Pepper Spray Laws by State
Pepper spray is lawful for adults in all 51 US jurisdictions, but 14 cap concentration or container size, and no two caps measure the same thing.
An ordinary adult may lawfully carry a self-defense spray in every US state and in the District of Columbia. That is where most guides stop, and it is where the useful part starts. Fourteen jurisdictions put a number on the can, and those numbers are measured on ten different bases. Two counties in one state disagree about which chemical is permitted. The single most-searched question on the subject is about a city, not a state. This page prints what each government’s own text says, quotes it, and links to it.
The numbers are not comparable, and that is the whole story
Fourteen jurisdictions put a number on a self-defense spray. Between them they use 7 different units and 8 different measurement bases. Three of them say ounces and mean three different things.
Florida, California and Kaua’i County all say two-ish ounces. Florida’s statute says not more than two ounces of chemical and stops there, supplying no basis at all. California says 2.5 ounces net weight. Kaua’i County says a volume greater than two (2) ounces. A net weight, a bare quantity and a volume are three different physical properties. I print the basis beside every number and I never rank them.
| Jurisdiction | The number | Unit | What is being measured | Which agent it bites on | Why it is not comparable | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR | 300 milliliters | milliliters | the capacity of the container, however much is in it | any agent the statute reaches | A cap on what the container HOLDS, not on what is in it. | Ark. Code Ann. 5-73-124(a)(2)(B) |
| CA | 2.5 ounces | ounces, net weight | the net weight of the contents | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | The only jurisdiction that says NET WEIGHT in the same breath as the number. The same subsection separately bars a projectile device and anything that is not an aerosol. | Cal. Penal Code 22810(e)(1) |
| FL | two ounces | ounces, unit not stated in the statute | a quantity ‘of chemical’, with the unit left bare in the statute | any agent the statute reaches | THE UNIT IS BARE. The statute says ‘not more than two ounces of chemical’ and stops. It does not say fluid ounces. It does not say net weight. I do not resolve it for you. | Fla. Stat. 790.001(4)(b) |
| MI | 18 per cent | per cent | per cent of the solution, basis not further stated | oleoresin capsicum | ‘A solution containing not more than 18% oleoresin capsicum.’ Per cent of WHAT is not stated – the only qualifier in the sentence is the word ‘solution’. | Mich. Comp. Laws 750.224d(1)(a)(ii) |
| MI | 35 grams | grams | the mass of the named substance plus inert ingredients | orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile | A mass cap on the CS-plus-inert-ingredients combination, i.e. on the whole fill, not on the active agent alone. A different substance and a different basis from the 18 per cent. | Mich. Comp. Laws 750.224d(1)(a)(i) |
| NV | 2 fluid ounces | fluid ounces | the volume of the contents | orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile | Expressly ‘in volume’. And it bites on CS only: NRS 202.370(2) takes a substance whose active ingredient is natural or derived from natural substances out of the definition of tear gas altogether, so oleoresin capsicum never enters Nevada’s scheme and needs no exemption. | Nev. Rev. Stat. 202.375(1)(a) |
| NY | 0.7 per cent | per cent | per cent by weight of TOTAL CAPSAICINOIDS – the only basis that tracks pungency, and the only one a US regulator has reached for when it needed a number that means something | oleoresin capsicum | THE ONLY CAP IN THE COUNTRY ON THE MEASURE THAT TRACKS PUNGENCY: ‘shall not contain more than 0.7% by weight total capsaicinoids’. The preceding subsection separately requires that the active ingredient BE oleoresin capsicum – what it is, and how strong it may be, are two different questions and New York asks them in consecutive sentences. | 10 NYCRR 54.3(b) |
| NY | 0.75 ounces | ounces, net weight | the net weight of the contents | oleoresin capsicum | And 54.2(b) defines the basis rather than assuming it: ‘Net weight means the weight of the contents of a self-defense spray device.’ | 10 NYCRR 54.3(c) |
| NC | 150 cubic centimeters | cubic centimeters | the capacity of the container, however much is in it | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | The statute writes ‘cubic centimeters’ out in full, twice; a second limb caps a cartridge for a tear-gas gun at 50. | N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-401.6(a)(7) |
| SC | 50 cubic centimeters | cubic centimeters | the capacity of the container, however much is in it | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | A CAPACITY limit, not a fill limit – it caps what the cartridge, shell or container can hold. | S.C. Code Ann. 16-23-470(A) |
| NJ | three-quarters of an ounce | ounces, unit not stated in the statute | a quantity ‘of chemical’, with the unit left bare in the statute | any agent the statute reaches | Bare ounces again, of ‘chemical substance’, and paired with a non-numeric limit of ONE pocket-sized device. | N.J. Stat. Ann. 2C:39-6(i)(1) |
| AL | one-half ounce | ounces, unit not stated in the statute | a quantity ‘of chemical’, with the unit left bare in the statute | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | ⚠ NOT A POSSESSION CAP. It is a threshold INSIDE the definition of ‘poison gas’: a carried tear gas device under half an ounce is excluded from it. Printing this in a column of possession limits, as if Alabama capped what you may carry, would be simply wrong. | Ala. Code 13A-10-190(14)b |
| IN | one-half (1/2) ounce | ounces, unit not stated in the statute | a quantity ‘of chemical’, with the unit left bare in the statute | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | ⚠ Same shape as Alabama and the same warning: an exclusion from the definition of ‘dangerous gas’, which feeds the definition of ‘bomb’. Indiana does not cap a self-defense spray. | Ind. Code 35-31.5-2-83(2) |
| Kaua’i County, HI | two (2) ounces | ounces, unit not stated in the statute | the volume of the contents | any agent the statute reaches | A THIRD meaning for the word ‘ounces’: ‘in a volume greater than two (2) ounces’. Florida’s two ounces is bare, California’s is net weight, and Kaua’i’s is volume. | Kaua’i County Code 22-15.2(a) |
| Federal (transport) | two per cent | per cent | per cent by mass of a tear gas substance | ‘tear gas’, as the statute defines it | The only concentration figure in federal law on this subject, and it is about TEAR GAS, not oleoresin capsicum – the measurement problem in miniature. | 49 CFR 171.8 |
| Federal (air passenger) | 118 mL (4 fluid ounces) | milliliters | the volume of the contents | any agent the statute reaches | One device, and the rule states the metric and customary figures together. | 49 CFR 175.10 |
Only one jurisdiction caps the thing that decides how strong a spray is
The number printed on almost every canister sold in America is a percentage of oleoresin capsicum. It describes how much pepper extract is in the formulation. It says very little about how hot the result is, because the extract’s own pungency varies enormously — and that is not my observation, it is the US Department of Justice’s, published in 1994.
These percentages may be misleading, however, because it is the strength of the OC in the spray that determines its effectiveness, not its percent of volume.
The same document disposes of the other number people quote:
Despite the scientific-sounding name, Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) are not scientific measures. They are based originally on what are essentially taste tests.
National Institute of Justice, NCJ 181655, footnote 1
Now put two states’ enacted text side by side. Michigan caps the number the DOJ says does not determine strength, and states it with no basis at all. New York does not put a number in its statute; it delegates one to the Department of Health, and the Department picked the measure that does track pungency.
A solution containing not more than 18% oleoresin capsicum.
Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.224d(1)(a)(ii)
Per cent of what? The statute does not say. The only qualifier in the sentence is the word solution. New York separates the two ideas into consecutive sentences:
Every self-defense spray device shall contain oleoresin capsicum, and no other substance, as the active ingredient.
The contents of every self-defense spray device shall not contain more than 0.7% by weight total capsaicinoids.
The first asks what the active ingredient must be. The second asks how strong it may be. New York’s own definitions section explains why those are different questions:
Oleoresin capsicum means the oleoresin extracted from fruits of plants of the genus Capsicum. The oleoresin contains the active ingredient capsaicin and related compounds classified as capsaicinoids.
Retailers usually print this measure as % MC or “major capsaicinoids”. That label appears on manufacturers’ pages; it does not appear in New York’s regulation, which says total capsaicinoids, and I could not find it in any statute, regulation or standards document. We use the regulator’s words.
And there is no standard to point at
Body armor has a live federal performance standard that no statute cites. Pepper spray has no standard at all. The National Institute of Justice publishes standards for tear-gas weapons and munitions and none for oleoresin capsicum. The one ASTM standard that ever standardized Scoville measurement, E1396, applied to raw oleoresin and was withdrawn in 2024. So when a statute reaches for a number, it is choosing one — there is no external yardstick it could have adopted instead.
There are four different ways to be lawful, not two
“Legal in all 50 states” is the sentence this page exists to complicate. It is true that an ordinary adult may lawfully hold a self-defense spray everywhere in the United States. It is not true that the reason is the same, and the reason is what decides whether you can stop being lawful without the law changing.
| Structure | Jurisdictions | What it means for you | Which ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| No statute reaches it | 27 | No statute reaches it. Lawful because nothing forbids it. | AK, AZ, CT, GA, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MA, MS, MT, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WV, WY |
| Exemption | 13 | A prohibition reaches it and a carve-out brings you back out. The carve-out carries conditions and can stop applying to you. | AR, CA, DC, DE, IL, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NV, NY, SC, WI |
| Defined out | 7 | A prohibition exists but the definition excludes the spray at source, so it was never inside it. | AL, FL, IN, MD, MO, ND, TX |
| Expressly permitted | 3 | A statute affirmatively authorizes possession or use. | ME, RI, WA |
| Split by product form | 1 | The answer differs depending on the FORM of the device. | CO |
The distinction that matters is the first two rows. In an exemption jurisdiction a prohibition really does reach the canister in your bag, and a carve-out is what keeps you out of it — so the carve-out’s conditions are load-bearing. Where the spray is defined out, you were never inside the prohibition at all.
Two states are commonly filed in the wrong row. Texas is not an exemption state: a full-size chemical dispensing device is a third-degree felony, but the definition excludes “a small chemical dispenser sold commercially for personal protection”, so an ordinary spray is outside the offense rather than excused from it. Colorado does not have one answer: an aerosol, gel or foam is unregulated, while a projectile device is an “illegal weapon” and the only defenses are peace-officer status or a permit — there is no self-defense carve-out for it at all.
Wisconsin does not have the limits the charts print
Almost every pepper spray chart on the web gives Wisconsin a concentration limit, a weight limit and a color requirement. Those limits were real. They lived in an administrative rule, and the Legislature took away the power to make one.
The department of justice may not promulgate or enforce any rule that regulates a device or container described under par. (a).
What is left in Wisconsin is not a strength test at all. It is a purity test — the device must hold the named agents and inert ingredients and nothing else that hurts:
Subsections (1g) to (3) do not apply to any device or container that contains a combination of oleoresin of capsicum or CS gel and inert ingredients but does not contain any other gas or substance that will cause bodily discomfort.
So Wisconsin sets no concentration ceiling and no container size. It asks a different question from every state that prints a number: not how much, but what else is in there.
All 51 jurisdictions
Want one state in full? These eight have their own page, with the statute quoted, the size or strength cap explained, the age rule, who may sell it and where you still cannot carry it: California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas. New York has one too.
| Jurisdiction | How lawfulness is achieved | Numeric limit | Age rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Defined out | yes | none found |
| Alaska | No statute reaches it | no | 18 — and it binds the SELLER ONLY. |
| Arizona | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Arkansas | Exemption | yes | No age rule in 5-73-124 itself — it contains no age term at all. |
| California | Exemption | yes | 18, binding BOTH sides separately, plus a parental-consent variant at 16. |
| Colorado | Split by product form | no | none found |
| Connecticut | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Delaware | Exemption | no | none found |
| District of Columbia | Exemption | no | none found (as of the current code). |
| Florida | Defined out | yes | none found |
| Georgia | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Hawaii | No statute reaches it | no | none found at state level; 18 at county level in Honolulu and Kaua’i, binding BOTH the sel |
| Idaho | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Illinois | Exemption | no | 18 — and it binds the CARRIER ONLY. 720 ILCS 5/24-1(a)(3) makes it unlawful possession of weapons to carry a defense spray on the person or in a vehicle under 18. Illinois has no seller-side age rule at all — Article 24’s sale-to-minor provisions are limited to firearms, so a shop selling to a 17-year-old commits no Illinois offense while the buyer commits one the moment they carry it. It is a carrying rule, not possession: a canister at home is outside it. Penalty rises to a Class 4 felony within 1,000 feet of a school, park, courthouse, transit facility or public housing. |
| Indiana | Defined out | yes | none found |
| Iowa | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Kansas | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Kentucky | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Louisiana | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Maine | Expressly permitted | no | none found |
| Maryland | Defined out | no | none found — and this is a REPEAL, not an omission. |
| Massachusetts | No statute reaches it | no | 18 is the line, and it binds THREE parties separately. |
| Michigan | Exemption | yes | Binds the SELLER only. |
| Minnesota | Exemption | no | 16, binding the POSSESSOR/USER, with an express PARENTAL-CONSENT override in writing. |
| Mississippi | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Missouri | Defined out | no | none found |
| Montana | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Nebraska | No statute reaches it | no | 21, indirectly, and it binds the POSSESSOR/CARRIER (not the buyer or the seller). |
| Nevada | Exemption | yes | 18 (age of majority, NRS 129.010), and it binds PURCHASE and SALE only, not possession. |
| New Hampshire | No statute reaches it | no | NO age limit applies to aerosol spray. |
| New Jersey | Exemption | yes | 18 — and it binds the POSSESSOR ONLY, who must also have no indictable conviction: N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6(i)(1) exempts “any person who is 18 years of age or older and who has not been convicted of a crime” possessing one pocket-sized device of not more than three-quarters of an ounce. The seller is bound separately by 2C:39-9(d), which carries the same ¾-ounce cap and no age rule whatever. Possession outside the exemption is a disorderly persons offense. |
| New Mexico | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| New York | Exemption | yes | 18 — and New York binds THREE parties separately. Penal Law 265.20(a)(14) exempts the possessor unless they are under 18 or have a felony or any assault conviction, in or out of state. 265.20(a)(15) restricts who may sell — only a licensed firearms dealer, a licensed pharmacist, or a vendor approved by the State Police — and requires proof of age plus a sworn no-conviction statement before delivery, with no more than two devices sold at one time. The manufacturer is bound too, by a mandated warning label and instructional insert. A general retailer may not sell these in New York at all. |
| North Carolina | Exemption | yes | none found |
| North Dakota | Defined out | no | none found |
| Ohio | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Oklahoma | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Oregon | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Pennsylvania | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Rhode Island | Expressly permitted | no | 18 — and it binds the CARRIER and USER ONLY. R.I. Gen. Laws 11-47-57 grants a permission: a person 18 or over “may carry on his or her person and use… any non-lethal noxious substance or liquid” for protection; using it for anything else is a |
| South Carolina | Exemption | yes | none found |
| South Dakota | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Tennessee | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Texas | Defined out | no | none found |
| Utah | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Vermont | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Virginia | No statute reaches it | no | none found |
| Washington | Expressly permitted | no | Age 18, subject to a 14-with-parental-consent variant, binding the POSSESSOR and the PURCH |
| West Virginia | No statute reaches it | no | none found — 36-article sweep of the W. Va. Code returns no age rule for a spray |
| Wisconsin | Exemption | no | 18, and it binds the SELLER — Class C forfeiture, Wis. Stat. 941.26(4)(g)1. |
| Wyoming | No statute reaches it | no | none found — all-44-title sweep finds no spray term at all, so no age can attach |
Alabama Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. There is no Alabama statute that criminalizes possession, purchase, carry or sale of a self-defense spray by an adult; the only spray-specific statute is a MISUSE offense (13A-6-27).
The crime of criminal use of a defense spray is committed if the perpetrator uses a defense spray including, but not limited to pepper spray, foam and any other self-defense chemical spray against another person in the commission of a crime
Ala. Code 13A-6-27; compare 13A-10-193 with 13A-10-190(14) [read through a browser]
Numeric limits. No cap on what a civilian may buy or carry. The ONLY number in Alabama law is a threshold inside the definition of ‘poison gas’ (which feeds the ‘destructive device’ offense, 13A-10-193): a tear gas device carried on the person containing ‘not more than one-half ounce of the chemical’ is excluded from ‘poison gas’.
Tear gas devices designed to be carried on or about the person which contain not more than one-half ounce of the chemical.
Ala. Code 13A-10-190(14)b (exclusion from ‘POISON GAS’) [read through a browser]
Age. Not established. No minimum age binds buyer, possessor or seller of a defense spray in Alabama. Searched the Alabama Legislature’s own Code of Alabama full-text index (alison.legislature.state.al.us, via its site’s own GraphQL endpoint https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/graphql, query searchCodeOfAlabama over type=Section, isContentNode=true) with the exact phrases ”pepper spray” (1 hit: 13A-6-27), ”defense spray” (1 hit: 13A-6-27), ”chemical spray” (1 hit: 13A-6-27), ”tear gas” (1 hit: 13A-10-190), ”oleoresin” (0), ”capsicum” (0), ”chemical weapon” (0), ”mace” (0).
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer license, point-of-sale record, per-sale quantity limit or labeling requirement for defense sprays. Same full-text search of the Code of Alabama described under ‘age’ — the only two sections in the entire Code that use any spray term are 13A-6-27 (a misuse crime only) and 13A-10-190 (a definitions section).
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prior-conviction bar on possessing a defense spray. Ala.
Chemical identity and product form. Two distinct vocabularies. (1) The misuse statute 13A-6-27 uses a functional, open-ended term — ‘a defense spray including, but not limited to pepper spray, foam and any other self-defense chemical spray’.
a defense spray including, but not limited to pepper spray, foam and any other self-defense chemical spray against another person in the commission of a crime
Ala. Code 13A-6-27(a) [read through a browser]
Misuse offense. YES — a standalone felony. ‘Criminal use of a defense spray’ covers use against another person in the commission of a crime, OR against a law enforcement officer performing official duties.
Criminal use of a defense spray is a Class C felony.
Ala. Code 13A-6-27(b) [read through a browser]
Place restrictions. Not established. No school, government-building or other place restriction naming sprays. The school-weapons provision, Ala.
Local regulation. NO express preemption of local spray regulation, and none permitting it. Alabama’s preemption statute (13A-11-61.3) is drafted narrowly and by defined term: its SCOPE is ‘firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories’ only.
the Legislature hereby occupies and preempts the entire field of regulation in this state touching in any way upon firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance, or rule promulgated or enforced by any political subdivision of this state
Ala. Code 13A-11-61.3(c) [read through a browser]
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Alabama, see Alabama gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Alaska No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, with restrictions layered on. Alaska has no statute criminalizing adult possession, purchase or carry of a chemical spray.
means an electric stun gun, or a device to dispense mace or a similar chemical agent, that is not designed to cause death or serious physical injury
AS 11.81.900(b)(21) (definition), used in AS 11.61.210
Numeric limits. Not established. No cap on concentration or container size anywhere in Alaska law. I downloaded the ENTIRE AS Title 11 (criminal law) as one document from the Legislature’s own print endpoint, https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print and secStart=11.01.010 and secEnd=11.91.900 (531 KB, 3,318 lines of text), and grepped case-insensitively for: ‘pepper spray’, ‘tear gas’, ‘oleoresin’, ‘capsicum’, ‘mace’, ‘defensive weapon’.
Age. 18 — and it binds the SELLER ONLY. AS 11.61.210(a)(6) makes it misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree (class A misdemeanor) to sell to an under-18.
knowingly sells a firearm or a defensive weapon to a person under 18 years of age
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer licensing, no point-of-sale record, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling requirement. The single seller-side duty in Alaska law is the age check in AS 11.61.210(a)(6).
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prior-conviction bar on possessing a defensive weapon. AS 11.61.200(a)(1), the felon-in-possession provision, is limited to ‘a firearm capable of being concealed on one’s person’ — read in full at https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print and secStart=11.61.200 and secEnd=11.61.220.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Alaska names NO agent chemically. It uses a brand-plus-analogue formula: ‘a device to dispense mace or a similar chemical agent’.
Misuse offense. Not established. No standalone reckless/malicious-discharge offense for chemical sprays. Alaska’s discharge offenses are firearm-specific: AS 11.61.210(a)(2) ‘discharges a firearm from, on, or across a highway’ and (a)(3) ‘discharges a firearm with reckless disregard for a risk of damage to property or a risk of physical injury to a person’.
