Driving home with what you just bought

The rule in one line

California's Vehicle Code makes it an infraction to drive with an open container of cannabis in the vehicle. Sealed is fine. Opened, in reach, is not.

The penalty is a fine rather than anything more serious — the offence is an infraction carrying a $100 fine — but it is an avoidable one, and it is the most common way an otherwise legal purchase turns into a problem on the way home.

What counts as "open"

A container counts as open once it has been opened, its seal broken, or some of its contents removed. Loose flower not in a container counts too. A sealed exit bag or an unopened package does not.

The practical version: what you carry out of a licensed store is sealed, so a drive straight home is straightforward. It is the half-used jar from last week, rolling around in the door pocket, that is the risk.

The trunk exception

There is a clear exception, and it is worth knowing because it covers exactly that case. An opened container, or loose flower not in a container, is not an open-container violation if it is in the trunk of the vehicle.

So the answer to "I already opened this" is: put it in the trunk before you drive. In a vehicle with no separate trunk, the equivalent is somewhere not readily accessible from the driver's seat.

Medical patients

The open-container provision does not apply the same way to a qualified patient or a person with a state identification card, provided they are carrying the card or a physician's recommendation and the cannabis is in a container that is sealed, resealed or closed. Closed, in that case, is enough — but it does still have to be closed.

The part this guide will not help with

None of the above has anything to do with driving under the influence, which is a separate and far more serious matter. Transporting cannabis legally and being safe to drive are two different questions, and only the first one is about where the bag sits.

If you are picking up from our Ukiah store or any of the others and the drive home is a long one, the sealed bag goes in the boot and stays there. That is the whole trick.