SB 1725: Arizona Senate Takes Up Bill Targeting Marijuana Odor as Public Nuisance

18 February 2026

Arizona lawmakers are considering whether marijuana smoke from a private home should qualify as a criminal nuisance.

Sen. J.D. Mesnard, a Republican representing Chandler, has introduced SB 1725 and a companion measure, SCR 1048, during the Fifty-seventh Legislature’s Second Regular Session in 2026. The proposals would expand Arizona’s nuisance laws to include “excessive” marijuana smoke and odor, even when cannabis is used in compliance with state law on private property.

Mesnard has said the idea took shape after repeated experiences in his own neighborhood, where he reports smelling marijuana strongly enough to limit when windows can be opened. He says other residents have contacted him with similar complaints, describing smoke that drifts into garages and homes or lingers in backyards where children play.

Arizona voters approved medical marijuana in 2010 and legalized adult recreational use in 2020. Public consumption remains prohibited. But state law does not explicitly regulate marijuana smoke in or around private residences. Mesnard’s legislation would attempt to address that gap by declaring excessive marijuana smoke and odor a public and criminal nuisance.

SB 1725 would amend sections 12-991, 13-2908, and 13-2917 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. It establishes a legal presumption that creating excessive marijuana smoke and odor is injurious to health, offensive to the senses, and interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. In practice, that may make it easier for prosecutors or private parties to bring nuisance actions, as the burden could shift to the accused to rebut that presumption.

The offense would be treated as a misdemeanor. Legislative descriptions vary slightly on penalties, but they include the possibility of jail time, fines, and probation. In some cases, knowingly maintaining a nuisance could result in up to four months in jail and a $750 fine. Other summaries describe a class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, and up to one year of probation.

The bill also authorizes judges to order property owners to abate the nuisance. If a homeowner fails to comply, a government entity or homeowners association could step in, with associated costs potentially placed as a lien on the property.

Because marijuana legalization was enacted through voter initiative, changes to it face constitutional constraints. Mesnard has introduced SCR 1048 as a parallel measure. If approved by the legislature, that resolution would send the same policy question to voters in November, allowing them to decide whether marijuana odor should be treated as a nuisance crime.

The proposals are scheduled for consideration in the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee on February 20, 2026.

This debate is unfolding as activists pursue a separate ballot initiative aimed at dismantling Arizona’s commercial adult-use cannabis market. That effort would preserve medical marijuana but eliminate the recreational retail system beginning in January 2028, if voters approve it. Supporters argue that legalization has led to unintended consequences, including public nuisance concerns and declining tax revenues. Yet polling from the past year indicates majority support for both medical and adult-use cannabis legalization.

For medical marijuana patients and adult-use consumers, the nuisance proposal introduces new uncertainty. Smoking cannabis at home would remain legal under state law, but neighbors’ complaints could potentially trigger criminal or civil consequences if the odor is deemed excessive. The absence of a clear statutory definition may leave enforcement open to interpretation.

For the Arizona cannabis industry, the impact may be indirect but noticeable. Retail sales would not be immediately affected by SB 1725. Still, if consumers feel at risk for smoking at home, some may turn to non-smokable products. Property managers, landlords, and homeowners associations could also find themselves navigating new responsibilities tied to odor complaints.

As Arizona approaches another potential cannabis vote, lawmakers and voters appear to be revisiting a question that legalization did not fully resolve, how far personal freedom extends when the effects cross a property line.