difference. Chapter 214c of the General Statutes, the state's cannabis tax chapter, says the state cannabis tax and the municipal cannabis tax do not apply to the sale of cannabis for palliative use, which is how state law refers to the medical program.
Sales tax does not apply either. Chapter 219 exempts sales of cannabis for palliative use from sales tax, and DCP's article on the advantages of registering with the medical marijuana program says medical cannabis is not subject to sales taxes.
An adult-use purchase is a different kind of sale, so these exemptions do not reach it. For the rates and how they add up on an adult-use receipt, read our cannabis tax explainer.
Carrying is the other difference. The same DCP article says qualifying patients and caregivers may carry up to 5 ounces of cannabis flower or its equivalent. The adult-use rules on carrying and keeping cannabis are a separate set, and our page on state cannabis possession limits covers them.
There is also a daily limit on what a store can sell you. Under chapter 420h of the General Statutes, a retailer or hybrid retailer shall not knowingly sell a consumer more than one ounce of cannabis or the equivalent in products per day. That limits what we can sell you in a day, not what you may carry.
Walking in without a card: what to bring and what happens at the counter
The list is short:
- A valid government-issued photo ID. It has to show you are 21 or older, which is the whole of the adult-use requirement.
- Cash or a debit card. We take cash and debit cards at both stores, not credit cards, and the Derby store has an on-site ATM.
There is no card to show and no registration to check.
If this is your first visit to a cannabis store, our guide to a first trip to a Connecticut cannabis store covers the visit in more detail.
Questions shoppers ask about medical cards and adult-use buying
Can I order ahead without a card?
Yes. Our online ordering is open 24/7, and you bring your valid government-issued photo ID when you come in to pick the order up.
Where to go next
If your question is wider than the medical card, our Shopping in Connecticut guides on the blog cover the rest of a visit, from tax to labels.
When you are ready to compare products, browse our flower aisle. On aisle pages, the product list below the article shows live items from the menu of the store you have selected, with a switch to the other store. Then pick the store on your route: our Derby store or our Hartford store. If you want to check something before you head over, call us at 860-420-BUDS (2837).