Place restrictions. SCHOOLS — yes, and unusually strict. AS 11.61.210(a)(7) makes it a class A misdemeanor for a non-student to possess a ‘defensive weapon’ on school grounds, a school bus or at a school-sponsored event without the chief administrative officer’s permission; the exception at (a)(7)(B) permitting ‘a defensive weapon’ is available ONLY to ‘a person 21 years of age or older’.
knowingly possesses a deadly weapon or a defensive weapon, without the permission of the chief administrative officer of the school or district or the designee of the chief administrative officer
Local regulation. NOT preempted. Alaska has an express municipal-preemption statute, AS 29.35.145, but read its SCOPE: it names ‘firearms and knives’ and nothing else.
The authority to regulate firearms and knives is reserved to the state, and, except as specifically provided by statute, a municipality may not enact or enforce an ordinance regulating the possession, ownership, sale, transfer, use, carrying, transportation, licensing, taxation, or registration of firearms
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Alaska, see Alaska gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Arizona No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL and, uniquely among these six, entirely UNREGULATED. Arizona’s weapons code does not mention chemical sprays at all.
means anything that is designed for lethal use
Numeric limits. Not established. No concentration or size cap. I enumerated and downloaded EVERY section of ARS Title 13 (Criminal Code) — 913 section files, harvested from the Legislature’s own index at https://www.azleg.gov/arsDetail/?title=13 and fetched from https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/NNNNN.htm — and grepped case-insensitively for ‘pepper spray’, ‘tear gas’, ‘oleoresin’, ‘capsicum’, ‘chemical irritant’, ‘defense spray’.
Age. Not established. No minimum age for buying, possessing or selling a chemical spray. Basis: the exhaustive 913-file Title 13 and 677-file Title 15 greps described under ‘numeric_limits’ return no spray term at all, so no age can attach to one.
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer licensing, point-of-sale, quantity or labeling requirement. Same exhaustive Title 13 (913 sections) and Title 15 (677 sections) enumeration and grep described under ‘numeric_limits’.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prior-conviction bar reaches a chemical spray. ARS 13-3102(A)(4) bars a ‘prohibited possessor’ from possessing ‘a deadly weapon or prohibited weapon’ — but ‘deadly weapon’ is ‘anything that is designed for lethal use’ (13-3101(A)(1)) and ‘prohibited weapon’ (13-3101(A)(8)(a)) is the closed list of bombs/grenades/rockets/silencers/machine guns/short rifles/short shotguns/Molotov cocktails/gas-generating chemicals/IEDs; neither reaches OC or CS spray.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Arizona names no chemical agent and no product form, because no Arizona statute addresses sprays. Basis: the 913-section Title 13 and 677-section Title 15 enumeration and grep described under ‘numeric_limits’ — ‘oleoresin’, ‘capsicum’, ‘tear gas’, ‘pepper spray’, ‘defense spray’, ‘chemical irritant’ all return zero.
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge offense. Basis: the exhaustive 913-section Title 13 grep described under ‘numeric_limits’.
Place restrictions. Not established. No school or government-building restriction reaches a spray. ARS 13-3102(A)(12) makes it misconduct involving weapons to be ‘Possessing a deadly weapon on school grounds’, and (A)(10)/(A)(11) cover public establishments/events and polling places — but every one of these is keyed to ‘deadly weapon’, defined at 13-3101(A)(1) as ‘anything that is designed for lethal use.
Local regulation. NO preemption of local spray regulation. ARS 13-3108 is Arizona’s express preemption statute and its SCOPE is ‘firearms or ammunition or any firearm or ammunition components or related accessories’ — it never says weapon, spray, chemical or tear gas.
a political subdivision of this state shall not enact any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms or ammunition
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Arizona, see Arizona gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Arkansas Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PROHIBITION-PLUS-EXEMPTION — Arkansas is the second California in this set, and the prohibition is broader than California’s because it reaches bare possession without any ‘except as permitted’ qualifier in the operative clause. CRIMINALIZING: ACA 5-73-124(a)(1) — knowing carry or possession of any tear gas or pepper spray in any form is a Class A misdemeanor.
any person who knowingly carries or has in his or her possession any tear gas or pepper spray in any form
ACA 5-73-124(a)(1) (criminalizes); 5-73-124(a)(2)(A) (exempts)
Numeric limits. CONFIRMED. The 300 ml figure is right, but the BASIS matters. UNIT: milliliters, spelled out and then given numerically — ‘three hundred milliliters (300 ml)’.
However, the capacity of the container shall not exceed three hundred milliliters (300 ml).
Age. No age rule in 5-73-124 itself — it contains no age term at all. The only age-adjacent provision that could reach a spray is ACA 5-73-109, ‘Furnishing a deadly weapon to a minor’, which binds the FURNISHER (seller/barterer/lessor/giver/renter) and is defeated by parental consent.
he or she sells, barters, leases, gives, rents, or otherwise furnishes a firearm or other deadly weapon to a minor without the consent of a parent, guardian, or other person responsible for general supervision of the minor’s welfare
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer licensing, point-of-sale requirement, per-sale quantity limit or labeling requirement for sprays. ACA 5-73-124 as currently in force consists of subsections (a) and (b) only — I read it complete in the Bureau of Legislative Research committee exhibit reproducing A.C.A.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prior-conviction bar on possessing a spray. ACA 5-73-124 contains no prohibited-person clause; its only carve-outs at (b) are for a ‘Law enforcement officer while engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties’ and a ‘Banking institution’.
Chemical identity and product form. Arkansas names ‘tear gas’ and ‘pepper spray’ by common name and defines neither — no ‘oleoresin capsicum’, no CS, no CN anywhere. And note the reach is by FORM as well as agent: the operative clause is ‘any tear gas or pepper spray IN ANY FORM’, so gel and foam are plainly inside.
any gun, bomb, grenade, cartridge, or other weapon designed for the discharge of tear gas or pepper spray
Misuse offense. Not established. Act 1168 of the 2011 Regular Session, § 2, on the Legislature’s own document server: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2011%2FPublic%2FACT1168.pdf — reprinting all of 5-73-124 with strike/underline. Compared against the current text in the committee exhibit (link under ‘regime’), which ends at (b)(2).
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction, but two provisions can catch a spray indirectly. (1) ACA 5-73-122(a)(1) bars carrying ‘a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon’ in any publicly owned building or facility or on the State Capitol grounds — whether a spray is an ‘other deadly weapon’ turns on ACA 5-1-102(4), which I could not obtain officially (see notes); flag as unresolved.
to knowingly carry or possess a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon in any publicly owned building or facility or on the State Capitol grounds
Local regulation. NOT preempted as to sprays. ACA 14-16-504(b)(1)(A) is Arkansas’s express local-preemption statute and its SCOPE is ‘firearms, ammunition for firearms, or components of firearms’.
A local unit of government shall not enact any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulate in any other manner, the ownership, transfer, transportation, carrying, or possession of firearms, ammunition for firearms, or components of firearms
ACA 14-16-504(b)(1)(A), as amended by Act 165 of 2011, § 1
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Arkansas, see Arkansas gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
California Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PROHIBITION-PLUS-EXEMPTION — the archetype. CRIMINALIZING: Penal Code 22900 (Ch.
Any person, firm, or corporation who within this state knowingly sells or offers for sale, possesses, or transports any tear gas or tear gas weapon, except as permitted under the provisions of this division, is guilty of a public offense
Cal. Penal Code 22900 (criminalizes); 22810 (exempts)
Numeric limits. CONFIRMED, and the basis is what matters. UNIT: ‘ounces’.
No person shall purchase, possess, or use any tear gas weapon that expels a projectile, or that expels the tear gas by any method other than an aerosol spray, or that contains more than 2.5 ounces net weight of aerosol spray.
Age. 18, binding BOTH sides separately, plus a parental-consent variant at 16. PC 22810(c) binds the SELLER: ‘No person shall sell or furnish any tear gas or tear gas weapon to a minor.’ PC 22810(d) binds the POSSESSOR: ‘No minor shall purchase, possess, or use tear gas or any tear gas weapon.’ PARENTAL-CONSENT VARIANT: PC 22815 lowers both to 16 where the minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian or holds their written consent — (a) lifts the possession ban, (b) lifts the seller ban, and (c) shifts civil liability for non-self-defense use onto the consenting adult jointly and severally.
a minor who has attained the age of 16 years may purchase and possess tear gas or a tear gas weapon pursuant to this division if the minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian
Cal. Penal Code 22815(a); compare 22810(c) and (d)
Who may sell. No dealer license and no per-sale quantity limit for the self-defense aerosol — but four hard point-of-sale/labeling duties. (1) PC 22810(e)(2): a warning label in prescribed words (‘WARNING: The use of this substance or device for any purpose other than self-defense is a crime under the law.
Every tear gas container and tear gas weapon that may be lawfully purchased, possessed, and used pursuant to this section shall have a label that states
Prohibited persons. Yes — three predicates, in the statute’s own words. PC 22810(a) bars anyone ‘convicted of a felony or any crime involving an assault under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country, or convicted of misuse of tear gas under subdivision (g)’.
No person convicted of a felony or any crime involving an assault under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country
Chemical identity and product form. California names NO agent chemically — no oleoresin capsicum, no CS, no CN. It uses one functional umbrella, ‘tear gas’, defined by EFFECT and by physical state: ‘any liquid, gaseous or solid substance intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispersed in the air’.
applies to and includes any liquid, gaseous or solid substance intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispersed in the air
Misuse offense. Yes — PC 22810(g), and note it is drafted as an any-use-except-self-defense offense rather than a recklessness offense. (g)(1) is a wobbler: 16 months, or two or three years under PC 1170(h), or up to a year in county jail, or a fine up to $1,000, or both.
any person who uses tear gas or any tear gas weapon except in self-defense is guilty of a public offense and is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170
Place restrictions. Two in statute, and a notable absence. (1) GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS: PC 171b(a)(4) makes it a public offense to bring or possess ‘Any unauthorized tear gas weapon’ within any state or local public building or at any Brown Act / Bagley-Keene open meeting; ‘state or local public building’ is defined at 171b(c).
Any person who brings or possesses within any state or local public building or at any meeting required to be open to the public
Cal. Penal Code 171b(a), (a)(4)
Local regulation. Not established. California has no statute expressly preempting — or expressly permitting — local regulation of self-defense sprays. Government Code 53071, California’s weapons preemption provision, has a scope confined to firearms and, within firearms, to registration and licensing only: ‘It is the intention of the Legislature to occupy the whole field of regulation of the registration or licensing of commercially manufactured firearms as encompassed by the provisions of the Penal Code’ (read in full at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV and sectionNum=53071).
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in California, see California gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Colorado Split by product form
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. SPLIT. There is no numeric cap, but that does not mean there are no restrictions. For an AEROSOL/GEL/FOAM spray: presumptively lawful and entirely unregulated — no Colorado statute mentions civilian pepper spray at all.
As used in this section, the term ”illegal weapon” means a blackjack, gas gun, ballistic knife, or metallic knuckles.
Numeric limits. Not established. Confirmed: no cap on concentration or container size, and none on either OC or CS/CN. This is an exhaustive negative.
Age. Not established. No minimum age binds buyer, possessor or seller of a spray. Basis: the whole-code grep described under ‘numeric_limits’ — no civilian spray provision exists to carry an age.
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer licensing, point-of-sale requirement, quantity limit or labeling requirement for sprays. Basis: the whole-code grep of all CRS titles described under ‘numeric_limits’.
Prohibited persons. For an aerosol spray, none — nothing bars a person with any conviction from possessing one. For a GAS GUN, yes, and severely: CRS 18-12-108(1) makes it possession of a weapon by a previous offender to possess ‘a firearm …
the person knowingly possesses, uses, or carries upon his or her person a firearm as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(h) or any other weapon that is subject to the provisions of this article 12
Chemical identity and product form. Colorado names no agent at all — the entire code contains no ‘oleoresin’, ‘capsicum’, ‘CS’, ‘CN’ or civilian ‘tear gas’ provision. It regulates purely by DELIVERY MECHANISM, in one definition.
”Gas gun” means a device designed for projecting gas-filled projectiles that release their contents after having been projected from the device and includes projectiles designed for use in such a device.
Misuse offense. Not established. No reckless/malicious discharge offense for chemical sprays. CRS 18-12-106 (‘Prohibited use of weapons’) is firearm-and-bow specific throughout — (1)(a) ‘knowingly and unlawfully aims a firearm at another person’, (1)(b) ‘Recklessly or with criminal negligence he discharges a firearm or shoots a bow and arrow’, (1)(d) possession of a firearm while under the influence — read at https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-18.htm.
Place restrictions. None naming sprays. The two place statutes are keyed to defined categories that an aerosol spray does not meet.
A knife, bludgeon, or any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.
CRS 18-12-105.5(1)(a); definition at 18-1-901(3)(e)(II)
Local regulation. NO preemption of local spray regulation — and Colorado is the reverse of the usual case, because since 2021 it expressly EMPOWERS local firearm regulation rather than forbidding it. Article 11.7 of title 29 is captioned ‘Regulation of Firearms’ and CRS 29-11.7-103(1), as rewritten by SB 21-256, now permits a local government to regulate firearms so long as it is not less restrictive than state law.
a local government may enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Colorado, see Colorado gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Connecticut No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. Connecticut has NO spray-specific statute at all.
or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a class E felony
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-206(a) (Chapter 943)
Numeric limits. Not established. Downloaded and grepped ALL 29 chapter pages of CGS Titles 29 (chaps 528-541), 53 (chaps 938-949) and 53a (chaps 950-952) from www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_NNN.htm. Search terms: capsicum, pepper spray, tear gas, chemical spray, lachrym, lacrim, mace, noxious, ounce.
Age. Not established. Same full-text sweep of CGS Titles 29, 53, 53a described above. No age threshold, no buyer/possessor/seller distinction, no parental-consent variant appears for chemical sprays.
Who may sell. Not established. Same sweep. No dealer license, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays exists in CGS Titles 29, 53 or 53a.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same sweep. § 53a-217 (criminal possession of a firearm) and § 53a-217b reach firearms/’deadly weapon’ as defined by § 53a-3(6) — a closed list of guns, switchblade, gravity knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, metal knuckles — which excludes sprays.
Chemical identity and product form. No statutory definition of a spray product exists. The only place any agent is NAMED in CT statute is the misuse offense § 53a-167c(a)(3), which names ‘mace, tear gas or any like or similar deleterious agent’ — it does not name OC, CS or CN individually and says nothing about aerosol vs gel vs foam vs projectile.
“Dangerous instrument” means any instrument, article or substance which, under the circumstances in which it is used or attempted or threatened to be used, is capable of causing death or serious physical injury
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-3(7); § 53a-167c(a)(3)
Misuse offense. No general reckless/malicious-discharge offense. There IS a victim-specific aggravated assault offense: § 53a-167c(a)(3), assault of public safety, emergency medical, public transit or health care personnel, class C felony, committed by using mace or tear gas against a listed officer with intent to prevent performance of duty.
such person uses or causes to be used any mace, tear gas or any like or similar deleterious agent against such peace officer, firefighter, employee
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-167c(a)(3)
Place restrictions. none found for sprays. The school-grounds offense § 53a-217b is limited to ‘a firearm or deadly weapon, as defined in section 53a-3’ — the § 53a-3(6) closed list, which excludes chemical agents.
A person is guilty of possession of a weapon on school grounds when, knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so, such person possesses a firearm or deadly weapon
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-217b(a)
Local regulation. Not established. Fetched CGS chapter 98 (§§ 7-148 et seq., municipal powers) at https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_098.htm and grepped the full 332,808-character text: ‘preempt’ = 0 hits, ‘weapon’ = 0 hits, ‘firearm’ = 4 hits (all in § 7-151b, lake patrolmen carrying a firearm — irrelevant), ‘ordinance’ = 220 hits (control term, confirming extraction worked). Also swept all of Titles 29/53/53a for ‘preempt’ with no weapons-preemption provision found.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Connecticut, see Connecticut gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Delaware Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, by an express statutory carve-out. Criminalizing statute: 11 Del.
A person is guilty of carrying a concealed dangerous instrument when the person carries concealed a dangerous instrument upon or about the person.
Numeric limits. Not established. Downloaded the complete Title 11 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) PDF from https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/Title11.pdf (2.1 MB, 2,568,660 characters of extracted text) and grepped every occurrence of ‘chemical spray’. Exactly 6 hits, all identified: § 222(5)b, § 222(8), § 612(a)(7), § 612(a)(8), § 1443(c), § 1458(a).
Age. Not established. Same complete-Title-11 sweep described above: no age threshold attaches to any of the six ‘chemical spray’ occurrences. Delaware’s weapons age rules (11 Del.
Who may sell. Not established. Same complete-Title-11 sweep. No dealer license, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity cap and no labeling requirement for disabling chemical spray.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same complete-Title-11 sweep. 11 Del.
Chemical identity and product form. Delaware’s definition is the broadest of the six. It NAMES mace, tear gas and pepper spray generically (not OC/CS/CN by chemical name) and on its face expressly reaches liquid, gaseous AND SOLID substances, and any canister, container or device — so it is NOT limited to aerosols and plainly covers gels, foams and, by ‘any canister, container or device designed or intended to carry, store or disperse’, projectile delivery.
“Disabling chemical spray” includes mace, tear gas, pepper spray or any other mixture containing quantities thereof, or any other aerosol spray or any liquid, gaseous or solid substance capable of producing temporary physical discomfort, disability or injury
Misuse offense. YES — two, both intent-based rather than reckless. (1) 11 Del.
A person shall not knowingly or recklessly remove or attempt to remove a firearm or projectile weapon, disabling chemical spray, baton or other deadly weapon from the possession of another person
Place restrictions. Not established. 11 Del. C.
Local regulation. Delaware expressly preempts MUNICIPAL regulation, but the preemption statute’s SCOPE names only ‘firearms or components of firearms or ammunition’. It does NOT name sprays, chemical weapons, dangerous instruments or weapons generally.
The municipal governments shall enact no law, ordinance or regulation prohibiting, restricting or licensing the ownership, transfer, possession or transportation of firearms or components of firearms or ammunition
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Delaware, see Delaware gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
District of Columbia Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively CRIMINAL with an express self-defense carve-out — DC is the clearest (b) case in this batch. Criminalizing statute: D.C.
Any device containing tear gas or a chemically similar lacrimator or sternutator by whatever name known;
Numeric limits. Not established. Read in full § 7-2502.12 (definition), § 7-2502.13 (possession), § 7-2502.13a (sale), § 7-2502.14 (registration — REPEALED), § 7-2501.01 (definitions, 22,926 characters) and § 7-2507.06 (penalties) on code.dccouncil.gov. Searched each for ‘ounce’, ‘percent’, ‘concentration’, ‘volume’, ‘weight’, ‘gram’.
Age. Not established. Confirmed by reading the current text of §§ 7-2502.12, 7-2502.13, 7-2502.13a, 7-2502.14 and 7-2507.06 on code.dccouncil.gov, and by the repeal history line on the § 7-2502.14 page: ‘May 19, 2017, D.C. Law 21-281, § 2(c), 64 DCR 1648.’ Treat the § 7-2507.06(a)(1) interaction as an open question, not as settled.
Who may sell. No dealer license. But there ARE three mandatory product/point-of-sale conditions on every transfer: aerosol propulsion, labeling with or accompanied by clearly written instructions as to use, and dating to indicate anticipated useful life.
the self-defense spray is propelled from an aerosol container, labeled with or accompanied by clearly written instructions as to its use, and dated to indicate its anticipated useful life.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same reading of §§ 7-2502.12, 7-2502.13, 7-2502.13a and 7-2507.06. No prior-conviction predicate attaches to self-defense sprays in the current code.
Chemical identity and product form. DC names five specific agents by chemical name — the most specific chemical definition in this batch — and expressly includes both CN-family and CS-family lacrimators as well as OC. But the PRODUCT FORM is narrowly limited: § 7-2502.13(a) and § 7-2502.13a both require the spray to be ‘propelled from an aerosol container’.
“Self-defense spray” means a mixture of a lacrimator including chloroacetophenone, alphacloracetophenone, phenylchloromethylketone, orthochlorobenazalm-alononitrile or oleoresin capsicum.
Misuse offense. No standalone reckless/malicious-discharge crime. Misuse is handled structurally: § 7-2502.13(a) permits use ONLY ‘in the exercise of reasonable force in defense of the person or the person’s property’, so any other use falls outside the carve-out and back into unlawful possession of a destructive device, plus generic assault.
Possession of a self-defense spray in violation of
D.C. Code § 7-2507.06(b)(1)(D)
Place restrictions. Not established. Read §§ 7-2502.12, 7-2502.13, 7-2502.13a and 7-2507.06 in full on code.dccouncil.gov. None contains a place restriction.
