Kern County, CA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Kern County Code § 13.04.210
- Fine for adults 21+
- Up to $100
- Penalty for under 21
- 4 hrs education, 10 hrs community service
- Covers parking areas
- Yes, expressly included
- State law basis
- Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 11362.3, 11362.4
Summary
Kern County bans smoking, ingesting, or otherwise using cannabis products anywhere in a county park or other public place, including park parking areas. Adults 21 and older face a fine of up to $100; those under 21 face mandatory drug education and community service instead of a fine.
It is unlawful for any person to light, smoke, ingest, discard, or use in any other way, any cannabis product at any time in any Kern County park or other Kern County public place. This prohibition includes the parking areas of such parks, and therefore cannabis products are not permitted in the parking areas of any Kern County park or other Kern County public place. Violation of this section is an infraction and punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for persons twenty-one (21) years of age or older. For persons twenty-one (21) years of age or younger, a violation of this section is an infraction and punishable by requiring a person to complete four (4) hours of a drug education program or counseling, and up to ten (10) hours of community service, over a period not to exceed sixty (60) days once the drug education program or counseling and community service opportunity are made available to the person.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 59 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
190 does for tobacco). The county built two separate penalty tracks by age. For a person 21 or older, a violation is an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $100. For a person 21 or younger, the code substitutes a rehabilitative penalty in place of a fine: the violator must complete four hours of a drug education program or counseling and up to ten hours of community service, over a period not exceeding sixty days once those programs are made available. 54 of the county code, layering a civil fine on top of the infraction.
4, the state provisions that already bar public cannabis consumption statewide; Kern's ordinance restates and locally enforces that same prohibition specifically as applied to county parks and public places, rather than creating a novel restriction beyond what state law allows.
Violations & Fines
Smoking, ingesting, or otherwise using a cannabis product in any Kern County park, other public place, or associated parking area is an infraction under Section 13.04.210, fined up to $100 for a person 21 or older; a person 21 or younger instead faces four hours of drug education or counseling and up to ten hours of community service within sixty days, plus a possible administrative penalty under Chapter 8.54.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke cannabis in the parking lot of a Kern County park?
What is the fine for public cannabis use in a Kern County park?
Does this rule apply outside of parks too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kern County
California rules heatmap·Compare Kern County to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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