Adult-use

"Adult-use" is the regulatory-preferred term for legal cannabis markets serving consumers aged 21 and older without a medical qualification. The term appears in most modern legalization statutes (e.g., New York's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which creates "adult-use cannabis licenses"; Illinois's Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, 410 ILCS 705). Adult-use frameworks typically include: minimum age 21; personal possession limits; licensed retail sales with age verification; state excise taxation; public-consumption prohibitions; and in most states, home cultivation for personal use. Adult-use programs coexist with medical programs in all 24 legalization states plus D.C., though some states (Washington, Delaware, New Jersey) prohibit adult-use home cultivation while permitting it for medical patients. The term is deliberately neutral, avoiding the "recreational" framing that critics argue trivializes lawful use. *→ See also: Recreational cannabis, Legalization, Home cultivation, → see also [Part 7]: Licensee