Local regulation. Not established. Searched the DC Code firearms unit (Chapter 25 of Title 7) definitions section § 7-2501.01 and the operative spray sections for ‘preempt’ — zero hits. There is no analogue to Fla.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in District of Columbia, see District of Columbia gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Florida Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL by definitional exclusion — Florida does not exempt sprays from a crime, it defines them OUT of the regulated category in the first place. Criminalizing statute: Fla.
“Tear gas gun” or “chemical weapon or device” means any weapon of such nature, except a device known as a “self-defense chemical spray.”
Numeric limits. THIS IS THE ANSWER YOU ASKED FOR. The statute says ‘not more than two ounces of chemical’.
“Self-defense chemical spray” means a device carried solely for purposes of lawful self-defense that is compact in size, designed to be carried on or about the person, and contains not more than two ounces of chemical.
Age. Not established. Downloaded the ENTIRE Chapter 790 as a single document from https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/Chapter790/All (263,206 characters of extracted text) and enumerated every occurrence of ‘chemical spray’ (6), ‘tear gas’ (6), ‘chemical weapon’ (5) and ‘spray’ (6) with 260 characters of context each. All 12 distinct occurrences are accounted for: § 790.001(4)(a), (4)(b) x3, (20); § 790.01(5)(b)1 and (6); § 790.053(2)(a); § 790.054; § 790.06(1)(a); § 790.23(1); § 790.235(1).
Who may sell. Not established. Same complete Chapter 790 sweep described above. No dealer license, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit and no labeling requirement for self-defense chemical spray.
Prohibited persons. YES — but with a definitional twist that probably defeats it. § 790.23(1) bars listed persons from carrying ‘a concealed weapon, including a tear gas gun or chemical weapon or device’.
to carry a concealed weapon, including a tear gas gun or chemical weapon or device, if that person has been:
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Florida names NO agent at all — not oleoresin capsicum, not CS, not CN. ‘Tear gas’ appears only as part of the composite term ‘tear gas gun’.
Misuse offense. YES, but only one and it is victim-specific, not a general reckless-discharge offense: § 790.054, knowingly and willfully using a self-defense chemical spray against a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of duties — third-degree felony. There is NO general reckless or malicious discharge crime for sprays.
A person who knowingly and willfully uses a self-defense chemical spray, a nonlethal stun gun or other nonlethal electric weapon or device, or a dart-firing stun gun against a law enforcement officer
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction. The school-property offense § 790.115(2)(a) bars ‘other weapon as defined in s.
A person shall not possess any firearm, electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon as defined in
Local regulation. Florida has a very aggressive express preemption statute, but read its SCOPE: it occupies ‘the whole field of regulation of FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION’. The section is titled ‘Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition preempted’.
the Legislature hereby declares that it is occupying the whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, including the purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and transportation thereof
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Florida, see Florida gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Georgia No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, by total absence from the regulatory scheme. Georgia has NO chemical-spray statute.
(a) Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun may
O.C.G.A. § 16-11-126(a) (as enacted by 2022 Ga. Laws, SB 319, § 5)
Numeric limits. Not established. Read the full enacted text of 2022 Ga. Laws SB 319/AP (the constitutional-carry Act that most recently rewrote § 16-11-125.1 and § 16-11-126) from the Governor’s official site gov.georgia.gov, and the full enacted text of 2014 Ga.
Age. Not established. Same evidence base as above. No age threshold, no buyer/possessor/seller allocation, no parental-consent variant.
Who may sell. Not established. Same evidence base. No dealer licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit and no labeling requirement for sprays anywhere in Georgia law.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same evidence base. O.C.G.A.
Chemical identity and product form. Georgia names no agent and defines no product form, because it has no spray provision. The operative definitional fact is the narrowness of ‘weapon’: it means only a knife or a handgun.
(5) ‘Weapon’ means a knife or handgun.
O.C.G.A. § 16-11-125.1(5) (as enacted by 2022 Ga. Laws, SB 319, § 4)
Misuse offense. Not established. Same evidence base. Georgia has no reckless- or malicious-discharge offense for chemical sprays.
Place restrictions. Not established. Read 2022 Ga. Laws SB 319/AP § 7 in full (gov.georgia.gov) and 2014 Ga.
Local regulation. Georgia expressly preempts local regulation, and its scope language is BROADER than Florida’s or Delaware’s — but it still does not name sprays or chemical weapons. The declaration is framed as ‘the regulation of firearms and other weapons’, and the operative bar at § 16-11-173(b)(1)(B) covers ‘the possession, ownership, transport, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, or registration of firearms or other weapons or components of firearms or other weapons’.
(a)(1) It is declared by the General Assembly that the regulation of firearms and other
O.C.G.A. § 16-11-173(a)(1) (as enacted by 2014 Ga. Laws, HB 60, § 4-2)
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Georgia, see Georgia gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Hawaii No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. This is the finding: HAWAI’I HAS NO STATE STATUTE ON PEPPER SPRAY AT ALL.
Any person, not authorized by law, who knowingly carries concealed on the person, or in a bag or other container carried by the person, any dirk, dagger, blackjack, metal knuckles, or other deadly or dangerous weapon shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
Numeric limits. Not established. See the negative_basis field below — 2,782 HRS section files crawled, zero hits.
Age. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl described in negative_basis. No state age rule for sprays exists.
Who may sell. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl. No state dealer-licensing, point-of-sale, quantity or labeling requirement for sprays exists.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl. HRS § 134-7 (persons prohibited from owning, possessing or controlling firearms and ammunition) is keyed to firearms and ammunition; no prior-conviction predicate in Hawai’i law reaches chemical sprays.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl for the state-level negative; county ordinances retrieved separately as set out in the counties array.
Misuse offense. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl, which included the entire Penal Code (Vol. 14, Chapters 701-853).
Place restrictions. Not established. Same 2,782-file HRS crawl for the state negative. County provisions: ROH § 41-37.3(e) and KCC § 22-15.2(e), both retrieved verbatim — see counties array notes.
Local regulation. Hawai’i EXPRESSLY PERMITS county regulation, and it does so by a general home-rule police-power grant rather than by any spray-specific authorization. HRS § 46-1.5(13) gives each county power to enact ordinances necessary to protect health, life and property on any subject not inconsistent with, or tending to defeat, the intent of any state statute, where the statute does not disclose an express or implied intent to be exclusive or uniform.
Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect health, life, and property, and to preserve the order and security of the county and its inhabitants
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Hawaii, see Hawaii gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Idaho No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Idaho criminalizing statute for self-defense sprays was found.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the possession or use of any individual self-defense device, including devices which contain pepper spray or chemical mace.
Numeric limits. Not established. Read the complete text of Idaho Code 18-3324, 18-3302 and 18-3302J on legislature.idaho.gov and the whole section index of Title 18 Ch. 33 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title18/T18CH33/).
Age. Not established. No age threshold binding buyer, possessor or seller appears in 18-3324 or 18-3302 (both read in full). Idaho’s minors-and-weapons provision, 18-3302F/18-3302E (Title 18 Ch.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale-quantity or labeling provision for sprays found. Searched the full Title 18 Chapter 33 section list (all sections 18-3301 through 18-3327 by catchline) at https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title18/T18CH33/ — no catchline mentions sprays, chemical repellents or retail sale of such.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No spray-specific prohibited-person predicate. Idaho’s felon-possession statute (18-3316, catchline ‘UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM’ in the Ch.
Chemical identity and product form. Agents named by name: ‘pepper spray’ and ‘chemical mace’ (18-3324(4)); ‘pepper spray or mace’ (18-3302(2)(c)(iii)). No OC/CS/CN chemical nomenclature is used.
the possession or use of any individual self-defense device, including devices which contain pepper spray or chemical mace
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious spray-discharge offense. Read all section catchlines in Title 18 Ch.
Place restrictions. Not established. 18-3302D (schools) and 18-3302J were fetched and read; 18-3302D is firearm-focused and Ch. 33’s place provisions run on ‘firearm’ or ‘deadly weapon’, and 18-3302(2)(c)(iii) removes pepper spray/mace from ‘deadly weapon’.
Local regulation. EXPRESS preemption exists but its SCOPE does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all. Idaho Code 18-3302J is titled ‘Preemption of firearms regulation’ and its scope language is confined to ‘firearms and components thereof, including ammunition’.
no county, city, agency, board or any other political subdivision of this state may adopt or enforce any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, executive order, or policy which regulates in any manner the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, carrying or storage of firearms
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Idaho, see Idaho gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Illinois Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. CONFIRMED: presumptively CRIMINAL with a carve-out. 720 ILCS 5/24-1(a)(3) (Unlawful possession of weapons) criminalizes carrying ‘any object containing noxious liquid gas or substance’; the carve-out for personal-defense sprays sits INSIDE the same subsection as an ‘other than’ clause, not in a separate section.
a tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object containing noxious liquid gas or substance
Numeric limits. Not established. Fetched and read the ENTIRE text of 720 ILCS 5/24-1, 5/24-1.1, 5/24-2, 5/24-3 and 5/24-3.1 from ilga.gov (DocName= 072000050K24-1, K24-1.1, K24-2, K24-3, K24-3.1). Grepped all five for: ounce, oz, fluid, ml, cc, gram, percent, %, capsaicin, oleoresin, concentration.
Age. 18 years. It binds the CARRIER/POSSESSOR, not the buyer and not the seller — the age sits inside the carve-out from the carrying offense (‘carried by a person 18 years of age or older’).
other than an object containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or substance designed solely for personal defense carried by a person 18 years of age or older
Who may sell. none found
(3) Carries on or about his person or in any vehicle,
Prohibited persons. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.1(a) reaches ‘any weapon prohibited under Section 24-1 of this Act’, which on its face includes a noxious-substance object under 24-1(a)(3). Predicate in the statute’s own words (quoted): conviction of a felony ‘under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction’.
if the person has been convicted of a felony under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction
Chemical identity and product form. Named agent: ‘tear gas’ (in the phrase ‘tear gas gun projector or bomb’). Everything else is generic: ‘noxious liquid gas or substance’.
a tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object containing noxious liquid gas or substance, other than an object containing a non-lethal noxious liquid gas or substance
Misuse offense. none found
Causes severe and permanent disability, great bodily harm, or disfigurement by means of a caustic or flammable substance, a poisonous gas, a deadly biological or chemical contaminant or agent, a radioactive substance, or a bomb or explosive compound.
Place restrictions. YES — 720 ILCS 5/24-1(c)(2) elevates a violation of 24-1(a)(3) to a Class 4 FELONY when committed in or on: any school (any time of day or year), public-housing residential property, a public park, a courthouse, a school or public-transport conveyance, or any public way within 1,000 feet of any of those. Note the interaction: because the 18+ personal-defense carve-out is written into (a)(3) itself, a lawful adult carrier does not ‘violate 24-1(a)(3)’ and so arguably does not trigger (c)(2); the place enhancement bites on under-18 carriers and on non-carved-out devices such as a tear gas gun projector.
24-1(a)(2), or 24-1(a)(3) in any school, regardless of the time of day or the time of year, in residential property owned, operated or managed by a public housing agency
Local regulation. Express preemption EXISTS in Illinois but its SCOPE does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all — both preemption sections are confined to handguns/firearms/ammunition/assault weapons. 430 ILCS 66/90 (Firearm Concealed Carry Act) preempts ‘handguns and ammunition for handguns by licensees’.
The regulation, licensing, possession, registration, and transportation of handguns and ammunition for handguns by licensees are exclusive powers and functions of the State.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Illinois, see Illinois gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Indiana Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Indiana statute criminalizes possession, carrying or sale of a self-defense spray.
IC 35-47-8 Chapter 8. Regulation of Electronic Stun Weapons, Tasers, and Stun Guns
Numeric limits. ONE numeric limit exists, but it is NOT a possession cap — it is an exclusion from the definition of ‘dangerous gas’ in IC 35-31.5-2-83, which in turn feeds the definition of ‘Bomb’ at IC 35-31.5-2-31(a)(2). UNIT AS STATED: ‘one-half (1/2) ounce’ — a BARE OUNCE.
Tear gas devices designed to be carried on or about the person that contain not more than one-half (1/2) ounce of the chemical.
Age. Not established. Grepped the complete 5.6 MB HTML of Indiana Code Title 35 (Criminal Law and Procedure, 2025 edition) for: spray, mace, capsicum, oleoresin, lachrymator, noxious, ‘chemical repellent’, ‘tear gas’. Only three hits total, all listed elsewhere in this record (IC 35-31.5-2-83, IC 35-31.5-2-86, and the LEO phrase).
Who may sell. Not established. Same full-text grep of IC Title 35 (2025). No licensing, point-of-sale, quantity-per-sale or labeling provision for sprays.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No spray-specific prohibited-person predicate in IC Title 35. Indiana’s serious-violent-felon provision (IC 35-47-4-5) and IC 35-47-2 both run on ‘firearm’.
Chemical identity and product form. Indiana never uses OC/CS/CN or ‘pepper spray’. Two descriptors only: (1) ‘Tear gas devices designed to be carried on or about the person’ (IC 35-31.5-2-83(2)); (2) ‘a chemical designed to temporarily incapacitate a person’ (IC 35-31.5-2-86(b)(3)), sitting alongside the catch-all ‘(4) another device designed to temporarily incapacitate a person’.
(3) a chemical designed to temporarily incapacitate a person; or
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious spray-discharge crime in IC Title 35 (full-text grep for spray/mace/noxious/tear gas returned only the three definitional hits). Misuse falls under general battery, IC 35-42-2-1, which does not name sprays; the ‘deadly weapon’ aggravator there can be engaged via IC 35-31.5-2-86(a)(2)’s reference to a ‘chemical substance …
Place restrictions. Not established. IC 35-47-9 (‘Firearms on school property’ — chapter heading read from the Title 35 file) and IC 35-47-6 (airports/aircraft, catchline ‘Firearm, explosive, or deadly weapon; possession in commercial or…’) are the place chapters; neither names sprays. Full-text grep of Title 35 for spray/mace/capsicum/noxious found no place restriction.
Local regulation. Express preemption EXISTS but its SCOPE does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all. IC 35-47-11.1 is headed ‘Local Regulation of Firearms, Ammunition, and Firearm Accessories’ and section 2 lists only ‘(1) firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories’, ‘(2) the ownership, possession, carrying, transportation, registration, transfer, and storage of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories’ and ‘(3) commerce in and taxation of firearms, firearm ammunition, and firearm accessories’.
Sec. 2. Except as provided in section 4 of this chapter, a political subdivision may not regulate:
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Indiana, see Indiana gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Iowa No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Iowa criminalizing statute for self-defense sprays.
A “dangerous weapon” is any instrument or device designed primarily for use in inflicting death or injury upon a human being or animal
Numeric limits. Not established. Downloaded the Iowa Legislature’s own PDFs of Iowa Code chapter 724 (WEAPONS, https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/724.pdf, 190,064 bytes, footer ‘Iowa Code 2026’), chapter 702 (DEFINITIONS, /docs/code/702.pdf) and chapter 708 (ASSAULT, /docs/code/708.pdf, 141,985 bytes) and grepped all three (case-insensitive) for: noxious, ‘tear gas’, pepper, mace, chemical, spray, capsicum, oleoresin, ounce, ml, gram, percent. Chapter 724 returned exactly TWO ‘gas’/’chemical’ hits, both irrelevant: 724.1(1)(d) ‘propelled by a spring-operated mechanism, elastic material, or compressed gas’ (ballistic knife) and 724.1(1)(f) ‘any explosive mixture or chemical compound capable of exploding or detonating’.
Age. Not established. Iowa Code 724.4E is ‘Possession of dangerous weapons and loaded firearms by minors’ (catchline read from the official chapter 724 PDF); its subject-matter is dangerous weapons and firearms, and 702.7’s ‘dangerous weapon’ definition does not reach sprays. No spray age rule, buyer/possessor/seller, and no parental-consent variant, appears in chapters 702, 708 or 724.
Who may sell. Not established. Read the full section catchline table of chapter 724 from the official PDF (724.1 through 724.32). The sale/acquisition sections — 724.15 ‘Acquiring pistols or revolvers’, 724.16 ‘Prohibited transfers of firearms’, 724.16A ‘Trafficking in stolen weapons’, 724.19-724.21A permits to acquire — are all pistol/revolver/firearm-specific.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Iowa Code 724.26 is ‘Possession, receipt, … and control of firearms, ammunition by felons’ (catchline from the official chapter 724 PDF) — firearms and ammunition only.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Iowa law names NO chemical agent — not OC, CS, CN, tear gas, pepper or mace — anywhere in chapters 702, 708 or 724 (full-text grep of the official PDFs, zero hits). There is therefore no statutory definition to test for gel/foam/projectile coverage.
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless/malicious discharge offense. Chapter 708 (ASSAULT) full text grepped for spray/chemical/noxious/tear gas/pepper: zero hits.
Place restrictions. Not established. Chapter 724’s place provisions are 724.4A ‘Weapons free zones — enhanced penalties’, 724.4B ‘Carrying firearms on school grounds’, and 724.32 ‘County courthouse — weapon prohibitions’. 724.4B is firearm-specific on its face, and 724.32 runs the other way — it makes a judicial-branch weapons ban ‘unenforceable unless the judicial order applies only to a courtroom or a court office, or to a courthouse used only for judicial branch functions.’ No spray-specific place restriction found in the chapter 724 PDF.
Local regulation. Express preemption exists and its SCOPE language is NOTABLY BROADER than the other five states — Iowa Code 724.28(2) reaches ‘firearms, firearms attachments, or other weapons’. It does NOT name sprays, chemical agents or noxious substances, but the residual phrase ‘or other weapons’ is capable of reaching a spray if a spray counts as a ‘weapon’ — which is contestable given that 702.7’s ‘dangerous weapon’ definition does not list one.
A political subdivision of the state shall not enact an ordinance, motion, resolution, policy, or amendment regulating the ownership, possession, carrying, legal transfer, lawful transportation, modification, registration, or licensing of firearms, firearms attachments, or other weapons
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Iowa, see Iowa gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Kansas No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Kansas criminalizing statute for self-defense sprays.
any individual self-defense device, including those using a pepper spray or chemical mace.
Numeric limits. Not established. Read the complete text of K.S.A. 21-6301 (all 18 limbs of subsection (a), the sentencing grid in (b), and the exemptions in (c)) and the complete text of K.S.A.
Age. Not established. K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(7) and (a)(14) are the age limbs and both bind on ‘any firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches long’ — firearms only, not sprays.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, quantity or labeling rule for sprays. The ‘selling/manufacturing’ limbs of K.S.A.
Prohibited persons. none found
possessing with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, blackjack, slungshot, dangerous knife, straight-edged razor, throwing star, stiletto or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character;
Chemical identity and product form. Only K.S.A. 21-5422(d)(5) names agents, and it names them colloquially: ‘pepper spray or chemical mace’.
The following shall not be prohibited under the provisions of this section: (1) Any peaceful purpose related to an industrial, agricultural, research, medical or pharmaceutical activity or other activity;
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious spray-discharge crime. K.S.A.
Place restrictions. Not established. K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(11) and (a)(12) are the school-property limbs and both bind on ‘any firearm’ — read verbatim in full.
Local regulation. Express preemption EXISTS but its SCOPE does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all. K.S.A.
governing the requirement of fees, licenses or permits for, the commerce in or the sale, purchase, transfer, ownership, storage, carrying, transporting or taxation of firearms or ammunition, or any component or combination thereof.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Kansas, see Kansas gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Kentucky No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Kentucky criminalizing statute for self-defense sprays.
Any weapon from which a shot, readily capable of producing death or other serious physical injury, may be discharged;
Numeric limits. Not established. Fetched and read in full from apps.legislature.ky.gov: KRS 500.080 (id=55475), KRS 527.010 (id=19956), KRS 527.020 (id=55372), KRS 527.070 (id=48899), KRS 527.200 (id=19966), KRS 527.210 (id=19968), KRS 237.030 (id=11120), KRS 237.060 (id=11123), KRS 237.104 (id=11130), KRS 65.870 (id=40556). Grepped every one for noxious, chemical, spray, mace, ‘tear gas’, gas, ounce, ml, gram, percent, capsaicin, oleoresin.
