Who writes the guides
The CannaWorldMarket editorial team writes and checks every laws page. We are not lawyers or a law firm, we do not represent anyone, and nothing on these pages is legal advice. A page tells you what the law says and where it says it, so you can read the source yourself.
Primary sources only
Every fact on a laws page comes from a primary source, read on the official site that publishes it. News stories, law firm articles, industry sites and other summaries may point us to a law, but they are never cited and never the basis of a fact. Each page lists its sources at the end, each marked with its type:
- Statute: a section of a state's or the federal code.
- Session law: an enacted act or session law, before or after it is codified.
- Bill text: the official text of a bill, cited only for what it says and whether it passed.
- Regulation: an adopted or emergency agency rule, or the register that publishes it.
- AG opinion: a formal opinion or letter of an attorney general.
- Court ruling: a ruling or order of a court.
- Agency guidance: an agency's own page, notice, letter or answers to common questions, where no statute or rule text says more.
The quick facts at the top of a state page, and each status in the national comparison, show which type of source they rest on. Where only an agency’s guidance or an attorney general’s opinion addresses a point, the page says it is that office’s position rather than the text of a law. A copy kept by a web archive is marked as an archived copy.
Unknowns stay unknown
When no statute, rule, opinion, ruling or agency page settles a point, or the official text cannot be read, the page says the point is unknown. We do not fill a gap with a guess, an unofficial copy or another site’s summary.
What the statuses mean
- Legal: sold under the state’s ordinary hemp or food rules.
- Legal with limits: legal, with a state limit a shopper meets beyond federal law, such as a minimum age, a THC cap per serving or package, sales only in licensed stores, or a ban on some forms.
- Illegal: barred by state law, for example by a controlled substance listing or a statutory ban.
- No state law found: we found no state law that names it, so federal law applies.
- Unknown: the state’s position could not be confirmed from a primary source.
A status is a summary. The state’s page gives the detail, the exceptions and the sources behind it.
Dates and changes
Each page shows the day its sources were last read, and every answer at the top of a state page is dated to that day. We read the sources again about once a week and before a date the page names takes effect. When a law changes, the page records it in its change log, and the hemp law tracker lists every change and every date still to come.
Products on laws pages
Laws pages also show products from partner brands, and we may earn a commission when you buy through those links (see how we make money). What we sell never changes a status or a summary. Shipping to your state is each brand’s decision under the law where you live.
Reusing the data and corrections
The national comparison on the laws hub is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to CannaWorldMarket.com. If you find a mistake or a law we have missed, tell us and name the source; we read it and correct the page.