Loudoun County, VA Cannabis Regulations: Home Cultivation (2026)

Section 4.1-1101 of the Code of Virginia lets a person 21 years of age or older cultivate up to four marijuana plants for personal use at their place of residence. The cap belongs to the household, not the individual. The statute says a household can never hold more than four plants at any point, and it defines a household as the people who live in the same house or other place of residence, related or not. Two adults sharing a Sterling townhouse or a Purcellville single-family home therefore split one allowance of four plants between them. Growing is also limited to the grower's main place of residence, so a second home, a rented garage across town, or a friend's yard in Ashburn does not qualify.

Three conditions attach to every grow. First, no plant can be visible from a public way without the use of aircraft, binoculars, or other optical aids. A plant a passerby on the street can see with the naked eye breaks the rule, while one seen only from a drone or through a telescope does not. Second, the grower must take precautions to prevent unauthorized access by anyone younger than 21. Third, each plant must carry a legible tag showing the grower's name, driver's license or identification number, and a notation that the plant is grown for personal use as authorized under the section. A tag on every plant means a household with four plants carries four copies of the grower's identifying details.

These are statewide rules, so they apply at every address in the county, including inside the incorporated towns of Leesburg, Purcellville and Middleburg. Enforcement in Loudoun runs through the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and the town police departments, with cases heard in Loudoun General District Court. The statute makes penalties for violations by an adult prepayable under the procedures in § 16.1-69.40:2. The section's history line lists acts of 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2026, and the text quoted here is the version read on October 12, 2026.