Age. Not established. Same ten-statute read plus the Chapter 527 and Chapter 237 catchline listings. Kentucky’s age provisions are KRS 527.100 ‘Possession of handgun by minor’ and KRS 527.110 ‘Unlawfully providing handgun to juvenile or permitting juvenile to possess handgun’ — HANDGUN-specific by catchline.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, quantity or labeling rule for sprays. The full section catchline listing of KRS Chapter 237 (Firearms and Destructive Devices) was read from https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=38384 — every sale/transfer/license catchline is firearm- or destructive-device-specific (e.g.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No spray-specific prohibited-person predicate. KRS 527.040 is ‘Possession of firearm by convicted felon — Exceptions’ (catchline from the Chapter 527 listing) — FIREARM only, not ‘deadly weapon’.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Kentucky statutes name NO chemical agent — no OC, CS, CN, tear gas, pepper or mace — so there is no definition whose face can be tested for gel/foam/projectile reach. The nearest text is the weapon-of-mass-destruction definition, KRS 500.080(22)(b), which reaches ‘Any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious physical injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors’ — a self-defense spray fails that definition at the threshold because it is not designed to cause death or serious physical injury, which is presumably why Kentucky (unlike Idaho and Kansas) needed no express spray savings clause in its WMD statute.
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious spray-discharge crime. The complete section-catchline listing of KRS Chapter 527 was read (527.010 through 527.210); no catchline refers to sprays or chemical irritants.
Place restrictions. none found
any firearm or other deadly weapon, destructive device, or booby trap device in any public or private school building or bus
Local regulation. Express preemption EXISTS and is unusually strong (field preemption, ‘may occupy any part of the field’), but its SCOPE does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all — it is confined to firearms, ammunition, components of each, and firearms accessories. Kentucky local governments are therefore NOT preempted from regulating sprays.
may occupy any part of the field of regulation of the manufacture, sale, purchase, taxation, transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, storage, or transportation of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, components of ammunition, firearms accessories, or combination thereof.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Kentucky, see Kentucky gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Louisiana No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. none found — Louisiana has NO self-defense spray statute of any kind. There is no criminalizing statute naming sprays and therefore no exempting statute either.
”Dangerous weapon” includes any gas, liquid or other substance or instrumentality, which, in the manner used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
Numeric limits. Not established. Searched the Louisiana State Legislature’s own law search (cross-page POST to https://legis.la.gov/Legis/LawSearchList.aspx, the engine behind https://legis.la.gov/Legis/LawSearch.aspx) across ALL eleven law bodies (Revised Statutes, Children’s Code, Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, Code of Evidence, Constitution Ancillaries, Louisiana Constitution, House/Senate/Joint Rules). Terms ‘pepper spray’, ‘tear gas’, ‘oleoresin’, ‘mace’, ‘lachrymator’, ‘capsicum’ each returned: ‘There are 0 sections of law in this list’.
Age. Not established. Same search basis as above — zero hits for every spray term across all Louisiana law bodies, including the Children’s Code, which was searched explicitly. No age limit binds buyer, possessor or seller, and there is no parental-consent provision.
Who may sell. Not established. Same search basis. No seller license, no point-of-sale restriction, no per-sale quantity cap, no labeling mandate.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same search basis. No status-based disqualification attaches to sprays.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. No Louisiana statute names oleoresin capsicum, CS, CN, chemical mace or tear gas — all six chemical-identity search terms returned zero sections across all law bodies. Consequently there is no aerosol/gel/foam/projectile distinction in Louisiana law: the only applicable category is the manner-of-use test in R.S.
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless- or malicious-discharge crime; zero hits for all spray terms. Misuse would be charged under the generic assault and battery provisions, with the spray qualifying as a ‘dangerous weapon’ only if the manner of use met the R.S.
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction. Two generic provisions could reach a spray only through the manner-of-use ‘dangerous weapon’ test: R.S.
Carrying a firearm, or dangerous weapon as defined in R.S. 14:2, by a student or nonstudent on school property, at a school sponsored function, or in a firearm-free zone is unlawful
Local regulation. NO preemption of local spray regulation, but READ THE SCOPE LIST — Louisiana’s is the broadest of the six and still misses sprays. R.S.
concerning in any way the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, carrying, storage, ownership, taxation, transfer, transportation, license, or registration of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms or ammunition, firearms accessories, knives, edged weapons, or any combination thereof
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Louisiana, see Louisiana gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Maine Expressly permitted
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively lawful, and Maine goes further than mere silence — it AFFIRMATIVELY EXEMPTS sprays from its concealed-weapon statute. The criminalizing statute is 17-A M.R.S.
Wear under the person’s clothes or conceal about the person’s person a firearm, slungshot, knuckles, bowie knife, dirk, stiletto or other dangerous or deadly weapon usually employed in the attack on or defense of a person.
25 M.R.S. §2001-A(1)(B), (2)(B); 17-A M.R.S. §1002(1)
Numeric limits. Not established. No percentage, gram, ounce or size limit anywhere in the Maine Revised Statutes. Searched the Maine Legislature’s own statute search (POST to https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/search.asp) for: ‘oleoresin’ (0 results), ‘capsicum’ (0), ‘pepper spray’ (0, both quoted and unquoted), ‘self-defense spray’ (0), ‘mace’ (2 sections: 17-A §1002 and 17-A §101), ‘disabling chemicals’ (2 sections: 17-A §1002 and 25 §2001-A), ‘tear gas’ (2 sections: 32 §8114 and 32 §9412, both private-security/private-investigator licensing acts barring furnishing ‘tear gas implements’ to employers in labor disputes — not consumer regulation).
Age. Not established. No age limit binds buyer, possessor or seller, and there is no parental-consent provision. 17-A §1002 contains no age term, and the Maine statute search terms above surfaced no other section regulating spray.
Who may sell. Not established. No seller license, no point-of-sale restriction, no per-sale quantity cap, no labeling mandate. Same search basis as above.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No status-based disqualification (felon, mental commitment, protective order) attaches to disabling chemicals in Maine. 17-A §1002 has no prohibited-person clause; Maine’s possession bars sit at 15 M.R.S.
Chemical identity and product form. One named agent plus an open functional genus: ‘chemical mace or any similar substance composed of a mixture of gas and chemicals which has or is designed to have a disabling effect upon human beings’. OC and CS are not named; they are reached, if at all, through the ‘any similar substance’ clause.
intentionally sprays or otherwise uses upon any other person chemical mace or any similar substance composed of a mixture of gas and chemicals which has or is designed to have a disabling effect upon human beings
Misuse offense. Yes — and in Maine the misuse offense IS the whole statute. §1002 requires only INTENTIONAL use upon another person; it is not qualified by ‘recklessly’ or ‘maliciously’, so the mental state is satisfied by intentional deployment, and lawfulness depends entirely on fitting one of the three §1002(3) justifications.
This section shall not apply to the use of those disabling chemicals when that use is for the purpose of:
Place restrictions. none found
A person may not possess a firearm on public school property or the property of an approved private school or discharge a firearm within 500 feet of public school property or the property of an approved private school.
Local regulation. NO preemption of local spray regulation. READ THE SCOPE LANGUAGE CAREFULLY — Maine’s preemption is unusually sweeping in its verbs (‘sale, purchase, purchase delay, transfer, ownership, use, possession, bearing, transportation, licensing, permitting, registration, taxation or any other matter’) but its OBJECT is a closed four-item list: ‘firearms, components, ammunition or supplies’.
The State intends to occupy and preempt the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of firearms, components, ammunition and supplies.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Maine, see Maine gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Maryland Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively lawful. Maryland has NO statute prohibiting the purchase, sale, possession or carry of pepper spray as such.
A person may not wear or carry a dangerous weapon, chemical mace, pepper mace, or a tear gas device openly with the intent or purpose of injuring an individual in an unlawful manner.
Md. Code, Crim. Law §4-101(a)(5)(i), (c)(2)
Numeric limits. Not established. No percentage, gram, ounce or size limit. Searched the Maryland General Assembly’s own site: (a) the full text of Crim.
Age. none found — and this is a REPEAL, not an omission. Maryland formerly banned minors from possessing pepper mace; that prohibition was repealed by 2002 House Bill 1377, which became Chapter 571 of the Acts of 2002.
Repealing a prohibition on minors possessing pepper mace; repealing a specified penalty; establishing the intent of the General Assembly; and generally relating to minors and possession of pepper mace.
Md. Code, Crim. Law §4-101(c)(3)(ii); 2002 Md. Laws ch. 571 (HB 1377)
Who may sell. Not established. No seller license, no point-of-sale rule, no per-sale quantity cap, no labeling mandate anywhere in Maryland law. Same search basis as the numeric-limits entry: §4-101 (the only Code section in Maryland that names pepper mace) contains no sale provision at all, and the mgaleg Full Text bill search for ‘”pepper mace”’ surfaced no sale-regulating bill.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No status-based bar (felon, mental commitment, protective order) attaches to pepper spray in Maryland. §4-101 contains no disqualification list of any kind — its only person-specific provisions are the (b) carve-outs PERMITTING carry by officers, railroad special agents, handgun-permit holders, and ‘an individual who carries the weapon as a reasonable precaution against apprehended danger’.
Chemical identity and product form. Three named categories, and Maryland is the ONLY state in this batch that defines its spray term by DELIVERY FORM: ‘Pepper mace’ means an aerosol propelled combination of highly disabling irritant pepper-based products, glossed as oleoresin capsicum (o.c.) spray. §4-101(c)(2) separately names ‘chemical mace’ (undefined — historically CN) and ‘a tear gas device’ (undefined — CS/CN).
”Pepper mace” means an aerosol propelled combination of highly disabling irritant pepper-based products. (ii) ”Pepper mace” is also known as oleoresin capsicum (o.c.) spray.
Md. Code, Crim. Law §4-101(a)(3)
Misuse offense. Yes — §4-101(c)(2) is itself the misuse offense, but it is an INTENT-BASED CARRY offense, not a discharge offense: it punishes wearing or carrying spray openly with the intent or purpose of injuring an individual unlawfully. There is no separate reckless- or malicious-DISCHARGE crime.
A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.
Md. Code, Crim. Law §4-101(d)(1), (d)(2)
Place restrictions. None naming spray. The candidate is the school-property offense at Crim.
A person may not carry or possess a firearm, knife, or deadly weapon of any kind on public school property.
Local regulation. NO preemption of local spray regulation. Read the scope: Maryland’s preemption statute reaches only ‘a handgun, rifle, or shotgun’ and their ammunition and components — an exhaustive two-item list.
the State preempts the right of a county, municipal corporation, or special taxing district to regulate the purchase, sale, taxation, transfer, manufacture, repair, ownership, possession, and transportation of:
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Maryland, see Maryland gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Massachusetts No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively lawful for adults, with a criminal overlay on unlicensed SELLING and on under-18 possession. There is no general prohibition on possessing self-defense spray.
No person under 18 years of age may purchase or possess self-defense spray without a self-defense spray permit issued by a licensing authority in accordance with section 121F.
M.G.L. c.140 §122C(a); §122D(a)
Numeric limits. Not established. No concentration cap, no gram/ounce cap, no canister-size limit anywhere in the Massachusetts General Laws. Searched malegislature.gov’s own General Laws search (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/Search?searchTerms=self-defense+spray) — exactly 4 sections in the entire General Laws contain the phrase ‘self-defense spray’: c.140 §121 (definition), §121F (permit process), §122C (offenses), §122D (minor permit).
Age. 18 is the line, and it binds THREE parties separately. (a) POSSESSOR/PURCHASER: under 18 may not purchase or possess without a self-defense spray permit — §122D(a), penalized at §122C(c) ($300 fine).
This permit may be issued to a person at least 12 years of age but less than 15 years if the person is not a prohibited person or unsuitable under section 121F and if the applicant submits with their application a certificate from the applicant’s parent or guardian granting permission to apply for this permit.
Who may sell. Only a holder of a §122 license to sell firearms and ammunition. That is the pinch point: there is no separate spray-vendor license, so a shop that is not a licensed firearms dealer commits a 2-year offense by selling pepper spray.
Whoever, not being licensed as provided in section 122, sells self-defense spray shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 years.
M.G.L. c.140 §122C(a); §122(a), (b)
Prohibited persons. For ADULTS: none — no status disqualification applies, because no permit is required. The ‘prohibited person’ machinery bites only on under-18s seeking a §122D permit, where §121F(j) supplies the predicate list (felony or 2+ year misdemeanor conviction; violent crime; firearms/ammunition offense; controlled-substance offense; §921(a)(33) misdemeanor crime of domestic violence; mental-health or substance commitment; 209A/258E/ERPO orders; outstanding warrant; not a citizen/LPR; dishonourable discharge) plus a separate discretionary ‘unsuitability’ ground at §121F(k).
has ever, in a court of the commonwealth or in any other state or federal jurisdiction, been convicted or adjudicated as a youthful offender or delinquent child or both, as defined in section 52 of chapter 119, for the commission of: (A) a felony;
Chemical identity and product form. Deliberately open-textured — Massachusetts names no chemical at all. The §121 definition captures ‘chemical mace, pepper spray’ by trade/common name and then sweeps in any device or instrument containing, propelling or emitting a liquid, gas, powder or other substance designed to incapacitate.
”Self-defense spray”, chemical mace, pepper spray or any device or instrument which contains, propels or emits a liquid, gas, powder or other substance designed to incapacitate.
M.G.L. c.140 §121, definition of ‘Self-defense spray’
Misuse offense. Not established. There is no spray-specific reckless- or malicious-discharge crime. The malegislature.gov General Laws search for ‘self-defense spray’ returns only §§121, 121F, 122C, 122D, none of which creates a use offense — §122C is confined to unlicensed sale, sale to an unpermitted minor, and possession by an unpermitted minor.
Place restrictions. None specific to spray. The only candidate is the general school-grounds weapon offense at c.269 §10(j), which reaches a ‘firearm …
carries on their person a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or other dangerous weapon in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university
Local regulation. Not established. Massachusetts has no firearms-or-weapons preemption statute at all, and none touching sprays. Searched malegislature.gov’s General Laws index for ‘preempt’ — 11 hits, all unrelated subject matter (c.150F §8 labor; c.40P §5 rent control; c.277B §8 grand juries; c.175 §4C and §223B insurance; c.106 §9-311 UCC; etc.).
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Massachusetts, see Massachusetts gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Michigan Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Prohibition-plus-carve-out. MCL 750.224(1)(e) makes it a 5-year felony to manufacture, sell, offer for sale or possess any gas-ejecting incapacitating device; MCL 750.224(3)(a) exempts ‘a self-defense spray or foam device as defined in section 224d’.
A device, weapon, cartridge, container, or contrivance designed to render a person temporarily or permanently disabled by the ejection, release, or emission of a gas or other substance.
MCL 750.224(1)(e), (3)(a); MCL 750.224d(1)
Numeric limits. THE KEY ANSWER: the 18% figure is stated BARE, with NO measurement basis. The statute says only ‘A solution containing not more than 18% oleoresin capsicum.’ It does not say percent by weight, percent by volume, percent of solution, or percent of total capsaicinoids.
(i) Not more than 35 grams of any combination of orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile and inert ingredients. (ii) A solution containing not more than 18% oleoresin capsicum.
MCL 750.224d(1)(a)(i)-(iii), (1)(b)
Age. Binds the SELLER only. No numeric age is stated — the statute uses the bare word ‘minor’ (Michigan age of majority is 18 by general law, MCL 722.52; 224d itself supplies no number).
A person shall not sell a self-defense spray or foam device to a minor.
Who may sell. Not established. No seller license, no point-of-sale restriction, no per-sale quantity cap, no labeling mandate. Searched the Michigan Legislature’s own MCL full-text search (https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Search/ExecuteSearch?docTypes=MCLs and contentFullText=…) for ‘oleoresin capsicum’ (1 result: 750.224d), ‘orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile’ (1 result: 750.224d), ‘self-defense spray’ (4 results: 28.425b, 750.224, 750.224d, 777.16m), ‘pepper spray’ (0 results).
Prohibited persons. none found — no status-based disqualification (felon, mental commitment, DV order) attaches to spray in Michigan. The only person-based limits are (a) the minor-sale ban and (b) an authorization rule running the other way: sworn use by sheriff/police employees requires WRITTEN authorization plus training.
who is authorized in writing by the county sheriff or chief of police to carry and use a self-defense spray or foam device and has been trained in the use, effects, and risks of the device
Chemical identity and product form. Two agents named: orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) and oleoresin capsicum (OC), plus an optional ultraviolet dye. CN and ‘chemical mace’ are NOT named — a CN device therefore is not a ‘self-defense spray or foam device’ and falls back under the 750.224 felony.
The device is capable of carrying, and ejects, releases, or emits 1 of the following:
Misuse offense. Yes — two. (1) A standalone 2-year misdemeanor / $2,000 for using a conforming device on another person, subject to the self-defense and sworn-officer exceptions in (5).
a person who uses a self-defense spray or foam device to eject, release, or emit orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile or oleoresin capsicum at another person is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years
Place restrictions. No possession ban anywhere. But MCL 750.237a(2) expressly enumerates section 224d among the offenses whose commission ‘in a weapon free school zone’ is punished as an enhanced misdemeanor — i.e.
An individual who engages in conduct proscribed under section 223(1), 224d, 227c, 227d, 231c, 232a(1) or (4), 233, 234, 234e, 234f, 235, 236, or 237
Local regulation. NO express preemption of local spray regulation. Michigan’s preemption statute (1990 PA 319) is by its terms limited to pistols, other firearms, pneumatic guns, ammunition and firearm components.
regulate in any other manner the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols, other firearms, or pneumatic guns, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Michigan, see Michigan gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Minnesota Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Prohibition-plus-carve-out, and unusually strict about it. Subd.
No person shall possess or use tear gas or a tear gas compound other than an authorized tear gas compound.
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 3(d), subd. 2(a)
Numeric limits. Not established. Read the complete text of Minn. Stat.
Age. 16, binding the POSSESSOR/USER, with an express PARENTAL-CONSENT override in writing. Note the split: 16 for tear gas compounds, but 18 with NO consent override for electronic incapacitation devices.
No person under the age of 16 may possess or use an authorized tear gas compound except by written permission of a parent or guardian, and no person under the age of 18 may possess or use an electronic incapacitation device.
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 3(a)
Who may sell. No STATE seller license — but Minnesota expressly hands vendor licensing to LOCAL government, and then makes violating that local license a state misdemeanor. Counties, statutory/home-rule cities and towns may license spray vendors, set fees, set qualifications, set license duration, cap the NUMBER of licenses issued, and set revocation grounds and penalties.
the authority to license the business of vendors of tear gas, tear gas compounds, authorized tear gas compounds, or electronic incapacitation devices within their respective jurisdictions, to impose a license fee therefor
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 9(b); subd. 5
Prohibited persons. Yes, and it is felony-grade. Three tiers, all borrowed from the pistol-disqualification list at §624.713 subd.
No person prohibited from possessing a pistol pursuant to section 624.713, subdivision 1, clause (2), may possess or use an authorized tear gas compound or an electronic incapacitation device.
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 3(b); §624.713 subd. 1(2)
Chemical identity and product form. CHEMICAL IDENTITY ONLY — the definition is a named list: chloroacetophenone; alpha-chloroacetophenone; phenylchloromethylketone; orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile; oleoresin capsicum. That is CN (under three synonyms), CS and OC.
”authorized tear gas compound” means a lachrymator or any substance composed of a mixture of a lachrymator including chloroacetophenone, alpha-chloroacetophenone; phenylchloromethylketone, orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile or oleoresin capsicum, commonly known as tear gas
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 1(1); subd. 2(a)
Misuse offense. Yes — a whole subdivision of them, graded. FELONY: using tear gas or a tear gas compound in an immobilizing concentration against another person outside the subd.
No person shall use tear gas or a tear gas compound in an immobilizing concentration against another person, except as otherwise permitted by subdivision 2.
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 4(d), 4(c)
Place restrictions. One express place rule, and it restricts the SALE VENUE rather than carry: no tear gas, tear gas compound, authorized compound or electronic incapacitation device may be sold or furnished on premises where 3.2 percent malt liquor is sold on-sale, or where intoxicating liquor is sold on-sale or off-sale. There is NO carry/possession place ban in §624.731.
No tear gas, tear gas compound, authorized tear gas compound, or electronic incapacitation device shall be sold or furnished on premises where 3.2 percent malt liquor as defined in section 340A.101, subdivision 19, is sold on an on-sale basis
Local regulation. EXPRESS PREEMPTION — but read the scope words, because they are deliberately narrow and there is a carve-back. Subd.
This section shall be the exclusive regulation of the possession, use, and furnishing of tear gas, tear gas compounds, authorized tear gas compounds, and electronic incapacitation devices in Minnesota.
