Prior to the legalization of recreational marijuana, individuals arrested with any amount of marijuana under two pounds could be charged with a Class 6 felony under ARS 13-3405. However, Proposition 207 created a new chapter in Title 36 of the revised Arizona Regulations entitled “Responsible Use of Marijuana by Adults.” Possession and use of recreational marijuana became legal for adults 21 and older in Arizona when ballots were certified. Adults 21 and older can now legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana, with no more than 5 grams of concentrates (extracts). Even limited self-cultivation is now legal. The Recreational Marijuana Act uses the definition of public place in ARS 36-601.01. It was the law that made it illegal to smoke tobacco in public places. According to this definition, you can`t smoke marijuana in almost any store, sidewalk, or park. You also can`t smoke marijuana in hotels or motels. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, this will remain illegal until the department passes rules authorizing and regulating delivery through marijuana facilities. “It`s decriminalized once the initiative is passed and certified by the secretary of state, but legal sales won`t begin until March 2021,” Stacy Pearson, campaign manager for Smart and Safe Arizona, told 12 News. However, you cannot smoke or drive in your vehicle under the influence of marijuana. If you do, you can be charged with driving under the influence of drugs.

It is also illegal to consume marijuana in a moving car or boat. Because drunk driving charges carry harsh penalties and are prosecuted aggressively, you should never use marijuana while having actual physical control over a vehicle, even when you`re not driving it. While it`s legal for you to use marijuana recreationally as long as you`re at least 21 years old, marijuana laws don`t stop employers from establishing policies requiring drug-free workplaces. This means that you can be fired by your employer because you are a recreational marijuana user. “This is a monumental achievement for the Arizonans,” a-t-AZmarijuana.com said. “This bill will create new jobs, new revenue for state programs, and give law enforcement more time to focus on preventing and solving real crimes, rather than on people who use or possess only small amounts of marijuana.” This chapter contains several laws that govern recreational marijuana use, including where it can be consumed, who can use it, how much people can legally possess, and others. On November 2, 2010, Arizona voters passed a medical marijuana initiative — Proposition 203 — with 50.13% of the vote. The Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) finalized regulations for pharmacies and registration badges on March 28, 2011. On April 14, 2011, he began accepting requests for tabs that protect patients and their caregivers from arrest. DHS was preparing to begin accepting dispensary applications in June, registering one dispensary for every 10 dispensaries in the state, for a total of 125.

However, on May 27, 2011, Governor Jan Brewer filed a federal lawsuit to issue a declaratory ruling on whether Arizona`s new medical marijuana program was against federal law. Their lawsuit was dismissed in 2012. To qualify for the Arizona program, patients must have one of the debilitating conditions listed: cancer; HIV/AIDS; hepatitis C; glaucoma; Multiple sclerosis; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Crohn`s disease; agitation of Alzheimer`s disease; PTSD; or a condition that causes wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms. Registered patients can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and designate a caregiver to possess it on their behalf. Arizona law also provides that any patient who lives 25 miles or more from a dispensary can grow marijuana. Those who are allowed to grow can grow up to 12 plants. Arizona honors out-of-state patient identification for up to 30 days, but it`s not valid to receive marijuana. The law also includes comprehensive civil protection against discrimination for medical marijuana patients in the areas of employment, housing, education, organ transplants, custody, visitation and parental rights.

The Arizona legislature overturned some of the Prop`s protections. 203, such as the possibility of allowing an employer to release a medical marijuana patient, based on a report stating that impairment at work is a “considered reliable” co-worker. The legislature also passed H.B. 2585, Prop. 203 disagrees with adding medical marijuana patient data to the prescription drug monitoring program. In 2015, lawmakers again undermined patient protection with the passage of H.B. 2346, which states that there is no requirement for a workers` compensation provider to reimburse an individual for costs associated with the medical use of marijuana. In September 2017, the Arizona Department of Children`s Services issued a new regulation stating that if a person is a medical marijuana patient, they would not be eligible to become foster parents. Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill in 2019 requiring dispensaries to have all medical marijuana tested by third-party labs for efficacy and contaminants. The law also made patient registry cards valid for two years instead of one year, saving each of the state`s roughly 200,000 patients hundreds of dollars over the next decade.

Finally, in May 2019, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that concentrates, edibles and other infused products are legal under the state`s medical marijuana law, ending a controversy based on a misinterpretation of the 2010 law supported by voters. Cannabis is legal for recreational use in Arizona. A 2020 initiative to legalize recreational use (Proposition 207, Smart and Safe Act) passed with 60% of the vote. The possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis became legal on November 30, 2020, with the first state-authorized sales taking place on January 22, 2021. Under ARS 36-2851, you are restricted on where you can legally use marijuana. You may not smoke it in public or in open places, including parks, restaurants, bars and the like. You are also not allowed to vaporize marijuana in public. If you are caught smoking or vaping marijuana in public, you may face a minor offense that carries a fine, but not jail time. In many cases of marijuana-related drunk driving, police will charge people with impaired driving under two subsections of RSO 28-1381. At 28-1381(A)(1), you can be charged with impaired driving if you are under the influence of marijuana while driving, driving, or physically controlling a vehicle. However, the Arizona Supreme Court rendered a decision in Dobson v.

McClennen, 238 Ariz. 389 (2015) clarifying this for medical marijuana users. In that case, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that registered medical marijuana card holders cannot defend themselves against the depreciation of DUI marijuana under ARS 28-1381(A)(1) because they are legally permitted to use medical marijuana. TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) — Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Arizona, dispensaries across the state are seeing lines of people outside their doors trying to get their hands on the green. Arizona is the 13th state to legalize marijuana after voters passed Proposition 207 60% to 40% on Nov. 3, 2020. The new law is known as the Smart and Safe Arizona Act. However, if you possess more than the legal amounts of marijuana listed above, you can still face the following costs: The recreational use of cannabis was legalized with the adoption of Proposition 207 on November 3, 2020. [35] [36] The organization of the initiative began in August 2019 through the Arizona Dispensaries Association and the Arizona Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. [37] [38] [39] The Arizona Dispensaries Association filed a Smart and Safe Act election initiative petition on September 26, 2019[40] to obtain the required 237,645 signatures from registered voters in Arizona by July 2, 2020. [41] [42] The Smart and Safe Arizona campaign eventually submitted more than 420,000 signatures to the Secretary of State`s office.

[42] [43] On August 11, 2020, the Secretary of State announced that the initiative had qualified for the November vote as Proposition 207. [44] On January 22, pharmacies began legally selling marijuana to adults 21 years of age and older.