Most marijuana possession charges in Arizona are felonies. Residents under the age of 21 caught with any amount of cannabis will be tried in court. Penalties awarded by the court depend on the age of the offender and the amount of cannabis in their possession. Offenders aged 18 - 20 will be tried as adults as subject to the following penalties:
Juveniles caught with cannabis will likely be tried in Arizona juvenile courts. However, prosecutors may decide to try minors who are one or two years away from turning 18 as adults. Juveniles tried as adults for cannabis possession will face the penalties outlined above. Minors charged as juveniles face these four categories of punishments:
Arizona only allows adults aged 21 and over and patients qualified for medical marijuana to smoke weed in private spaces. Therefore, they can smoke weed at home. It is illegal to smoke weed in public and open spaces in Arizona including at bars, parks, and restaurants. The ban covers pre-roll marijuana as well as weed in vape pens. The state recommends maximum penalties for those caught smoking weed in public around minors and in designated school zones. Arizona also does not allow smoking weed in vehicles of any kind regardless of whether the individual consuming weed is the driver or passenger.
No. Transporting cannabis outside of Arizona means crossing state borders with the drug and, therefore, a violation of the federal ban on marijuana. By federal law, cannabis is a controlled substance. While most states have legalized medical cannabis, marijuana still remains prohibited on federal properties including the interstate roads connecting states. Therefore, transporting cannabis outside Arizona is a federal crime even when visiting another state where marijuana is fully legal.
It is also illegal to transport cannabis into Arizona from another state. This is a Class 2 felony in the state punishable by a minimum fine of $2,000 and a maximum fine that is three times the value of the seized weed as well as 4 - 10 years in prison.
Yes. Arizona has very strict drugged driving laws and points accumulated from DUI (driving under the influence) due to cannabis use will stay on the offender's driving record for the prescribed duration. The point system established by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) recognizes two types of DUI: DUI and Extreme DUI. The ADOT assigns 8 points to each of these offenses.
Points accrued from DUI following cannabis are added to offending drivers' permanent driving records. A motorist that accumulates 8 or more points on their driving record in a 12-month period may have their driving license suspended for up to 12 months and will be required to attend Traffic Survival School. A motorist arrested for DUI due to cannabis use but refusing to submit to a drug test will have their driving privilege suspended for 12 months and then mandated to complete drug screening before their driving license is reinstated. Failure to submit for a second road test within 84 months of the first refusal will cause the offender's driving privilege withdrawn for 24 months.
In addition to raising the chances of having driving privileges suspended, a cannabis DUI on a motorist's driving record can have other implications. Arizona courts are unlikely to be lenient when sentencing offenders with accumulated points on their driving records if their DUI offenses involve criminal charges. Similarly, a motorist's insurance premium goes up with the number of points on their driving records.
Yes. In Arizona, operating a motor vehicle gives law enforcement implied consent to test the motorist's breath, blood, urine, and other bodily fluid for drug and alcohol content. Therefore, motorists must submit to field drug tests when requested by law enforcement. Failure to submit to such tests is taken as an admission of guilt and punished with maximum penalties.
Arizona drug driving laws make clear distinctions between DUI arrests following the detection of cannabis or its metabolite in the offender's body and driving under the influence of cannabis. Patients with medical marijuana ID cards are not guilty of DUI if cannabis metabolites are detected in their bodies. However, they will be charged with DUI if deemed to be driving under the influence of cannabis.
In Arizona, law enforcement officers often rely on intuition and field sobriety tests designed to detect alcohol intoxication when trying to ascertain whether suspected motorists are high. They test a driver's balance, coordination, and response with horizontal gaze nystagmus, one-leg stand, and walk-and-turn tests. However, these tests are not conclusive and failing any of them does not fully confirm that a person is high. Some people are capable of passing such tests while high and others who are not high may fail them because they are nervous.
While there are blood, urine, and saliva tests to determine whether someone is high or not, these are currently not available for use during traffic stops. Therefore, an Arizona law enforcement must determine that there is a high chance the motorist they stopped is high and then arrest them.
Definitive blood tests can only be conducted in police labs, after the individual suspected has been arrested. These tests look for marijuana metabolites in the blood. However, they may not be completely fair because some individuals metabolize marijuana faster than others. Slow metabolizers may be deemed high and charged with DUI days after they consumed cannabis.