Minn. Stat. §624.731, subd. 10
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Minnesota, see Minnesota gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Mississippi No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL, with one loose thread. Mississippi has no self-defense spray statute – no criminalizing statute and no exempting statute.
any person who carries, concealed on or about one’s person, any bowie knife, dirk knife, butcher knife, switchblade knife, metallic knuckles, blackjack,
Miss. Code 97-37-1(1), as amended by 2023 H.B. 912 (approved by the Governor)
Numeric limits. Not established. No volume, weight, concentration or capsaicinoid limit exists. Basis and its limits, stated plainly: Mississippi does NOT publish its Code on any state-owned site, so no official full-text Code search could be run – see the refusals recorded in ‘notes’.
Age. Not established. No spray-specific age exists. Same basis as q2.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays in Mississippi law. Same basis as q2.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No spray-specific prohibited-person predicate exists. The only predicate in 97-37-1 that turns on status is the enhanced penalty in 97-37-1(1)(d) for ‘any person previously convicted of any felony who is convicted under this section’ – a sentencing enhancement, not a possession ban, and it only operates if the item is a 97-37-1 item in the first place.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. No Mississippi statute names OC, CS, CN, capsicum, oleoresin or tear gas as a regulated civilian agent, and no Mississippi statute distinguishes aerosol from gel, foam or projectile. Basis as in q2.
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge crime. Basis as in q2.
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction. Miss.
It shall be a felony for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol or other firearm of any kind, or any dynamite cartridge, bomb, grenade, mine or powerful explosive on educational property.
Miss. Code 97-37-17(2), as amended by 2010 H.B. 1479 (approved by the Governor)
Local regulation. NOT preempted. Miss.
the possession, carrying, transportation, sale, transfer or ownership of firearms or ammunition or their components.
Miss. Code 45-9-51(1), as amended by 2014 H.B. 314 (approved by the Governor)
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Mississippi, see Mississippi gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Missouri Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL, by way of an exclusion built into a DEFINITION rather than a separate exempting section. The criminalizing statute is RSMo 571.020.1(3): knowingly possessing, manufacturing, transporting, repairing or selling ‘A gas gun’ is an offense, a class D felony under 571.020.3.
A person commits an offense if such person knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells:
Numeric limits. Not established. Full-text searched the Revisor of Missouri’s own statute search (the GET endpoint the site’s own search form posts to, https://revisor.mo.gov/main/PageSearch.aspx?tb1=‹term› and op=‹op› and tb2=‹term› and idx=2) for: ‘pepper’+’spray’ (No matches), ‘oleoresin’ (No matches), ‘capsaicin’ (No matches), ‘mace’ (1 section, RSMo 545.900, a bail statute – false positive), ‘tear’+’gas’ (1 section, RSMo 311.070, a liquor statute – false positive). CONTROL 1: ‘repellant’ returned exactly 1 section, RSMo 571.010 – the definition relied on below – proving the index reaches the relevant text.
Age. Not established. Same Revisor search as above: no RSMo section contains ‘pepper spray’, ‘oleoresin’ or ‘capsaicin’, so no age gate on buyer, possessor or seller of a spray exists, and no parental-consent variant exists. RSMo 571.060 (unlawful transfer of weapons) and RSMo 571.080 are firearm-transfer provisions; RSMo 571.070 (felon in possession) is firearms only.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays appears in RSMo. Basis: the Revisor keyword searches recorded in q2 returned nothing for any spray term; and RSMo chapter 571 was read section-by-section from the official chapter list at https://revisor.mo.gov/main/PageSelect.aspx?chapter=571, which contains no spray-dealer section.
Prohibited persons. Not established. RSMo 571.070 (‘Possession of firearm unlawful for certain persons’) is confined to firearms; its predicate language is about a person convicted of a felony and about firearms, and it does not mention gas guns, sprays or chemical agents. Read from the official chapter list at https://revisor.mo.gov/main/PageSelect.aspx?chapter=571 and the section page https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=571.070.
Chemical identity and product form. NO agent is named – Missouri legislates by EFFECT, not by chemistry. The ‘gas gun’ definition turns on whether the gas ‘will cause death or serious physical injury’, and then expressly excludes any device ejecting ‘a repellant or temporary incapacitating substance’.
any gas ejection device, weapon, cartridge, container or contrivance other than a gas bomb that is designed or adapted for the purpose of ejecting any poison gas that will cause death or serious physical injury, but not any device that ejects a repellant or temporary incapacitating substance
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge crime exists in RSMo. Basis: the Revisor searches in q2 (no spray term appears anywhere in the code) plus a full read of RSMo 571.030 (‘Unlawful use of weapons’), whose eleven listed acts are about firearms, spring guns, projectile weapons and ‘any weapon readily capable of lethal use’ – none of which is drafted for a chemical irritant.
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction; the generic place bans turn on a lethality test a defensive spray ordinarily fails. RSMo 571.030.1(8) bans carrying ‘a firearm or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use’ into a church or place of worship, an election precinct on election day, or a federal/state/local government building; RSMo 571.030.1(10) bans the same class of thing in any school, on any school bus, or at any school-sponsored function.
Carries a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus
Local regulation. NOT preempted. RSMo 21.750.1 is one of the broadest-sounding preemption clauses in the country – ‘the entire field of legislation touching in any way’ – but its SCOPE NOUNS are a closed list: ‘firearms, components, ammunition and supplies’.
occupies and preempts the entire field of legislation touching in any way firearms, components, ammunition and supplies to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance or regulation by any political subdivision of this state.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Missouri, see Missouri gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Montana No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL. Montana has NO self-defense spray statute at all – no criminalizing statute and therefore no exempting statute.
”Concealed weapon” means a firearm that is wholly or partially covered by the clothing or wearing apparel of the person carrying or bearing the weapon.
Numeric limits. Not established. Read the complete section list of MCA Title 45, ch. 8, pt.
Age. Not established. Same basis as q2 – no spray provision exists in MCA, so there is no buyer, possessor or seller age and no parental-consent variant. MCA 45-8-344 (‘Use of firearms by children under 14 years of age prohibited’) is firearms only, as its heading in the part index shows.
Who may sell. Not established. Same basis as q2. The MCA Title 45 ch.
Prohibited persons. Not established. MCA 45-8-313 ‘Unlawful possession of firearm by convicted person’ is, on its face and by its heading in the official part index, confined to firearms. No spray-specific prohibited-person predicate exists in the MCA.
Chemical identity and product form. none found – no Montana statute names OC, CS, CN, capsicum or tear gas as a regulated civilian agent, and no statute distinguishes aerosol from gel, foam or projectile. What matters instead is the generic criminal-code definition of ‘weapon’, which is an EFFECTS test: a defensive spray is only a ‘weapon’ in Montana if it is ‘readily capable of being used to produce death or serious bodily injury’, which an OC canister ordinarily is not.
”Weapon” means an instrument, article, or substance that, regardless of its primary function, is readily capable of being used to produce death or serious bodily injury.
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific misuse crime in the MCA. Basis: the complete MCA 45-8-3 section index (URL in q2) contains 45-8-333 ‘Reckless or malicious use of explosives’ but no analogous section for chemical agents.
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction. MCA 45-8-361 (weapon in a school building) defines ‘weapon’ by a closed list that omits sprays – but it carries a purpose-based catch-all that a reader must not overlook: ‘The term also includes any other article or instrument possessed with the purpose to commit a criminal offense.’ So an OC canister is not a school ‘weapon’ unless carried with criminal purpose.
”weapon” means any type of firearm, a knife with a blade 4 or more inches in length, a sword, a straight razor, a throwing star, nun-chucks, or brass or other metal knuckles.
Local regulation. MONTANA IS THE OUTLIER ON SCOPE – and it repays reading closely. MCA 45-8-351(1) is not limited to firearms: it bars local units from prohibiting, registering, taxing, licensing or regulating the purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, use or unconcealed carrying of ‘ANY WEAPON’, with rifle/shotgun/handgun/concealed handgun given only as examples (‘including’).
may not prohibit, register, tax, license, or regulate the purchase, sale or other transfer (including delay in purchase, sale, or other transfer), ownership, possession, transportation, use, or unconcealed carrying of any weapon
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Montana, see Montana gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Nebraska No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL for adults 21+, but there is a real trap for under-21s. Nebraska has no spray statute, so no criminalizing and no exempting statute specific to sprays.
A minor or a prohibited person shall not carry a weapon or weapons concealed on or about his or her person, such as a handgun, a knife, brass or iron knuckles, or any other deadly weapon.
Numeric limits. Not established. Full-text searched the Nebraska Legislature’s own statute search (the endpoint its homepage ‘Search Laws’ form posts to, POST https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/search_keyword.php with field ‘keyword’) for: ‘pepper spray’ – 1 hit, section 28-930, and the hit is in a case ANNOTATION not the statutory text; ‘oleoresin’ – zero hits; ‘chloroacetophenone’ – zero hits; ‘self-defense spray’ – zero hits; ‘tear gas’ – 1 hit, section 39-1339, a state-highway maintenance statute, a false positive from the words matching separately. CONTROL: ‘firearm’ returned a large result set (response 53,858 bytes vs the 40,330-byte zero-result baseline), confirming the index works.
Age. 21, indirectly, and it binds the POSSESSOR/CARRIER (not the buyer or the seller). There is no spray-specific age statute; the effect comes from 28-1202(1) plus the definition of ‘Minor’.
Minor means a person who is under twenty-one years of age.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1201(11)(a)
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays. Basis: the official keyword searches recorded in q2 returned no spray provision at all; and Neb.
Prohibited persons. There is no spray-specific prohibited-person statute, but 28-1202(1) reaches ‘a prohibited person’ carrying a concealed deadly weapon, and 28-1201(12)(a) supplies the predicate IN THE STATUTE’S OWN WORDS: ‘(i) A person prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by state law, including, but not limited to, section 28-1206; or (ii) A person prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by 18 U.S.C. 922(d) or (g), as such section existed on January 1, 2023.’ So a federal or state firearms-prohibited person also may not carry a concealed ‘deadly weapon’ – which is how a spray could reach them.
A person prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by 18 U.S.C. 922(d) or (g), as such section existed on January 1, 2023
Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1201(12)(a)
Chemical identity and product form. No agent named and no product-form line drawn anywhere in the statutes. Everything turns on the substance-neutral, effects-based definition of ‘Deadly weapon’ at 28-109(8), which expressly reaches a ‘substance’ and is decided by ‘the manner it is used or intended to be used’.
Deadly weapon shall mean any firearm, knife, bludgeon, or other device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner it is used or intended to be used is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury
Misuse offense. No spray-specific misuse crime, but Nebraska has an on-point appellate holding published as an official annotation on the Legislature’s own statute page: pepper spray is a ‘dangerous instrument’ for the aggravated-assault-on-an-officer statute, Neb. Rev.
Pepper spray is a dangerous instrument, as it is an object which, because of its nature and the manner and intention of its use, is capable of inflicting bodily injury.
Place restrictions. Not established. Neb. Rev.
Local regulation. PROBABLY PREEMPTED – Nebraska’s scope language is broader than ‘firearms’. Neb.
Regulate the ownership, possession, storage, transportation, sale, or transfer of firearms or other weapons, except as expressly provided by state law
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Nebraska, see Nebraska gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Nevada Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY CRIMINAL for ‘tear gas’, with a narrow self-defense carve-out – BUT only for CS. Criminalizing statute: NRS 202.380(1) (gross misdemeanor to sell, offer for sale, possess or transport any shell, cartridge or bomb containing or capable of emitting tear gas, or any weapon designed for it, ‘except as permitted under the provisions of NRS 202.370 to 202.440’).
knowingly sells or offers for sale, possesses or transports any form of shell, cartridge or bomb containing or capable of emitting tear gas
NRS 202.380(1) (criminalizing); NRS 202.375(1) (exempting); NRS 202.370(2) (definitional exclusion)
Numeric limits. Confirmed as to the number and the unit, and it bites only on CS – in fact narrower than ‘CS vs OC’. UNIT AND BASIS: ‘not more than 2 fluid ounces in volume’ – fluid ounces, i.e.
(a) Cartridge which contains not more than 2 fluid ounces in volume of “CS” tear gas that may be propelled by air or another gas, but not an explosive, in the form of an aerosol spray; or
NRS 202.375(1)(a) and NRS 202.375(4)
Age. 18 (age of majority, NRS 129.010), and it binds PURCHASE and SALE only, not possession. The exemption runs to ‘the sale or purchase by any adult’ but to ‘the possession or use by any person, including a minor’.
do not apply to the sale or purchase by any adult, or the possession or use by any person, including a minor but not including a convicted person as defined in NRS 179C.010
Who may sell. No license is required for the EXEMPT item, because NRS 202.375(1) disapplies all of NRS 202.370-202.440 (which is where the sheriff’s retail license, NRS 202.440, and the manufacturer-name/serial-number marking rule, NRS 202.390, live). What DOES survive is a point-of-sale RECORD-KEEPING duty imposed by NRS 202.375(2) itself: name and address of purchaser plus brand name, model number or type, and serial number if any, retained not less than 2 years.
A seller, before delivering to a purchaser a cartridge or weapon which may be sold pursuant to subsection 1, must record and maintain for not less than 2 years the name and address of the purchaser
NRS 202.375(2); compare NRS 202.390 and NRS 202.440 (non-exempt items only)
Prohibited persons. PREDICATE IN THE STATUTE’S OWN WORDS: ‘a convicted person as defined in NRS 179C.010’ (NRS 202.375(1)); such a person is excluded from the exemption and NRS 202.380(2) makes possession a category B felony, 1-6 years and/or up to $5,000. NRS 179C.010(1) defines ‘convicted person’ as (a) two or more offenses punishable as felonies (Nevada or elsewhere), (b) a Nevada category A felony, or (c) a crime that would be a category A felony in Nevada on or after 1 July 2003.
A person convicted in the State of Nevada or convicted in any place other than the State of Nevada of two or more offenses punishable as felonies.
NRS 202.380(2); NRS 179C.010(1)(a)
Chemical identity and product form. Agents NAMED: only ‘CS’ = ortho-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (NRS 202.375(4)). CN/chloroacetophenone is NOT named.
“Tear gas” includes all liquid, gaseous or solid substances intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispersed in the air.
NRS 202.370(2); NRS 202.375(1)(a)
Misuse offense. Not established. Searched the full text of NRS chapter 202 as served at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-202.html (downloaded, tags stripped) for: ‘tear gas’, ‘noxious’, ‘mace’, ‘pepper’, ‘chemical agent’, ‘irritant’, ‘capsic’, ‘oleoresin’. The only ‘chemical agent’ hits are the weapons-of-mass-destruction definitions at NRS 202.4425 and the terrorism offenses at NRS 202.445 ff., which are not spray-misuse provisions.
Place restrictions. Not established. NRS 202.265 (possession of a dangerous weapon on school / NSHE / child care property) enumerates a closed list – explosive or incendiary device; dirk, dagger or switchblade knife; nunchaku or trefoil; blackjack, billy club or metal knuckles; pneumatic gun; pistol, revolver or other firearm; paint-marking device – and does not mention tear gas, CS, OC or any spray. Read in full at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-202.html#NRS202Sec265.
Local regulation. NO express preemption of local spray rules, and no express permission. Nevada’s two preemption statutes – NRS 244.364 (counties) and NRS 268.418 (cities) – state their SCOPE as ‘firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition’ and nothing else.
establish state control over the regulation of and policies concerning firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition to ensure that such regulation and policies are uniform throughout this State
NRS 244.364(1)(a) (scope); parallel NRS 268.418(1)(a) for cities
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Nevada, see Nevada gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
New Hampshire No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL. There is no criminalizing statute for possessing, buying or selling an aerosol self-defense spray in New Hampshire, so there is no exempting statute either.
sells, has in his possession with intent to sell, or carries on his person any blackjack, slung shot, or metallic knuckles shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
RSA 159:16 (the general carrying/selling offense, which omits sprays); RSA 159:20 (definition)
Numeric limits. Not established. Read every section of the RSA chapter 159 ‘Self-Defense Weapons’ subdivision in full on the General Court’s own site: RSA 159:20, 159:21, 159:22, 159:23 (URLs https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XII/159/159-20.htm through 159-23.htm), reached from the official chapter table of contents at https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XII-159.htm. None contains any number, unit, volume, weight or percentage.
Age. NO age limit applies to aerosol spray. This is the sharpest New Hampshire finding: RSA 159:22 ‘Restricted Sale’ bans sale under 18 of an ELECTRONIC DEFENSE WEAPON ONLY.
Any person who knowingly sells an electronic defense weapon to a person under 18 years of age shall be guilty of a violation.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, record-keeping, per-sale quantity or labeling provision appears anywhere in the RSA 159 ‘Self-Defense Weapons’ subdivision (RSA 159:20 to 159:23, all read in full at gc.nh.gov). The only sale provision in the subdivision is RSA 159:22, quoted above, and it does not reach sprays at all.
Prohibited persons. NO felon ban applies to aerosol spray. RSA 159:21 ‘Possession by Felons Prohibited’ – the section that sits directly under the aerosol spray definition – names ONLY the electronic defense weapon.
Any person who has been convicted of a felony in this or any other state who possesses an electronic defense weapon away from the premises where he resides shall be guilty of a class B felony.
Chemical identity and product form. NO agent is named. The definition is entirely circular and function-based, and ‘aerosol’ is the only form word in it.
”Aerosol self-defense spray weapon” means any aerosol self-defense spray weapon which is designed to immobilize or incapacitate a person temporarily.
Misuse offense. YES – a dedicated misuse crime, and it is intent-graded rather than recklessness-graded. RSA 159:23 I: use on a law enforcement officer or another person with intent to commit a misdemeanor = misdemeanor.
Any person who uses an electronic defense or aerosol self-defense spray weapon on a law enforcement officer or another person with intent to commit a crime punishable as a misdemeanor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Place restrictions. One conditional place restriction, turning on a definition sprays probably fail. RSA 159:19 I bars carrying, in a courtroom or area used by a court, a pistol, revolver, firearm ‘or any other deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V’.
”Deadly weapon” means any firearm, knife or other substance or thing which, in the manner it is used, intended to be used, or threatened to be used, is known to be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.
RSA 625:11, V (the definition RSA 159:19 imports)
Local regulation. NOT preempted. RSA 159:26 is an express preemption statute but its SCOPE language is a closed list: ‘firearms, firearms components, ammunition, firearms supplies, or knives’.
no ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision may regulate the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, taxation, or other matter pertaining to firearms, firearms components, ammunition, or firearms supplies in the state.
RSA 159:26, I (second sentence)
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in New Hampshire, see New Hampshire gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
New Jersey Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively CRIMINAL with a self-defense carve-out. A spray is a ‘weapon’ by definition (2C:39-1(r)(5)), so possession is charged under the CRIMINALIZING statute N.J.S.A.
Any person who knowingly has in his possession any other weapon under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for such lawful uses as it may have is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(d) (criminalizing); N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6(i)(1) (exempting)
Numeric limits. UNIT = ‘ounce’, bare, with NO measurement basis stated in the statute — it is not ‘net weight oz’, not ‘fluid oz’, not ml/cc/grams. BASIS = quantity of ‘chemical substance’ the device ‘contains and releases’; there is NO percent-of-solution and NO percent-of-capsaicinoids cap anywhere.
one pocket-sized device which contains and releases not more than three-quarters of an ounce of chemical substance not ordinarily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury
Age. 18. It binds the POSSESSOR — the exemption is written as a condition on the person possessing, not on a buyer or seller.
any person who is 18 years of age or older and who has not been convicted of a crime, from possession for the purpose of personal self-defense
Who may sell. NO dealer license, NO point-of-sale paperwork, NO per-sale quantity limit, NO labeling mandate. Instead, sale is regulated by PRODUCT SPEC only: 2C:39-9(d) makes it a 4th-degree crime to sell a tear-gas-type device UNLESS (inter alia) ‘the device is for the purpose of personal self-defense, is pocket-sized and contains not more than three-quarters of an ounce of chemical substance’.
Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells, or disposes of any weapon or other device which projects, releases, or emits tear gas or other substances intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury
Prohibited persons. Not established. The predicate in the statute’s own words is ‘who has not been convicted of a crime’. NOT ‘felon’.
Chemical identity and product form. NAMED AGENTS: the weapon definition names only ‘tear gas or any other substance’; the exemption names none at all (‘chemical substance’). OC/pepper is nowhere named in the NJ statutes — I grepped the whole official STATUTES.TXT and ‘capsicum’, ‘mace’ and ‘chemical mace’ return ZERO hits.
any weapon or other device which projects, releases, or emits tear gas or any other substance intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious-discharge crime for sprays. Searched the New Jersey Legislature’s own full statutory text (STATUTES.TXT inside https://pub.njleg.gov/Statutes/STATUTES-TEXT.zip) for ‘tear gas’ (7 hits: 2C:39-1(r)(5), 2C:39-9(d), and Title 27/32 hazardous-transport provisions only), ‘mace’ (0 hits), ‘chemical mace’ (0 hits), ‘capsicum’ (0 hits).
