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Did You Know?

Did You Know? You Can Brew 100 Gallons of Beer at Home in Kentucky — But One Cannabis Seed Can Get You Charged

In Kentucky, an adult can legally brew beer at home. No license. No criminal charge. Up to 100 gallons a year — about 800 pints — for personal use.

But put a single cannabis seed in the ground, and Kentucky law treats you as a criminal.

That is the double standard this page is about.

What Kentucky law allows: beer

Under Kentucky regulation 804 KAR 14:011, a person 21 or older may produce malt beverages (and wine) for personal or family use:

  • 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only one adult in the household
  • 200 gallons per calendar year if there are two or more adults in the household
  • It must be for personal or family use — not for sale

Federal law says the same thing (26 U.S.C. § 5053(e); 27 C.F.R. § 25.205). Homebrewing is legal in all 50 states.

What Kentucky law does today: cannabis

There is no personal-use allowance for cannabis in Kentucky. Under current law:

  • Possession of up to 8 ounces is a misdemeanor — up to 45 days in jail and a $250 fine
  • Cultivating even one plant is a crime. A first offense for cultivating up to 5 plants is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail. More than 5 plants is a felony punishable by up to 5 years.
  • Kentucky made 2,718 cannabis arrests in 2025 — 2,176 of them, 80.1%, for possession alone.

Side by side

At home, for personal use Beer Cannabis
Legal amount 100 gallons a year (200 with 2+ adults) Zero — any amount is a crime
One plant / one batch Brew away, no charge Cultivation charge, up to 1 year (first offense, up to 5 plants)
Selling it Not allowed without a license Not allowed at all
Age 21+ 21+ under KCFC’s proposal

What KCFC’s bill would change

KCFC’s proposal mirrors HB225: adults 21 and older could possess up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivate, harvest, and store up to five plants for personal use, free of criminal sanction. The General Assembly would regulate production, processing, and sale — just as it already regulates alcohol.

Same principle as homebrew: personal use at home, not for sale, for adults.

The point

If you are allowed to brew 100 gallons of beer in your home, you should be allowed to put a seed in the ground without being charged. – Patrick Dunegan KCFC director

Kentucky trusts adults with 100 gallons of beer. It should trust them with five plants.

Take action

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