El Dorado County, CA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- County Code Chapter 8.60, adopted by Ordinance No. 4190
- Smoking definition
- Includes 'weed, or plant,' not only tobacco
- First-offense fine
- Up to $100 infraction
- Repeat-offense fine
- Up to $500 within one year
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Environmental Management Director
Summary
El Dorado County's public smoking ordinance defines 'smoking' broadly, in County Code Section 8.60.030, to include lighting or burning any pipe, cigar, cigarette, weed, or plant, and Section 8.60.040 bans that smoking in dozens of enumerated enclosed public places, from stores and banks to restaurants and County buildings, so marijuana smoking is illegal anywhere tobacco is.
Smoking means lighting, inhaling, exhaling or burning any pipe, cigar, cigarette, weed, or plant, or carrying any lighted pipe, lighted cigar, lighted cigarette, lighted weed, lighted plant, or other ignited combustible substance in any manner or in any form. ... it is unlawful for members of the general public or any other person within the unincorporated area of the County or in the incorporated areas if such place is a County-owned or -leased building, including an employee, to smoke in the public places open to the public as named and described in Subsections A.1 through 11 of this section, inclusive, and other enclosed public places that are open to the public and similarly situated...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 13 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
Adopted in 1991 under Ordinance No. 60 of the County Code, was written to curb secondhand tobacco smoke, but its definition of 'smoking' sweeps in more than cigarettes. 030 defines smoking as lighting, inhaling, exhaling or burning any pipe, cigar, cigarette, weed, or plant, or carrying any lighted version of the same. 040 bans smoking generally. That section lists eleven categories of enclosed public places where smoking, including marijuana smoking, is unlawful: common work areas, merchandise and checkout areas, hallways, restrooms, elevators and stairways, lobbies, reception areas, waiting rooms, service lines, classrooms and meeting rooms, and any other place where the public congregates.
The same prohibition extends by name to shopping malls, dealerships, grocery and retail stores, banks, hotel and motel common areas, transit terminals, buses, theaters, gyms and pools, recreation halls, restaurant dining and lobby areas, all County buildings, the County courthouse, libraries and museums, hospitals, schools, and licensed day care residences. Owners must post 'No Smoking' signs or the international no-smoking symbol with letters at least one inch tall in every space where the ban applies. The ordinance does not touch outdoor areas, private residences outside licensed day care hours, or the bar exemption that lets bars permit on-premises tobacco smoking.
Violations & Fines
Smoking marijuana or tobacco anywhere Section 8.60.040 bans it is an infraction under Section 8.60.100: up to $100 for a first offense, up to $200 for a second offense within a year, and up to $500 for each further offense within that year. Failing to post the required signage carries the same fine schedule. The Director of the Department of Environmental Management enforces the chapter and can pursue civil actions to recover fines under Government Code Section 25132.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke marijuana in an El Dorado County store or restaurant?
What is the fine for smoking marijuana where it is banned?
Does the county ban apply outdoors?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Dorado County
California rules heatmap·Compare El Dorado County to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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