Place restrictions. Educational institutions — N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(e)(2), 4th-degree crime.
Any person who knowingly possesses any weapon enumerated in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection r. of N.J.S.2C:39-1 or any components which can readily be assembled into a firearm or other weapon enumerated in subsection r. of N.J.S.2C:39-1
Local regulation. EXPRESS preemption of local regulation, but the SCOPE language does NOT name sprays, chemical weapons, or weapons at all. N.J.S.A.
the local governmental units of this State may neither enact nor enforce any ordinance or other local law or regulation conflicting with, or preempted by, any provision of this code
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in New Jersey, see New Jersey gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
New Mexico No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. Presumptively LAWFUL. There is NO New Mexico statute that criminalizes, defines, licenses or limits pepper spray / OC / CS / CN / tear gas / chemical mace, and therefore NO self-defense carve-out either (nothing to carve out of).
Numeric limits. Not established. No cap of any kind — no oz, no fl oz, no ml/cc/grams, no percent of solution, no percent of total capsaicinoids. Basis: downloaded the complete official PDF of NMSA 1978 Chapter 30 (Criminal Offenses), 1,138 pages / 5,837,358 bytes, from the New Mexico Compilation Commission’s own site (nmonesource.com is self-described as ‘the official legal research tool of the New Mexico courts and legislature’), URL https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4371/1/document.do, and grepped the extracted text (2,986,745 chars).
Age. Not established. No age rule for sprays binding buyer, possessor or seller; no parental-consent variant. Same basis as numeric_limits: full-text grep of the official NMSA Chapter 30 PDF.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling mandate. Same basis as numeric_limits — zero statutory hits for pepper spray / tear gas / oleoresin / capsicum / chemical mace anywhere in NMSA Chapter 30, which is where NM’s weapons offenses live (Article 7, ‘Weapons and Explosives’).
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prohibited-person predicate attaches to sprays because no spray statute exists. Same basis as numeric_limits.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. No New Mexico statute names OC, oleoresin capsicum, CS, CN, tear gas or chemical mace, so nothing defines the product form and the aerosol/gel/foam/projectile question is unregulated. Same grep basis as numeric_limits.
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious-discharge crime for sprays. Same grep basis as numeric_limits.
Place restrictions. Not established. No spray-specific place restriction. NMSA 30-7-2.1 (deadly weapon on school premises) and 30-7-2.4 (firearm on university premises) are in the Chapter 30 PDF I grepped and contain no spray/tear-gas/OC reference; they bite only via the ‘deadly weapon’ definition.
Local regulation. EXPRESS constitutional preemption of local regulation, but the SCOPE language names only ‘arms’ — it does NOT name sprays, chemical weapons, or any chemical agent. N.M.
No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in New Mexico, see New Mexico gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
New York Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively CRIMINAL with a self-defense carve-out, and the criminalizing statute is NOT in article 265 — it is Penal Law § 270.05, ‘Unlawfully possessing or selling noxious material’ (class B misdemeanor). A spray canister is ‘noxious material’ under 270.05(1) and possession is an offense under 270.05(2), with 270.05(3) supplying a presumption of unlawful intent from mere possession.
A person is guilty of unlawfully possessing noxious material when he possesses such material under circumstances evincing an intent to use it or to cause it to be used to inflict physical injury upon or to cause annoyance to a person
N.Y. Penal Law § 270.05(2) and (6) (criminalizing); § 265.20(a)(14) and (15) (exempting)
Numeric limits. NONE IN THE STATUTE. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(14)(a) imposes only a qualitative size limit — ‘pocket sized’ — with no oz, fl oz, ml, cc, gram, or percentage figure of any kind.
The department of health, with the cooperation of the division of criminal justice services and the superintendent of state police, shall develop standards and promulgate regulations regarding the type of self-defense spray device which may lawfully be purchased, possessed and used
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(14)(a) and (c)
Age. 18. It binds THREE WAYS: (1) POSSESSOR — § 265.20(a)(14)(b)(i) withdraws the exemption from anyone ‘less than eighteen years of age’; (2) POSSESSOR again, affirmatively — § 270.05(5) permits possession by ‘a person eighteen years of age or older’; (3) SELLER — § 265.20(a)(15)(b) makes the dealer ‘require proof of age’ before delivery.
The exemption under this paragraph shall not apply to a person who: (i) is less than eighteen years of age; or (ii) has been previously convicted in this state of a felony or any assault
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(14)(b)
Who may sell. CONFIRMED — a three-way channel, narrower than ‘dealer or pharmacy’: (1) a dealer in firearms licensed under Penal Law § 400.00; (2) a pharmacist licensed under Education Law article 137; OR (3) ‘such other vendor as may be authorized and approved by the superintendent of state police’. That third limb is real statutory text, and it matters.
Possession and sale of a self-defense spray device as defined in paragraph fourteen of this subdivision by a dealer in firearms licensed pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter, a pharmacist licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-seven of the education law
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(15)
Prohibited persons. The predicate in the statute’s own words — NOT ‘felons’. Three limbs, and the assault limb is the one people miss: (i) under 18; (ii) ‘has been previously convicted in this state of a felony or any assault’; (iii) ‘has been convicted of a crime outside the state of New York which if committed in New York would constitute a felony or any assault crime’.
(i) is less than eighteen years of age; or (ii) has been previously convicted in this state of a felony or any assault; or (iii) has been convicted of a crime outside the state of New York which if committed in New York would constitute a felony or any assault crime
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(14)(b)
Chemical identity and product form. NAMED AGENTS: ‘tear gas, pepper or similar disabling agent’ — ‘pepper’ is named, but neither ‘oleoresin capsicum’/’OC’ nor ‘CS’/’CN’ is named; the general limb is agent-neutral (‘a chemical or organic substance’). FORM: the definition is two-pronged.
pocket sized spray device which contains and releases a chemical or organic substance which is intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or disability through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air or any like device containing tear gas, pepper or similar disabling agent
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.20(a)(14)(a)
Misuse offense. Yes, structurally — but it is the same § 270.05 that the exemption carves out of, not a standalone discharge crime. Two mechanisms: (a) § 265.20(a)(14) exempts use ONLY ‘under circumstances which would justify the use of physical force pursuant to article thirty-five’, so unjustified use falls straight back into 270.05(2) (class B misdemeanor), aided by the 270.05(3) presumption; (b) § 270.05(6) creates a distinct SELLING offense for any sale outside the § 265.20(a)(15) channel.
A person is guilty of unlawfully selling a noxious material when he or she sells a self-defense spray device as defined in paragraph fourteen of subdivision a of section 265.20 of this chapter and such sale was not authorized
Place restrictions. Not established. No place restriction on sprays in the Penal Law. Basis: read the full text of § 265.20 (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/265.20, 69,019 bytes) and § 270.05 (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/270.05) on the Senate’s own site; neither paragraph 14 nor 15 nor 270.05 contains any school/courthouse/transit/airport clause.
Local regulation. Not established. New York has no general firearms/weapons preemption statute and none that names sprays or chemical weapons. I found no express preemption of, and no express permission for, local regulation of self-defense sprays in Penal Law article 265 or 270 as served by nysenate.gov.
What is about to change. Now, both houses passed A1838C on 29 May 2026. It would open the sale of a self-defense spray beyond the dealer-and-pharmacist channel and raise the strength ceiling from 0.7 percent total capsaicinoids to 1.33 percent by weight, while leaving the age of 18, the conviction bar and the two-device limit exactly where they are. As of 9 September 2026 the Governor has not signed it, so none of it is law. I have watched enough bills sit on a desk into December to tell you to buy on the strength of the statute, not on the strength of a bill.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in New York, see New York gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray. For the full New York answer in one place, see Is pepper spray legal in New York and NYC?
North Carolina Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively CRIMINAL with a self-defense carve-out, and unusually BOTH LIMBS SIT IN THE SAME SECTION. The criminalizing limb is G.S.
It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to possess, use, store, sell, or transport within the State of North Carolina, any form of that type of gas generally known as
N.C.G.S. § 14-401.6(a) (criminalizing); § 14-401.6(a)(7) (exempting)
Numeric limits. CONFIRMED as 150 / 50, but the STATUTE DOES NOT SAY ‘cc’ — it says ‘cubic centimeters’ in full, both times. UNIT = cubic centimeters (volume).
Tear gas device or container does not exceed 150 cubic centimeters,
N.C.G.S. § 14-401.6(a)(7)a. and b.
Age. Not established. No age rule at all — not for buyer, not for possessor, not for seller, and no parental-consent variant. Basis: (1) read § 14-401.6 in full on ncleg.gov (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-401.6.html, 4,488 bytes) — the exception in (a)(7) is conditioned only on non-felon status and on capacity, never on age; (2) downloaded the ENTIRE official Chapter 14 (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_14.html, 1,873,258 bytes, 1,366,104 chars of extracted text) and grepped it: ‘pepper’ = 0 occurrences in the whole chapter; the only ‘tear gas’ occurrences are the three inside § 14-401.6.
Who may sell. Not established. No dealer license, no point-of-sale paperwork, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling mandate. NC regulates sale only by folding the word ‘sell’ into the § 14-401.6(a) prohibition and then letting the same (a)(7) self-defense exception (capacity-capped, non-felon, self-defense purpose) legalize it — i.e.
Prohibited persons. The predicate in the statute’s own words is ‘individuals, who have not been convicted of a felony’. There is no assault predicate, no domestic-violence predicate, no out-of-state-conviction clause, no age element, and no adjudication/commitment element.
For use in the home for protection and elsewhere by individuals, who have not been convicted of a felony, for self-defense purposes only, as long as the capacity of any:
Chemical identity and product form. NAMED AGENTS: NONE. NC names no chemical whatsoever — not OC, not oleoresin capsicum, not CS, not CN, not ‘mace’.
any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or combinations thereof which will, upon dispersion in the atmosphere, cause tears in the eyes, burning of the skin, coughing, difficulty in breathing or any one or more of these reactions
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious-discharge crime for sprays. § 14-401.6 itself is a possession/use/sale/transport offense, punished as a Class 2 misdemeanor under § 14-401.6(b); use outside the (a)(7) ‘self-defense purposes only’ condition simply loses the exception and is charged under (a).
Place restrictions. Not established. No statutory place restriction specific to tear gas or sprays. We read G.S.
Local regulation. EXPRESS preemption of local regulation exists, but its SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT ALL — it is confined to FIREARMS. G.S.
the entire field of regulation of firearms is preempted from regulation by local governments except as provided by this section
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in North Carolina, see North Carolina gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
North Dakota Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, achieved by a DEFINITIONAL EXCLUSION rather than by a carve-out from an offense. NDCC § 62.1-01-01(1) first defines ‘dangerous weapon’ to include ‘any projector of a bomb or any object containing or capable of producing and emitting any noxious liquid, gas, or substance’ — which would otherwise capture a spray — and then in the very next sentence excludes CS/CN/other-irritating-agent defense sprays from that term.
An individual, other than a law enforcement officer, may not carry a firearm or dangerous weapon concealed unless the individual is licensed to do so or exempted
NDCC § 62.1-04-02(1) (criminalizing); § 62.1-01-01(1) (exclusion)
Numeric limits. Not established. No cap of any kind — no oz, no fl oz, no ml/cc/grams, no percent of solution, no percent of total capsaicinoids. Basis is a FULL-CODE grep, not a spot check: I harvested every North Dakota Century Code chapter PDF link from the Legislative Branch’s own index at https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/ (2,517 links, 2,516 unique chapter PDFs, 174 MB), downloaded all of them from ndlegis.gov, converted every one with pdftotext -layout (2,516 text files), and grepped the lot.
Age. Not established. No age rule for sprays binding buyer, possessor or seller, and no parental-consent variant. The § 62.1-01-01(1) exclusion is unconditional as to age.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling mandate. Same full-Century-Code grep as numeric_limits: outside the single definitional sentence in 62.1-01-01(1) there is no ND statute mentioning defense sprays at all, therefore nothing regulating their sale.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prohibited-person predicate attaches to sprays. IMPORTANT NEAR-MISS to be precise about: the SAME sentence of § 62.1-01-01(1) that excludes sprays goes on to deal with voltage devices, and there it does impose a prohibited-person condition — the term includes such a device ‘for an individual who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under this title’.
Chemical identity and product form. NAMED AGENTS: CS is named AND spelled out as ‘ortho-chlorobenzamalonitrile’; CN is named AND spelled out as ‘alpha-chloroacetophenone’; OC/pepper is NOT named and is caught only by the residual ‘or other irritating agent’. FORM — THIS IS THE SHARP EDGE IN ND: the exclusion is drafted as ‘a spray or aerosol containing…’.
”Dangerous weapon” does not include a spray or aerosol containing CS, also known as ortho-chlorobenzamalonitrile; CN, also known as alpha-chloroacetophenone; or other irritating agent intended for use in the defense of an individual
Misuse offense. Not established. No separate reckless/malicious-discharge crime for sprays anywhere in the Century Code. Basis: the full 2,516-chapter grep under numeric_limits returned zero spray/tear-gas hits outside t62-1c01, and I also read NDCC ch.
Place restrictions. Not established. No place restriction reaches sprays, and the reason is structural: ND’s place rules (gaming sites, government buildings, schools, churches, liquor establishments in ch. 62.1-02, and the concealed rules in ch.
Local regulation. EXPRESS preemption of local regulation exists, but its SCOPE LANGUAGE NAMES ONLY ‘firearms and ammunition’ — it does NOT name sprays, chemical weapons, tear gas or ‘weapons’ generally. NDCC § 62.1-01-03(1) voids more-restrictive local ordinances on ‘the purchase, sale, ownership, possession, transfer of ownership, registration, or licensure of firearms and ammunition’; (2) does the same for zoning; and (3)–(4) carve out neutral business-operation rules.
A political subdivision, including home rule cities or counties, may not enact any ordinance relating to the purchase, sale, ownership, possession, transfer of ownership, registration, or licensure of firearms and ammunition which is more restrictive than state law.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in North Dakota, see North Dakota gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Ohio No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, and by SILENCE rather than by any express carve-out. There is no Ohio Revised Code provision that criminalizes, defines, licenses or limits pepper spray, OC, CS, CN or tear gas as a self-defense item, and therefore no exempting statute either.
”Deadly weapon” means any instrument, device, or thing capable of inflicting death, and designed or specially adapted for use as a weapon, or possessed, carried, or used as a weapon.
Numeric limits. Not established. No cap of any kind — no oz, no fl oz, no ml/cc/grams, no percent of solution, no percent of total capsaicinoids. Basis: full-text search of the Ohio Revised Code on the Legislative Service Commission’s own site, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/search?keywords=‹term› (note: the parameter is ‘keywords’, not ‘query’; ‘query’ 404s).
Age. Not established. No age rule binding buyer, possessor or seller; no parental-consent variant. Same basis as numeric_limits — the ORC full-text search on codes.ohio.gov returns zero records for ‘pepper spray’ and ‘mace’, and the only ‘self-defense spray’ hit (§ 2909.27) is an exclusion from a terrorism-adjacent offense containing no age element.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling mandate. Same basis as numeric_limits: zero ORC records for ‘pepper spray’ or ‘mace’ on the LSC search, and the single ‘self-defense spray’ occurrence (§ 2909.27(D)(1)(b)) imposes nothing on sellers.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prohibited-person predicate attaches to sprays because no spray statute exists. Same basis as numeric_limits.
Chemical identity and product form. Ohio names no chemical agent — no OC, no oleoresin capsicum, no CS, no CN. It uses the bare, UNDEFINED term ‘self-defense spray’ in exactly one place, R.C.
(D)(1) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any person who uses any of the following:
Ohio Rev. Code § 2909.27(D)(1)
Misuse offense. No spray-specific reckless/malicious-discharge crime exists, but there IS a general-purpose statute that squarely covers deploying an irritant against property/persons: R.C. § 2909.07(A)(2), criminal mischief, which names a ‘tear gas device’ expressly.
With purpose to interfere with the use or enjoyment of property of another, employ a tear gas device, stink bomb, smoke generator, or other device releasing a substance that is harmful or offensive to persons exposed
Ohio Rev. Code § 2909.07(A)(2)
Place restrictions. Not established. No place restriction reaches sprays. Ohio’s place rules — R.C.
Local regulation. EXPRESS and unusually aggressive preemption of local regulation exists, but its SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS — it names ‘firearms, their components, and their ammunition, and knives’ and nothing else. R.C.
regulating the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, other transfer, manufacture, taxation, keeping, and reporting of loss or theft of firearms, their components, and their ammunition, and knives
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Ohio, see Ohio gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Oklahoma No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL. No Oklahoma statute criminalizes possession, carry, purchase or sale of a self-defense chemical spray, so no exempting statute is needed.
Numeric limits. Not established. Searched the complete section-title index of Title 21 (Crimes and Punishments) on OSCN (the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network, the state judiciary’s own site) at https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/Index.asp?ftdb=STOKST21 and level=1 – 1,665 section links extracted – with the terms tear|gas|noxious|chemical|weapon|spray|mace|caustic. Only ONE spray-related section exists in the whole title: s 1272.3.
Age. Not established. Same Title 21 index scan as q2. No spray statute exists, therefore no buyer, possessor or seller age and no parental-consent variant.
Who may sell. Not established. Title 21 Chapter 53 is headed ‘Manufacture, Sale, and Wearing of Weapons’; its full section-title list (URL in q2) contains no licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale-quantity or labeling section for chemical agents. Control: the same chapter does contain dealer/sale sections for firearms (s 1288 ‘Purchases of Firearms, Ammunition and Equipment in Other States’, s 1289.28 ‘Unlawful Actions Related to Licensed Dealers and Private Sellers of Firearms’), so seller regulation would have surfaced had it existed.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No spray statute, so no predicate class. Oklahoma’s disability statute for weapons, 21 O.S.
Chemical identity and product form. The only Oklahoma statutory naming of the agents is in the misuse offense s 1272.3, which names ‘electrical stun gun, tear gas weapon, mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious agent’. It reaches a ‘tear gas weapon’ (i.e.
It is unlawful for any person to knowingly discharge, or cause to be discharged, any electrical stun gun, tear gas weapon, mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious agent against another person knowing the other person to be a peace officer
21 O.S. s 1272.3 [read through a browser]
Misuse offense. Not established. YES, but narrow: it is an offense only where the target is a protected officer and the discharge is knowing. There is NO general reckless/malicious-discharge-against-anyone spray offense in Oklahoma; ordinary misuse would be charged as assault and battery.
Place restrictions. None that bite on sprays. The school-property offense, s 1280.1, is keyed to ‘any firearm or weapon designated in Section 1272 of this title’ – and s 1272 designates no chemical agent, so a spray falls outside it on the statute’s own words.
It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession on any public or private school property or while in any school bus or vehicle used by any school for transportation of students or teachers any firearm or weapon
Local regulation. Preemption exists but its SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS. s 1289.24(A)(1) occupies the field only as to ‘firearms, air powered pistols, air powered rifles, knives, components, ammunition and supplies’; subsection (B) repeats the same closed list.
The State Legislature hereby occupies and preempts the entire field of legislation in this state touching in any way firearms, air powered pistols, air powered rifles, knives, components, ammunition and supplies to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance or regulation by any municipality
21 O.S. s 1289.24(A)(1) [read through a browser]
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Oklahoma, see Oklahoma gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Oregon No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL at state level. Oregon has NO statute criminalizing civilian possession, purchase, carry or sale of tear gas, mace, pepper mace or OC.
Numeric limits. Not established. No state-level cap of any kind – no ounce, fluid ounce, gram, ml, cc or percentage figure appears anywhere in ORS 163.211-163.213 (read in full). Systematic basis: the Legislature’s own ORS General Index, volume W (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/generalIndexW.pdf), entries ‘Mace’ and ‘Tear gas’ under WEAPONS AND FIREARMS cross-reference ONLY 161.015 (physical force definition), 163.211 (definitions), 163.212 (second degree), 163.213 (first degree) and 181A.708 (law enforcement crowd management tools).
Age. Not established. No state age limit for sprays – not on buyer, possessor or seller, and no parental-consent variant. Basis: ORS 163.211-163.213 read in full contain no age; ORS General Index volume W ‘Mace’/’Tear gas’ entries (URL in q2) list no age or sale provision.
