Paramount, CA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

The rule is § 5.68.030(H) of the Paramount Municipal Code, titled Use and Possession of Cannabis and Cannabis Products in Public Places. It bars two things: using or introducing cannabis or cannabis products into the human body by smoking, ingesting, inhaling or vaporizing, and possessing an open container or open package of cannabis or cannabis products. Both are banned in, on or within any public place, or in violation of any State or Federal law, including California Health and Safety Code Section 11357 et seq. Section 5.68.020 gives the purpose: to prohibit the use and possession of cannabis and cannabis products in public places, and it notes that possession, sale and distribution remain prohibited by Federal law under the Controlled Substances Act.

Subsection H points to the definition of public place in Section 5.68.020, but the definition itself is printed in § 5.68.010. It covers any area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including retail stores, retail service establishments, restaurants, theaters, waiting rooms, reception areas, educational facilities and public transportation facilities. It also includes all buildings owned, leased or occupied by the City and all City facilities, grounds, trails and parks and recreational areas, whether or not enclosed. A private residence, meaning a house, apartment unit, mobile home or other similar dwelling, is not a public place, but the same section says an accessory dwelling unit does not constitute a private residence.

Related rules sit in the same chapter. Subsection I prohibits selling or permitting the sale of cannabis accessories, and subsection G allows indoor cultivation of six or fewer living plants only within a single private residence. Section 5.68.050 declares any activity in violation of the chapter a public nuisance subject to abatement by the City, and each day a violation exists is a separate and distinct violation.