New York Penal Law section 222.05 states what is lawful for a person 21 years of age or older.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Laws and local rules change. Read the official sources at the bottom of this page.
Cannabis-friendly lawyers in New York
Listed October 2026
These firms and attorneys are listed in the NORML lawyer directory for New York. Cities and phone numbers below are taken from those listings.
Marijuana lawyers
Wiesner Law Firm NORML directory
Neal Wiesner · New York
Listed in the NORML lawyer directory for New York as a marijuana lawyer in New York.
Source: NORML listing
Criminal defense and individual help
The Law Offices of Charles Sanford Smith, PC NORML directory
Charles Sanford Smith · All Courts in New York
Listed in the NORML lawyer directory for New York as a criminal defense and marijuana lawyer in All Courts in New York.
Source: NORML listing
Nicholas S. Hentoff, Attorney at Law NORML directory
Nick Hentoff · New York
Listed in the NORML lawyer directory for New York as a criminal defense and marijuana lawyer in New York.
Source: NORML listing
Criminal defense
These lawyers defend cannabis and marijuana charges in New York.
Mayo Bartlett
White Plains
Mayo Bartlett, at 50 Main Street in White Plains, defends New York marihuana cases from unlawful possession through felony sale and possession.
Michael H. Joseph
New York
Michael H. Joseph, with a New York office at 18 West 33rd Street, handles possession and sale of marijuana cases.
Fred Sosinsky
New York
Fred Sosinsky, at 45 Broadway in New York, defends clients charged in New York with possessing and selling marijuana.
Starting a cannabis business
These lawyers help with licensing, forming a company, and compliance for a cannabis business in New York.
Cuddy & Feder
White Plains
Cuddy & Feder, with a White Plains office, offers cannabis licensing, municipal permitting, and transactional services in New York.
Joseph A. Bondy
New York
Joseph A. Bondy, PLLC, a New York-based firm, represents cannabis license applicants and operators on licensing, compliance, and corporate structuring.
Michael McQueeny
New York
Michael McQueeny, a New York partner at Foley Hoag, has helped clients obtain approvals from the New York Office of Cannabis Management.
Not a referral. This list is not an endorsement, and there is no paid placement. We have not verified bar standing or discipline history. Before you hire anyone, confirm them in the New York attorney search, and you can also use the Lawyer Referral.
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Lawful amounts and conduct
- It is lawful for a person 21 or older to possess, display, purchase, obtain, or transport up to three ounces of cannabis and up to twenty-four grams of concentrated cannabis.
- The same amounts may be transferred, without compensation, to a person who is 21 or older.
- The section makes use, smoking, ingesting, and consuming lawful unless another state law prohibits that conduct.
- Cannabis paraphernalia is covered by the same section.
- Planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, processing, and possessing cultivated cannabis is lawful only in accordance with Penal Law section 222.15. This page does not restate the plant counts in that section.
- The section says the odor of cannabis, the odor of burnt cannabis except during a specified impaired-driving investigation, possession of an authorized amount, and several other listed facts are not by themselves reasonable cause to believe a crime has been committed.