Who may sell. Not established. No Oregon licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays. Basis as q2/q3: ORS 163.211-163.213 full text plus the ORS General Index volume W ‘Mace’/’Tear gas’ entries.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No state predicate class for sprays. ORS 166.270 (‘Possession of weapons by certain felons’) is by its terms about firearms and restricted weapons, and the ORS General Index lists it under ‘Conviction, felony, owning or possessing’ for firearms, not under ‘Mace’ or ‘Tear gas’.
Chemical identity and product form. Oregon’s definition is the broadest of the six states and is chemical-class based, not product-form based. ORS 163.211(2) defines the agent functionally as a ‘sternutator’ or ‘lacrimator’ and then names CN (chloroacetophenone / alpha-chloroacetophenone / phenylchloromethylketone), CS (orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile) and OC (oleoresin capsicum), plus ‘a chemically similar sternutator or lacrimator by whatever name known, or phosgene or other gas or substance capable of generating offensive, noxious or suffocating fumes, gases or vapor or capable of immobilizing a person’.
means a sternutator, lacrimator or any substance composed of a mixture of a sternutator or lacrimator including, but not limited to, chloroacetophenone, alpha-chloroacetophenone, phenylchloromethylketone, orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile, oleoresin capsicum or a chemically similar sternutator or lacrimator by whatever name known
ORS 163.211(2) and 163.211(3)(b)
Misuse offense. Not established. YES – and Oregon is the clearest of the six. TWO degrees, and the second degree is a genuine general RECKLESS-discharge-against-anyone offense, not limited to officers.
Place restrictions. YES – and unusually, Oregon’s public-building weapons definition EXPRESSLY names sprays. ORS 166.360(10) defines ‘weapon’ for ORS 166.360-166.380 to include, at (c), ‘Mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious agent as defined in ORS 163.211’ and, at (e), ‘A tear gas weapon as defined in ORS 163.211’.
Mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious agent as defined in ORS 163.211
Local regulation. Preemption EXISTS but its SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS AT ALL. ORS 166.170 is captioned ‘State preemption’ and is confined, in both subsections, to ‘firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition’.
no county, city or other municipal corporation or district may enact civil or criminal ordinances, including but not limited to zoning ordinances, to regulate, restrict or prohibit the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Oregon, see Oregon gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Pennsylvania No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. CONFIRMED PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL WITH A MISUSE OFFENSE, with one refinement: the misuse offense is not a general one. Limb 1 (presumptively lawful): 18 Pa.C.S.
Numeric limits. Not established. No volume, weight, concentration or capacity figure anywhere. Basis: full text of 18 Pa.C.S.
Age. Not established. No age restriction on buyer, possessor or seller of a spray, and no parental-consent variant. Basis as q2 (full-text grep of 18 Pa.C.S.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays. Basis as q2.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No predicate class for chemical sprays. Again the contrast is the point, and it is quotable: 18 Pa.C.S.
Chemical identity and product form. Pennsylvania names NO specific chemical. Its single definition, 18 Pa.C.S.
means any liquid or gaseous substance that, when dispersed in the atmosphere, blinds the eyes with tears or irritates or injures other organs and tissues of the human body or causes nausea, including, but not limited to, red pepper spray
Misuse offense. YES – but READ THE REFINEMENT. Pennsylvania has NO general reckless-or-malicious-discharge offense.
A person other than a duly constituted officer of the law is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree if he uses or directs the use of tear or noxious gas against any person involved in a labor dispute
Place restrictions. One, and it is capability-based rather than list-based, so whether it catches a spray is an open question. 18 Pa.C.S.
for purposes of this section shall include but not be limited to any knife, cutting instrument, cutting tool, nun-chuck stick, firearm, shotgun, rifle and any other tool, instrument or implement capable of inflicting serious bodily injury
Local regulation. Preemption exists but ITS SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS. 18 Pa.C.S.
No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Pennsylvania, see Pennsylvania gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Rhode Island Expressly permitted
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL, by an EXPRESS AFFIRMATIVE PERMISSION – Rhode Island is the only one of the six with a statute that positively authorizes carry and use. R.I.
Numeric limits. Not established. s 11-47-57 is 76 words long and contains exactly two numbers – ‘(18)’ years of age and the ‘$25.00’ fine. There is no volume, weight, concentration or capacity limit, and no unit of measurement appears anywhere in it.
Age. Not established. EIGHTEEN (18). It binds the POSSESSOR/CARRIER-AND-USER, not the buyer and not the seller.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement. Basis: the full Chapter 47 heading index (URL and method in q2) plus full text of ss 11-47-21, 11-47-57, 11-47-58 and 11-47-42.
Prohibited persons. Not established. s 11-47-57 imposes no disability on any class of person. Its only qualifier is the phrase ‘unless otherwise prohibited by law’, which is a referral, not a predicate – the statute states no predicate in its own words at all.
Chemical identity and product form. Rhode Island names NO chemical at all – not CN, not CS, not OC, not capsaicin. The operative phrase in s 11-47-57 is ‘any non-lethal noxious substance or liquid’.
any non-lethal noxious substance or liquid for his or her protection or the protection of others; however, the use of any non-lethal noxious substance or liquid for any other purpose shall be punishable
Misuse offense. YES – and it is remarkable for its triviality. The misuse limb sits in the SAME sentence as the permission, in s 11-47-57 itself: any use for a purpose other than protection of self or others is punishable by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
the use of any non-lethal noxious substance or liquid for any other purpose shall be punishable by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00)
Place restrictions. Not established. No Rhode Island statute restricts sprays by place. The school-grounds provision, s 11-47-60.2, is keyed to ‘a weapon, as defined in s 11-47-42, a firearm or replica of a firearm’ – and s 11-47-42’s list (blackjack, slingshot, billy, sandclub, sandbag, metal knuckles, slap glove, bludgeon, stun-gun, ‘Kung-Fu’ weapons, and bladed weapons) contains no chemical agent, so a spray is outside the school ban on the statute’s own words.
Local regulation. Preemption exists but ITS SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS. R.I.
The control of firearms, ammunition, or their component parts regarding their ownership, possession, transportation, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, purchase delay, licensing, registration, and taxation shall rest solely with the state
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Rhode Island, see Rhode Island gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
South Carolina Exemption
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. CONFIRMED PROHIBITION-PLUS-CARVE-OUT. Both limbs sit in ONE section, S.C.
Numeric limits. FIFTY CUBIC CENTIMETERS (50 cc). READ THE UNIT AND BASIS CAREFULLY – this is a VOLUME limit expressed in cubic centimeters, NOT ounces, NOT net weight, NOT fluid ounces, and it is a CAPACITY limit, not a fill limit: the measurement basis is ‘the capacity of a tear-gas cartridge, shell, or container’.
the capacity of a tear-gas cartridge, shell, or container shall not exceed fifty cubic centimeters nor shall a tear-gas machine or gun have the capability of shooting a cartridge, shell, or container of more than fifty cubic centimeters
Age. Not established. s 16-23-470 states no age for buyer, possessor or seller, and there is no parental-consent variant. Systematic basis: I ran the South Carolina Legislature’s OWN full-text Code of Laws search at https://www.scstatehouse.gov/search.php (POST, category=CODEOFLAWS).
Who may sell. Not established. Basis for the negative on licensing/labeling: the state’s own Code of Laws full-text search described in q3 (3 total ‘tear gas’ documents in the entire Code, all read in full).
Prohibited persons. Not established. s 16-23-470 contains NO status-based disability. Its only carve-out from the general ban is ‘an authorized law enforcement officer’ (an ENABLING class, not a prohibited class) plus the self-defense purpose.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. South Carolina names NO chemical whatsoever – not CN, not CS, not OC, not capsaicin. The statutory object is ‘tear gas’ and, more particularly, a ‘tear-gas machine or gun, or its parts, or …
Misuse offense. YES, one, and it is place-and-effect based rather than mens rea based: S.C. Code Ann.
to place or throw a stink bomb, tear-gas bomb, smoke bomb, or similar device which contains foul or offensive odors, may inflict injury, or cause fear sufficient to incite a riot or conditions of panic
Place restrictions. YES – the school-property offense, S.C. Code Ann.
while on any elementary or secondary school property, a knife, with a blade over two inches long, a blackjack, a metal pipe or pole, firearms, or any other type of weapon, device, or object which may be used to inflict bodily injury or death
Local regulation. Preemption exists but ITS SCOPE LANGUAGE DOES NOT NAME SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS. S.C.
No governing body of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision in the State may enact or promulgate any regulation or ordinance that regulates or attempts to regulate
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in South Carolina, see South Carolina gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
South Dakota No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Not established. PRESUMPTIVELY LAWFUL BY TOTAL SILENCE. South Dakota has NO self-defense-spray statute at all – no criminalizing statute and therefore no exempting statute.
Numeric limits. Not established. No volume, weight, concentration or capacity figure exists because no spray statute exists. Basis, and it is exhaustive for the criminal code: using the Legislature’s own statute API I walked EVERY section of SDCL ch.
Age. Not established. No age applies to sprays – not to buyer, possessor or seller – and there is no parental-consent variant, because no spray statute exists. Basis as q2 (full section walk of SDCL ch.
Who may sell. Not established. No licensing, point-of-sale, per-sale quantity or labeling requirement for sprays. Basis as q2.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No predicate class attaches to sprays. South Dakota’s weapons disabilities are all expressly firearm-scoped – SDCL 22-14-15 is captioned ‘Possession of firearm by one with prior violent crime conviction or certain drug-related convictions’, 22-14-15.1 ‘Possession of firearm by one with prior drug conviction’, 22-14-15.2 ‘Possession of firearm by one convicted of misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence’, and 22-14-15.3 is headed ‘Firearm defined for ss 22-14-15 and 22-14-15.1’.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. South Dakota names NO agent – CN, CS, OC, capsaicin, mace, tear gas and pepper spray appear nowhere in Title 22, and there is consequently no definition to test against gel, foam, aerosol or projectile. The nearest generic formula is the ‘dangerous weapon’ definition, which is effects-based and would reach a spray only if the particular device were ‘calculated or designed to inflict death or serious bodily harm’ or were used in a manner likely to do so – which a consumer OC canister used defensively is not.
Misuse offense. Not established. There is NO spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge offense in South Dakota. Misuse would be charged generically – SDCL ch.
Place restrictions. Two place offenses exist but neither names sprays; both turn on ‘dangerous weapon’ as defined in SDCL 22-1-2(10), so on the statute’s own words a non-lethal irritant is outside them. (i) SDCL 22-14-23 – county courthouse and state capitol, Class 1 misdemeanor, with the definitions at 22-14-22 and exceptions at 22-14-24.
any person who knowingly possesses or causes to be present any firearm or other dangerous weapon, in any county courthouse or in the state capitol, or attempts to do so, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor
Local regulation. Preemption exists in TWO parallel statutes – one for counties, one for municipalities – and NEITHER NAMES SPRAYS OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS. Both are confined to ‘firearms or ammunition or their components’.
No county may pass an ordinance that restricts or prohibits, or imposes any tax, licensure requirement, or licensure fee on the possession, storage, transportation, purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, manufacture, or repair of firearms or ammunition or their components
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in South Dakota, see South Dakota gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Tennessee No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. No Tennessee criminalizing statute reaches a self-defense chemical spray, so no exempting statute is needed.
A person commits an offense who carries, with the intent to go armed, a firearm or a club.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(a)(1), as enacted by 2014 Tenn. Pub. Ch. 647 (SB1771) § 4
Age. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. No age provision appears in the one section I could obtain verbatim (§ 39-17-1307(a)(1) via 2014 Pub.
Who may sell. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. Tenn.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. Tennessee’s prohibited-person statute is § 39-17-1307(b)-(f) (firearms) and § 39-17-1316; I could not obtain the predicate language from an official source and will not paraphrase it.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. No Tennessee statute I could reach names OC, CN, CS, capsaicin, oleoresin, mace, aerosol, gel, foam or a spray projectile.
Misuse offense. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. Tennessee’s general assault statute (§ 39-13-101) would cover a malicious discharge, but I could not obtain its text from an official Tennessee site, so I am not quoting it.
Place restrictions. Not established. Same access failure as field 2. The school-carry statute is § 39-17-1309 and the meeting/posting statute is § 39-17-1359.
Local regulation. Not established. Express preemption exists at Tenn. Code Ann.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Tennessee, see Tennessee gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Texas Defined out
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL for the ordinary self-defense spray, by DEFINITIONAL EXCLUSION rather than by a defense. The criminalizing statute is Tex.
A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells:
Age. Not established. No age provision binds buyer, possessor or seller of a chemical dispenser. Searched the complete text of Tex.
Who may sell. Not established. No license, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity cap, no labeling rule. Same search as field 3 over the full text of Penal Code ch.
Prohibited persons. No prohibited-person predicate applies to the personal-protection dispenser. The only status-based carve-out in § 46.05 running to chemical dispensers is an affirmative permission for trained security officers, which only matters for the FULL-SIZE device.
It is a defense to prosecution under this section for the possession of a chemical dispensing device that the actor is a security officer and has received training on the use of the chemical dispensing device
Chemical identity and product form. NO agent is named — not OC, not CS, not CN, not capsaicin. The definition is written entirely in terms of a ‘device …
designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of dispensing a substance capable of causing an adverse psychological or physiological effect on a human being
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless/malicious-discharge offense. Searched the full text of Penal Code ch.
Place restrictions. No place restriction reaches the personal-protection dispenser. Penal Code § 46.03 restricts places only for a ‘firearm, location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a)’.
A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05
Local regulation. Texas preemption does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all. Tex.
a municipality may not adopt or enforce regulations that: (1) relate to: (A) the transfer, possession, wearing, carrying, ownership, storage, transportation, licensing, or registration of firearms, air guns, archery equipment, knives, ammunition, or firearm or air gun supplies or accessories;
Tex. Local Gov’t Code § 229.001(a)(1)(A)
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Texas, see Texas gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Utah No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. There is NO Utah criminalizing statute for chemical sprays and therefore no exempting statute.
an object that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury
Utah Code § 76-11-101(3)(a)(ii)
Age. Not established. Same Solr search as field 2 — no spray term appears anywhere in the Utah Code, so there is no age floor binding buyer, possessor or seller, and no parental-consent variant. Utah’s minor-possession offense is § 76-11-211 (‘Possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor’), listed at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter11/C76-11-P2_2025050720250507.html; it keys off ‘dangerous weapon’, which is the use-based test quoted in field 1, not a named-product list.
Who may sell. Not established. Same Solr search as field 2. Utah’s sale-side offenses are § 76-11-215 (‘Selling a firearm to a minor’) and § 76-11-216 (‘Prohibited conduct in the sale of a dangerous weapon’) per the Part 2 table of contents at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter11/C76-11-P2_2025050720250507.html — neither names a spray, and no licensing, point-of-sale, quantity or labeling rule for sprays exists.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same Solr search as field 2. Utah’s restricted-person regime is Title 76 Chapter 11 Part 3 (‘Persons Restricted Regarding Dangerous Weapons’, listed at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter11/C76-11_2025050720250507.html).
Chemical identity and product form. NO agent named and NO product form named. Utah names no chemical anywhere in its Code.
”Dangerous weapon” does not include an explosive, chemical, or incendiary device as defined by Section 76-15-210
Misuse offense. Not established. Same Solr search as field 2 — no spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge offense. The nearest generic offenses, from the Part 2 table of contents at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter11/C76-11-P2_2025050720250507.html, are § 76-11-207 (‘Threatening with or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel’) and § 76-11-209 (‘Improper discharging of a dangerous weapon’); both key off ‘dangerous weapon’, not off any chemical.
Place restrictions. Not established. No place restriction names a spray. Same Solr search as field 2.
Local regulation. Utah’s express preemption statute, § 53-5a-102 (‘Uniform firearm laws’), does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons. Its reservation clause is limited to ‘firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories’.
Authority to regulate firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories is reserved to the state except where the Legislature specifically delegates responsibility to local or state governmental entities.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Utah, see Utah gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Vermont No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL. Vermont has NO chemical-spray statute — no criminalizing statute and consequently no exempting statute.
A person who carries a dangerous or deadly weapon with the intent to injure another shall be imprisoned for not more than two years or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both.
Age. Not established. Same Vermont Statutes Online search as field 2 — no age floor for sprays binding buyer, possessor or seller, and no parental-consent variant. Vermont’s minor-supply statute is 13 V.S.A.
Who may sell. Not established. Same search as field 2. No seller licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling rule.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same search as field 2. Vermont’s prohibited-person statutes surfaced by the ‘firearm’ control search are 13 V.S.A.
Chemical identity and product form. NO agent named and NO product form named. Vermont names no chemical agent anywhere in the statutes.
any firearm, or other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, that in the manner it is used or is intended to be used is known to be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.
Misuse offense. Not established. Same search as field 2 — no spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge offense. 13 V.S.A.
Place restrictions. No spray-specific place restriction, but two generic ‘dangerous or deadly weapon’ place bans could reach a spray via the § 4016(a)(2) use-test: 13 V.S.A. § 4004 (school building / school bus / school property) and 13 V.S.A.
No person shall knowingly possess a firearm or a dangerous or deadly weapon while within a school building or on a school bus.
Local regulation. Vermont’s express preemption statute, 24 V.S.A. § 2295, does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons.
or the possession, ownership, transportation, transfer, sale, purchase, carrying, licensing, or registration of traps, firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Vermont, see Vermont gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Virginia No statute reaches it
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. MIXED, and this is Virginia’s distinctive feature: there IS a criminalizing statute that names tear gas by name, and the self-defense carve-out is a PROVISO IN THE SAME SECTION rather than a separate exempting statute. Va.
If any person maliciously release or cause or procure to be released in any private home, place of business or place of public gathering any tear gas, mustard gas, phosgene gas or other noxious or nauseating gases
Age. Not established. No age floor for sprays binding buyer, possessor or seller, and no parental-consent variant. Same Title 18.2 Chapter 7 full-chapter dump and term counts as field 2 (URL and byte count there); § 18.2-312 itself, read in full at the section URL, contains no age term.
Who may sell. Not established. No seller licensing, no point-of-sale requirement, no per-sale quantity limit, no labeling rule for sprays. Same Title 18.2 Chapter 7 dump and term counts as field 2.
Prohibited persons. Not established. No prohibited-person predicate reaches a spray. Same Title 18.2 Chapter 7 dump as field 2.
Chemical identity and product form. Virginia NAMES agents, but by 19th-century names and by EFFECT, not by modern chemistry: ‘tear gas, mustard gas, phosgene gas or other noxious or nauseating gases or mixtures of chemicals designed to, and capable of, producing vile or injurious or nauseating odors or gases’. No OC, no capsaicin, no CS, no CN.
or other noxious or nauseating gases or mixtures of chemicals designed to, and capable of, producing vile or injurious or nauseating odors or gases, and bodily injury results to any person from such gas or odor
Misuse offense. YES — § 18.2-312 IS the misuse offense, and it is the whole of Virginia’s spray law. It is graded on the actor’s mental state: malicious release causing bodily injury = Class 3 felony; the same act done ‘unlawfully, but not maliciously’ = Class 6 felony.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the use of tear gas or other gases by police officers or other peace officers in the proper performance of their duties, or by any person or persons in the protection of person, life or property.
Place restrictions. No place restriction reaches a spray, but note the geography built INTO the offense: § 18.2-312 only bites on release ‘in any private home, place of business or place of public gathering’. Separately, Virginia’s concealed-carry offense § 18.2-308(A) enumerates only bladed, impact and projectile weapons plus ‘any weapon of like kind’, which does not naturally extend to a chemical dispenser; and the school-weapons offense § 18.2-308.1(A)(iii) borrows that same § 18.2-308(A) list.
any dirk, bowie knife, stiletto knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, sling bow, spring stick, metal knucks, or blackjack
Local regulation. Virginia’s express preemption statute, Va. Code § 15.2-915, does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons.
governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage, or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof other than those expressly authorized by statute.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Virginia, see Virginia gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Washington Expressly permitted
May an ordinary adult buy and carry it. Presumptively LAWFUL, with a narrow age-based criminal prohibition. RCW 9.91.160(1) is the only criminalizing provision and it criminalizes only under-age purchase/possession (misdemeanor).
Nothing in this section authorizes the delivery, purchase, possession, or use of any device or chemical agent that is otherwise prohibited by state law.
Age. Age 18, subject to a 14-with-parental-consent variant, binding the POSSESSOR and the PURCHASER (already verified by you at RCW 9.91.160(1)). Separately, the delivery clause of subsection (2) binds the SUPPLY SIDE by age: only ‘a person eighteen years old or older’ is protected when delivering.