Experts agree that there is a need to design a field test capable of determining the level of THC in the body. A simple swab test can be administered at a traffic stop to analyze the test subject's saliva. Furthermore, THC level is a better indicator of cannabis high than other metabolites of the drugs, most of which are not psychoactive.
Arizona has well-defined penalties for individuals convicted of DUI of cannabis. A summary of these penalties are as follow:
Yes, as long as you meet the state's restrictions as stated in the Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act and the Smart and Safe Arizona Act. These marijuana laws establish that only those aged 21 and above can legally purchase and possess marijuana in Arizona. Those below this age threshold can only buy marijuana if they have medical marijuana identification cards. Underage users must demonstrate that they have medical conditions that qualify them to receive medical cannabis in Arizona.
Marijuana is only legally available in Arizona from state-licensed marijuana dispensaries. Currently, most of these are licensed to provide medical marijuana while a few only have licenses to offer recreational marijuana. A select number of marijuana dispensaries in Arizona have dual licenses and can sell both medical and adult-use cannabis.
Arizona restricts the number of places residents can buy marijuana by limiting the number of dispensary licenses it uses. The ADHS only issues one marijuana dispensary license for every 10 pharmacy permits approved in the state. By June 2021, the ADHS has licensed 143 marijuana dispensaries with 124 of them already operational. Out of these total, there are currently 73 adult-use marijuana dispensaries in Arizona.
Arizona also allows medical marijuana delivery service but only for qualifying patients requiring such services. Patients approved to use delivery services are those living very far from the nearest marijuana dispensaries. Delivery services may deliver medical marijuana to patients' addresses or the addresses of their approved caregivers.
The price of marijuana in Arizona varies widely depending on location, strain of weed, cannabis product type, and intended use. Overall, a market survey shows Arizona marijuana prices are some of the lowest in the country. A gram of weed sells for as low as $8 in the state and an ounce of marijuana can retail for over $300. Generally, marijuana dispensaries sell 1 gram of marijuana for $10 - 20 and one ounce for $150 - 200.
Pre-roll weed costs as low as $4 per gram in Arizona while concentrates and vape cartridges have average costs of $21 and $39. Edibles cost 8 cents per milligram on average.
Arizona's marijuana laws allow adults aged 21 and older to have up to 1 ounce or 28 grams of marijuana or cannabis-infused products on their person. Out of this maximum amount, marijuana concentrate forms can make up to 5 grams. Patients with qualifying medical conditions and medical marijuana identification cards may possess up to 2.5 ounces or 70 grams of cannabis.
Adults aged 21 and older can only give a maximum amount of marijuana of 1 ounce to other adults aged 21 and above. Such transfers are only legal if they do not involve the payment and are not advertised. Similar restrictions extend to patients gifting medical marijuana. They can only give up to 2.5 ounces to other medical marijuana patients or their caregivers.
State | Legal Status | Medicinal | Recreational |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Criminalized | No | No |
Alaska | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Arizona | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Arkansas | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Colorado | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Connecticut | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Delaware | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
District of Columbia | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Florida | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Georgia | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Hawaii | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Idaho | Decriminalized | No | No |
Illinois | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Indiana | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Iowa | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Kansas | Decriminalized | No | No |
Kentucky | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Louisiana | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Maine | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Maryland | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Massachusetts | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Michigan | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Minnesota | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Mississippi | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Missouri | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Montana | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Nebraska | Decriminalized | No | Yes |
Nevada | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
New Hampshire | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
New Jersey | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
New Mexico | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
New York | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
North Carolina | Decriminalized | No | Yes |
North Dakota | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Ohio | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Oklahoma | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Oregon | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Pennsylvania | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Rhode Island | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
South Carolina | Decriminalized | No | No |
South Dakota | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Tennessee | Decriminalized | No | No |
Texas | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Utah | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Vermont | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
Virginia | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | Yes |
Washington | Decriminalized | Yes | Yes |
West Virginia | Partly Decriminalized | Yes | No |
Wisconsin | Partly Decriminalized | Accepts only CBD Oil | No |
Wyoming | Decriminalized | No | No |