Rockville, MD Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Where banned
- Outdoor restaurant/bar serving areas only
- Governing law
- City Code § 13-21
- Marijuana covered
- Expressly included in 'smoking'
- Enforcement
- Municipal infraction citation
Summary
Rockville bans smoking marijuana, along with tobacco and vaping, in outdoor serving areas of restaurants and bars under its patio smoking ordinance.
Smoking or smoke means the act of inhaling, exhaling, burning, lighting, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, hookah, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, including marijuana, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form.
Vaping or vape means the act of using an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol or vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the use of any oral smoking device for the purpose of circumventing the prohibition of smoking in this section.
(b)Smoking and vaping are prohibited in an outdoor serving area.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 17 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
§ 13-21 defines 'smoking' to include burning or heating any tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, 'including marijuana, whether natural or synthetic,' and bans smoking or vaping outright in a food service facility's outdoor serving area, patios, decks, or porches used for outdoor eating or drinking. Staff must refuse to seat or serve anyone smoking there and ask violators to extinguish or leave; police may issue a municipal infraction citation under § 13-21(e). The rule applies only to outdoor dining areas, it doesn't reach public parks, sidewalks, or streets, which fall under Montgomery County Code § 24-9.
Violations & Fines
Smoking marijuana, tobacco, or vaping in a restaurant's outdoor serving area is a municipal infraction under § 13-21(e), citable by City police.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke marijuana on a restaurant patio in Rockville?
Does Rockville ban marijuana use in parks and on sidewalks too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rockville
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