No town, city, county, special purpose district, quasi-municipal corporation, or other unit of government may prohibit a person eighteen years old or older from delivering a personal protection spray device to a person authorized to possess such a device.
Who may sell. NO licensing, NO point-of-sale requirement, NO per-sale quantity limit, NO labeling rule. Washington regulates the supply side only through the defined term ‘delivering’ in subsection (3)(b), which is drafted broadly enough to cover a non-commercial hand-over as well as a retail sale, and only to protect it from LOCAL prohibition — not to license it.
”Delivering” means actual, constructive, or attempted transferring from one person to another.
Prohibited persons. Not established. There is NO prohibited-person predicate for spray devices in Washington — no felony predicate, no domestic-violence-order predicate, no mental-health predicate. The only disqualification in RCW 9.91.160 is age.
Chemical identity and product form. Washington NAMES the agents, in an inclusive not exhaustive list: chloroacetophenone (CN), O-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS), and ‘other agent commonly known as mace, pepper mace, or pepper gas’. The governing class is functional — ‘a nonlethal sternutator or lacrimator agent’.
”Personal protection spray device” means a commercially available dispensing device designed and intended for use in self-defense and containing a nonlethal sternutator or lacrimator agent, including but not limited to:
Misuse offense. Not established. No spray-specific reckless or malicious discharge offense. RCW 9.91.160 creates only the under-age misdemeanor; its subsection (2) points the other way, protecting ‘using such a device in a manner consistent with the authorized use of force under RCW 9A.16.020’.
Place restrictions. Not established. No statutory place restriction reaches a personal protection spray device. I read RCW 9.41.280 (‘Possessing dangerous weapons on school facilities’) in full at https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.280 (HTTP 200, 120,658 bytes): its subsection (1) list is (a) firearm, (b) dangerous weapon as defined in RCW 9.41.250, (c) nunchaku, (d) throwing stars, (e) air guns, (f) stun guns and electric-shock devices.
Local regulation. Express preemption of LOCAL regulation, in RCW 9.91.160(2) — already verified by you. Adding the scope point you asked for: Washington’s OTHER, better-known preemption statute, RCW 9.41.290, is FIREARMS-ONLY and does NOT name sprays or chemical weapons at all.
The state of Washington hereby fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Washington, see Washington gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
West Virginia No statute reaches it
Numeric limits. Not established. Same 36-article sweep of W. Va.
Who may sell. Not established. No license, permit, registration, record-keeping, labeling, age-verification or point-of-sale rule for pepper spray exists in West Virginia. Basis: the 36-article ch.
Prohibited persons. none found for pepper spray. WV’s prohibited-person statute, 61-7-7(a), bites only on a ‘firearm’ as defined in 61-7-2(7) (‘any weapon which will expel a projectile by action of an explosion’) – a pepper spray is not a firearm, and 61-7-2(5) also removes it from ‘deadly weapon’.
Except as provided in this section, no person shall possess a firearm, as such is defined in §61-7-2 of this code, who:
W. Va. Code 61-7-7(a) (introductory words)
Chemical identity and product form. ONE agent only: ‘capsicum oleoresin’ (OC). No CS, no CN, no synthetic capsaicinoid (PAVA) is named anywhere in the WV Code.
”Pepper spray” means a temporarily disabling aerosol that is composed partly of capsicum oleoresin and causes irritation, blinding of the eyes, and inflammation of the nose, throat, and skin that is intended for self-defense use.
Misuse offense. There is NO pepper-spray-specific misuse offense in West Virginia. Misuse is prosecuted as ordinary battery under 61-2-9(c) (misdemeanor, up to 12 months and/or $500), or as malicious/unlawful assault under 61-2-9(a)-(b) if serious bodily injury results.
Any person who unlawfully and intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature to the person of another or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to another person is guilty of a misdemeanor
Place restrictions. The ONLY place restriction in WV that names pepper spray is the municipal one authorized by 8-12-5a(c) – municipally owned or operated BUILDINGS (c)(1) and, for open/unlawfully-concealed carry, municipally owned RECREATION FACILITIES (c)(2). 8-12-5a(c)(4) bars municipalities from regulating pepper spray on any other municipally owned property, and (h)(1) bars restriction on public streets and sidewalks.
A municipality may enact and enforce an ordinance or ordinances that prohibit or regulate the carrying or possessing of a deadly weapon, firearm, or pepper spray in municipally owned or operated buildings.
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in West Virginia, see West Virginia gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Wisconsin Exemption
Numeric limits. Not established. There is NO numeric limit of any kind in Wisconsin law today – no percentage, no net weight, no container volume, no capsaicinoid content, no Scoville figure, no range, no color. The ONLY number left in 941.26(4) is the age 18.
Who may sell. ANYONE may sell – there is no license, no permit, no dealer registration, no record-keeping and no residency requirement in Wisconsin for an OC/CS-gel device. What a seller owes instead is (i) the age-18 duty in 941.26(4)(g)1., and (ii) an affirmative PACKAGING DUTY in 941.26(4)(j): a proper label ON the device or container PLUS written safety instructions, breach of which is a Class A MISDEMEANOR (not a forfeiture).
Whoever intentionally sells a device or container described under par. (a) without providing the purchaser with a proper label on the device or container and written safety instructions for using the device or container is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Prohibited persons. ONE prohibited class only, at Wis. Stat.
Any person who has been convicted of a felony in this state or has been convicted of a crime elsewhere that would be a felony if committed in this state
Chemical identity and product form. TWO agents are named on the exempting side: ‘oleoresin of capsicum’ and ‘CS gel’, the latter defined at 941.26(1c)(a) as ‘nonatomizing, gel-form chlorobenzalmalononitrile’. So Wisconsin is one of the very few states that AFFIRMATIVELY BLESSES A CS GEL.
any device or container that contains a combination of oleoresin of capsicum or CS gel and inert ingredients but does not contain any other gas or substance that will cause bodily discomfort
Wis. Stat. 941.26(4)(a) with 941.26(1c)(a)
Misuse offense. YES – Wisconsin has a dedicated, graded misuse offense, unusually including ‘bodily DISCOMFORT’ as a sufficient harm (no injury needed). BASE: 941.26(4)(b), intentional use to cause bodily harm or bodily discomfort, Class A misdemeanor.
Whoever intentionally uses a device or container described under par. (a) to cause bodily harm or bodily discomfort to another is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
Place restrictions. Not established. Wisconsin has NO place-based restriction on an OC/CS-gel device – not schools, not school zones, not taverns, not public buildings, not state parks, not the Capitol. 941.26(4) itself contains no place term at all (We read (a) through (m)).
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Wisconsin, see Wisconsin gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
Wyoming No statute reaches it
Numeric limits. Not established. Same all-44-title sweep described under 1_regime. Since the words ‘pepper spray’, ‘oleoresin’, ‘capsic’ and ‘tear gas’ appear nowhere in the Wyoming statutes, there is no unit, no measurement basis and no agent on which a limit could bite.
Who may sell. Not established. Same all-44-title sweep, including title 39 (taxation), title 40 (trade and commerce) and title 33 (professions and occupations). There is no license, permit, dealer registration, labeling duty, age-verification duty or record-keeping duty for self-defense sprays in Wyoming, because sprays are not mentioned in the statutes at all.
Prohibited persons. Not established. Same all-44-title sweep. Wyoming has NO prohibited-person rule for sprays.
Chemical identity and product form. Not established. Same all-44-title sweep. No agent is named anywhere in the Wyoming statutes – not OC, not capsaicin, not PAVA, not CS, not CN – and no product form is named, so the aerosol-versus-gel-versus-foam-versus-projectile distinction that matters in West Virginia has no Wyoming analogue.
Misuse offense. There is NO spray-specific misuse offense. Misuse is charged as simple assault or battery under W.S.
A person is guilty of battery if he intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person by use of physical force.
Place restrictions. NO statutory place restriction reaches a spray. The two places worth naming both stop short: (a) W.S.
Possession, use, transfer, carrying or selling a deadly weapon as defined under W.S. 6-1-104(a)(iv) within any school bus as defined by W.S. 31-7-102(a)(xl) or within the boundaries of real property used by the district
Wyo. Stat. Ann. 21-4-306(a)(v)
For carry permits, reciprocity and sensitive places in Wyoming, see Wyoming gun laws. That page is authoritative on carrying; this one is authoritative on pepper spray.
The federal layer, which almost no chart prints
There is no federal law restricting an ordinary adult from owning or carrying a self-defense spray. But three federal threads do reach it, and one of them contains the only concentration figure in US federal law on this subject.
1. There is a federal number, and it is about tear gas, not pepper
The Department of Transportation defines the object for transport purposes:
except that it may contain not more than two percent by mass of a tear gas substance (e.g., chloroacetophenone (CN) or 0-chlorobenzylmalonitrile (CS); see § 173.132(a)(2) of this subchapter.)
49 CFR 171.8, definition of ‘Self-defense spray’
And it caps what an air passenger may carry:
One self-defense spray (see § 171.8 of this subchapter), not exceeding 118 mL (4 fluid ounces) by volume, that incorporates a positive means to prevent accidental discharge may be carried in checked baggage only.
Note what the two per cent attaches to. It is a percentage by mass of a tear gas substance — not of oleoresin capsicum. The federal government, the one place you might expect a single national number, is measuring a different chemical from the one in most consumer cans. That is the measurement problem in miniature.
2. Bear spray is a different legal object
Bear spray is a pesticide, registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. A spray sold for use on people is not a pesticide at all, and the reason is a definition:
An organism is declared to be a pest under circumstances that make it deleterious to man or the environment, if it is:
Two things this page will not say. First, the line is not “bear spray versus everything else” — sprays sold to repel dogs are EPA-registered too, so the real line is animal-directed sprays are registered pesticides, human-directed sprays are not. Second, I am not telling you people get prosecuted for this. I am telling you what the label and the statute say; using a registered pesticide against its labeling falls within a federal prohibition, and that is a different claim from saying it is routinely charged.
to use any registered pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling;
3. Federal land is park by park
There is no single rule for federal land, and a general claim about it is wrong. Two of the best-known parks take opposite positions, and the one that permits bear spray defines it by the measure New York uses:
It must be commercially manufactured and labeled as “Bear Spray”. Bear spray must contain between 1% to 2% of the active ingredients capsaicin and related capsaicinoids.
Within Yosemite National Park, it is prohibited to possess or use pepper spray (including bear spray and other irritant gas devices), pellet guns, BB guns, bows and arrows, crossbows, blowguns, spearguns, hand-thrown spears, slingshots, explosive devices, or any other implements designed to discharge missiles.
Yosemite National Park, ‘Weapons/Firearms’, Other Weapons (nps.gov), last updated January 20, 2016
Weapon means a firearm, compressed gas or spring-powered pistol or rifle, bow and arrow, crossbow, blowgun, speargun, hand-thrown spear, slingshot, irritant gas device, explosive device, or any other implement designed to discharge missiles
36 CFR 1.4, definition of ‘Weapon’; prohibition at 36 CFR 2.4(b)(1)
Where the state statute is not the answer
On magazine capacity and on body armor, state law is very nearly the whole story. Here it is not. This page covers state law everywhere, and it covers the local layer in the places I could establish that the local layer is the answer. It is not a survey of every city ordinance in the United States, and you should not read a silent cell as a clean bill of health for your city.
Hawai’i regulates pepper spray by county, not by statute
We read the whole Hawai’i Revised Statutes — all 24,505 section files served by the Legislature’s own host — and searched every one for capsicum, oleoresin, tear gas, pepper spray, lachrymator and mace. Zero hits, against a control term that returned 32 real statutory places. Hawai’i has no state pepper spray statute. The counties do.
And the two counties we could read disagree with each other about the most basic question of all — which chemical is allowed.
Contains only the chemical substance oleoresin capsicum, or any derivative thereof, without containing chloroacetaphenone (CN) or orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS)
Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 41-27.1 [read through a browser]
any aerosol container or other device that is capable of emitting chloroacetophenone (CN), orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS), or oleoresin capsicum (OC), or any combination or derivative thereof, in a vapor, gel, foam or liquid form
Kaua’i County Code § 22-15.1 (Ord. No. 1149, 28 June 2023) [read through a browser]
Honolulu requires the agent to be oleoresin capsicum and expressly excludes CN and CS. Kaua’i’s definition includes CN and CS, and expressly reaches a gel and a foam as well as a vapor or liquid. Same state, opposite rules, and a product lawful on one island may not answer the other island’s description.
Honolulu also runs the heaviest retail regime we found anywhere in the survey — a license, and a mandatory briefing before the sale:
Before making a sale of or otherwise distributing pepper spray, the licensee shall provide a point-of-sale briefing that includes but is not limited to the following
Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 41-27.4(c) [read through a browser]
Kaua’i caps the device, and note the basis it chose:
No person shall use or possess pepper spray in a volume greater than two (2) ounces.
Kaua’i County Code § 22-15.2(a) [read through a browser]
New York City, and the belief that pepper spray is illegal there
This is the single most searched question on the subject, and the most common answer on the open web is a flat “it’s illegal”, usually from someone who has read the City’s own code. There is a real reason for the confusion. New York City’s Administrative Code, on its face, requires a police permit:
It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell or offer for sale, possess or use, or attempt to use, any lachrymating, asphyxiating, incapacitating or deleterious gas or gases, or liquid or liquids, or chemical or chemicals, without a permit issued by the police commissioner
New York City Administrative Code § 10-131(e)(1) [read through a browser]
What we will not do is resolve that for you. New York State law separately exempts a conforming self-defense spray from its own weapons offense, and the State’s Department of Health sets what “conforming” means. The City provision above is still in the City’s published code. Two enacted texts, pointing different ways, and I am not a court. What I can tell you is exactly what each one says, and that anyone telling you the answer is simple has not read both.
Portland, and the reason a silent cell is not an all-clear
Oregon has no state statute criminalizing civilian possession of tear gas, mace or OC — its whole scheme is use offenses. Portland nonetheless regulates tear gas weapons city-wide. That is the shape of the risk this section exists to flag: a permissive state cell and a restrictive city, with nothing at state level to stop it.
And the preemption sweep says why that is possible
We read the scope language of the firearm-preemption statutes in the states where it plausibly mattered. The pattern is the same one the body-armor survey found, and it runs against the intuition: these statutes preempt firearms, ammunition, components and accessories, and they do not name chemical sprays. Idaho’s reaches “firearms and components thereof, including ammunition”. Kansas’s reaches “firearms or ammunition, or any component or combination thereof”. Oklahoma’s reaches “firearms, air powered pistols, air powered rifles, knives, components, ammunition and supplies”. Texas’s enumerates firearms, air guns, archery equipment, knives and ammunition. None of them reaches a can of pepper spray, so in most states a city is free to legislate.
Washington is the exception that proves it, and it is the only express spray preemption we found:
No town, city, county, special purpose district, quasi-municipal corporation or other unit of government may prohibit a person eighteen years old or older from delivering a personal protection spray device to a person authorized to possess such a device.
Bear spray, and why it is not the same product
Bear spray and self-defense spray are sold beside each other and are legally different objects. Bear spray is registered with the EPA as a pesticide; a spray sold for use on a person is not a pesticide, because federal regulation defines a pest as an animal other than man. A registered bear deterrent’s EPA-approved label says what it is for, and using a registered pesticide inconsistently with its labeling falls within a federal prohibition.
The practical consequences run both ways, and both are commonly got wrong:
- Bear spray is generally far larger and hotter than any spray a capped state permits for personal defense. In New York, a can of bear spray answers none of the Department of Health’s requirements — not the agent rule, not the 0.7 per cent, not the 0.75 ounce net weight.
- The reverse is also true. Yellowstone permits bear spray and defines it by EPA registration and by a stated capsaicin-and-capsaicinoid range; Yosemite prohibits pepper spray including bear spray outright. “It’s federal land” tells you nothing.
What we could not establish, and why that is not a finding
Two jurisdictions publish material I could not read from an address I can cite, and one county does not publish machine-readable text at all. None of this is a claim that those places do not regulate. A page that quietly leaves a cell blank is telling you something it has not earned.
- Tennessee. The General Assembly’s own site map links the Tennessee Code only to a commercial publisher, which ends at a sign-in challenge. I have one Tennessee quote, taken from the enacted bill text on the Legislature’s own server, and we say so where we use it. Every other Tennessee cell is unverified for lack of access, not searched and found empty.
- Hawai’i County (the Big Island). Its Code is published only as PDFs on a host that returns HTTP 403 to every automated route I tried. Opened in a browser the document loads, and it is the right chapter, but it is not machine-readable text I can match a quote against. I print nothing for Hawai’i County.
- Maui County. Not established.
Where a jurisdiction’s cell says “not established”, it means I could not read the jurisdiction’s own text, and it should be read as a gap in our retrieval rather than as an answer about the law.
Why this page exists
These are search-demand figures, not this site’s traffic.
| Question people actually type | Searches per month | Note |
|---|---|---|
| is pepper spray legal in nyc | 2,800 | the largest single question on this subject, and it is about a city |
| is pepper spray legal in ny | 1,200 | same question, state phrasing |
| is pepper spray legal in california | 1,000 | |
| is pepper spray legal / illegal | 1,600 | two spellings of one question, counted once below |
| is pepper spray legal in nj | 800 | |
| is pepper spray legal in florida / pa / texas | 1,800 | 600 each |
| is pepper spray legal in ma | 500 | |
| is pepper spray legal in illinois | 400 | |
| is bear spray legal | 200 | parent topic: can you use bear spray on humans |
The derivation matters more than the total. Is pepper spray legal and is pepper spray illegal are both 800 a month and are the same question, so they are counted once. The New York cluster is roughly 5,000 a month across about seventeen phrasings, and the largest single one of them names a city rather than a state — which is why this page has a local section at all.
Common questions
Is pepper spray legal in my state?
Yes, in all fifty states and the District of Columbia – but they get there four different ways, and that changes what the rules around it look like. In 27 jurisdictions no statute reaches defense spray at all. In 13 it is carved out of a wider weapons ban by an exemption, in 7 it is defined out of the weapon definition in the first place, and 3 permit it expressly. One splits by product form.
Is there an age limit to buy or carry pepper spray?
In 38 jurisdictions I found no state age rule at all. Thirteen set one: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Almost all use 18; one uses 16 and one reaches 21 indirectly.
Who does that age rule actually bind – me, or the shop?
It varies, and it is the detail most guides miss. Of the thirteen with an age rule, five bind the seller only, so an underage buyer breaks no law by carrying it. Three bind the person carrying or possessing it, one binds the carrier specifically, and two bind both sides separately. The rest work through a different route again. Each state’s own section on this page says which.
Is there a limit on the size or the strength of the canister?
In 11 jurisdictions, yes: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina. The other 40 set no numeric limit. The limits are not written the same way – some cap the volume, some the concentration – so read the row for the state you are in.
How this page was checked
Every figure and every legal claim on this page was re-fetched from the legislature’s, agency’s or court’s own website by the build that produced the page, and the quoted words were matched against the bytes that came back. Nothing here rests on another chart, a law firm’s blog, or a retailer’s legal page.
- 322 claims verified against 185 distinct official sources across 56 jurisdictions, on 66 separate government hosts.
- 9 of those were read through a browser because the publisher refuses automated requests. They are marked on the page where they appear.
- Every “no such statute” cell carries the search that established it — which code, which terms, and what a control term returned — because a negative with no basis is a guess.
- Every numeric limit prints its unit and its measurement basis, and no two of them are ranked against each other.
- A misuse offense is never rendered as a possession ban. Several states criminalize only reckless or malicious discharge, which restricts nothing about owning one.
- No retailer shipping policy, campus rule or workplace policy appears on this page as law.
Revision history
| Date | Change | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-09 | New York updated. | Added the bill passed by both houses on 29 May 2026 that would widen the sale channel and raise the strength ceiling, and recorded that it is unsigned as of this date. No enacted law changed in any jurisdiction. Page voice pass. |
| 2026-08-26 | First publication. | 51 jurisdictions plus the federal layer and the Hawai’i counties, 322 claims verified against official sources. |
Related on Freedoms Lodge
Each state gun-law page is authoritative on carrying a firearm in that state: permits, reciprocity, sensitive places and duty to inform. This page is authoritative on pepper spray, and it is the only page on this site that covers the subject at all. See also the body armor map, the magazine capacity map, the open carry map and the carry law change log.
Spotted something out of date?
Laws move faster than anyone can sweep for them, and the people who notice first are usually the people who live there. Tell us what changed. A person checks every one of these against the state’s own statute before a word on this page moves, and the date at the top only changes when that happens.