Is weed legal in Iowa?
This article is going to cover:
Weed is not legal in Iowa for recreational use.
And weed is not legal in Iowa for medical use.
Iowa is one of 13 states that have no medical marijuana laws.
Iowa is one of the strictest states on marijuana laws.
And it continues to criminalize any amount of marijuana.
Here is the Iowa Controlled Substances Act.
Let’s look at the different types of Iowa weed laws.
| Offense | Penalties | Jail Time | Max Fines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possession | |||
| Any Amount (First Offense) | Misdemeanor | 6 months | $1,000 |
| Any Amount (Second Offense) | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $1,875 |
| Any Amount (Third Offense) | Misdemeanor | 2 years | $6,250 |
| Sale Or Distribution | |||
| Up to 50 kg (110 lbs) | Felony | 5 years | $7,500 |
| 50 – 100 kg (110 - 220 lbs) | Felony | 10 years | $50,000 |
| 100 – 1,000 kg (220 - 2,200 lbs) | Felony | 25 years | $100,000 |
| 1,000+ kg (2,200+ lbs) | Felony | 50 years | $1,000,000 |
| Cultivation | |||
| Up to 50 kg (110 lbs) | Felony | 5 years | $7,500 |
| 50 – 100 kg (110 - 220 lbs) | Felony | 10 years | $50,000 |
| 100 – 1,000 kg (220 - 2,200 lbs) | Felony | 25 years | $100,000 |
| 1,000+ kg (2,200+ lbs) | Felony | 50 years | $1,000,000 |
These are the marijuana laws for personal possession of marijuana.
Recreational cannabis is not decriminalized in Iowa for adult use.
(CBD is legal for medical use as long as it contains less than 0.3% of THC.)
Possessing any amount (first offense) is a misdemeanor with:
Possessing any amount (second offense) is a misdemeanor with:
Possessing any amount (third offense) is a misdemeanor with:
Related: How Many People Are In Jail For Weed
These are the marijuana laws for selling marijuana in Iowa.
The following weights apply to:
Up to 50 kg (110 lbs) is a Class D felony with:
From 50 – 100 kg (110 – 220 lbs) is a Class C felony with:
From 100 – 1,000 kg (220 – 2,200 lbs) is a Class A felony with:
From 1,000+ kg (2,200+ lbs) is a Class B felony with:
Any amount with a minor involved gets you:
Any amount with a minor involved in a school zone gets you:
The marijuana laws for cultivating marijuana in Iowa are the same as selling.
The following weights apply to:
Up to 50 kg (110 lbs) is a Class D felony with:
From 50 – 100 kg (110 – 220 lbs) is a Class C felony with:
From 100 – 1,000 kg (220 – 2,200 lbs) is a Class A felony with:
From 1,000+ kg (2,200+ lbs) is a Class B felony with:
Any amount with a minor involved gets you:
Any amount with a minor involved in a school zone gets you:
This is the same as the sale and cultivation sections.
Possession with intent, or selling of, paraphernalia is a misdemeanor in Iowa.
Possessing or using paraphernalia gets you:
Iowa has not decriminalized marijuana yet.
Recreational use and possession of marijuana are fully illegal in Iowa.
Iowa legislature proposed a bill for decriminalization in Iowa in 2014.
Their goal was to replace the state’s misdemeanor charges with a $300 fine.
For possessing up to 42.5 grams of marijuana.
They would also have allowed expungement for marijuana charges.
This bill was denied.
After the MORE Act, lawmakers protested in Cedar Rapids to have weed:
This section is covering whether weed is legal in Iowa for:
Is weed legal in Iowa for recreational use?
No, weed is not legal in Iowa for recreational use for adults.
The US House passed the MORE Act to:
Democratic Rep. Cindy Anxe voted in favor of the MORE Act.
But Republican members of the Iowa House voted against it.
Sen. Joe Bolkcom has been pushing for new marijuana policies for years.
But Iowa lawmakers have no interest in changing the weed laws in Iowa.
Even though the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Polls show that:
The following Senators are pushing for marijuana reform in Iowa:
They are proposing a constitutional amendment to marijuana laws.
At the core, these are for the legalization of the adult use of recreational weed in Iowa.
But also to. allow Iowans to do the following with weed:
They are pushing for voters to get to decide.
Because Republicans continuously shut down any meaningful reform discussions.
They keep facing inaction from the GOP-controlled state legislature.
So, they are seeking alternative routes to end cannabis prohibition.
No, weed is not legal in Iowa for medical use.
But, you can only buy up to 4.5 grams of THC every 3 months.
The state of Iowa only allows the use of “cannabis preparations.”
Meaning you can only buy things like CBD oil with THC in it.
You cannot buy weed for medical use in Iowa.
Patients or their caregivers are allowed to possess medical use THC products.
These products include:
No one is allowed to have flowers or edibles in Iowa.
Patients are not allowed to be growers of their own medical use.
This falls under the state laws on cultivation for personal use mentioned above.
They are only able to purchase medical cannabis from licensed dispensaries.
Purchasing cannabidiol products outside of a licensed dispensary is illegal for Iowans.
There are only 5 dispensaries allowed in Iowa, located in:
Lawmakers consider weed a controlled substance, even if it’s for medical use.
No, Delta 8 THC is illegal in Iowa.
Yes, CBD oil is legal in Iowa, but for medical use only.
But, the CBD has to come from industrial hemp.
And it cannot contain more than 0.3% THC.
These are Iowa’s weed legalization bills.
Related: Marijuana Legality By State
This bill initiated Iowa’s Medical Cannabidiol Act in 2014.
Republican Gov. Terry Branstad signed this Senate bill into Iowa law.
This bill allowed:
The Public Safety Committee is who pushed this initiative through the Senate.
This bill updated the qualifying conditions for using medical cannabis products.
This included diseases like:
Gov. Terry Branstad’s main concerns with the bill were:
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed to update the Medical Cannabidiol Act in 2020.
This updated the medical marijuana program to allow:
If you’re interested in what states weed is legal in, here’s a list of all the states.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. There may be more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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