Arizona
Cannabis Laws

Arizona residents who are at least 21 years of age or older and have a valid government-issued ID will be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational use, with no more than 5 grams of it being marijuana concentrate.

Although there is no age limit for becoming an Arizona medical marijuana patient and medical cannabis patients can possess up to two and a half ounces of marijuana over a period of 2 weeks. Anyone possessing cannabis over the legal limits will be guilty of a petty offence.

Patients with the following conditions can qualify for medical marijuana use:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Crohn’s Disease
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• HIV or AIDS
• Nausea
• Persistent Muscle Spasms
• PTSD
• Seizures

Yes, recreational marijuana can be grown by adults aged 21 or older, but cultivation is prohibited to six cannabis plants per an individual’s primary residence and twelve plants at a residence where two or adults may be living. Cultivation must only take place in an enclosed area where the marijuana plants are not visible to the public.

Registered medical marijuana patients can cultivate even more marijuana, up to twelve cannabis plants at any given time, if their residence is located more than 25 miles from a state-licensed dispensary facility.

Arizona marijuana users may only consume cannabis in the privacy of their homes. Cannabis use is illegal in public spaces but it is only a petty offence and no longer a felony.

However, Arizona allows medical patients to consume marijuana in edible form in public as long as you are not operating a vehicle or doing anything else that could constitute negligence if you're under the influence of cannabis.

Arizona residents who are at least 21 years of age or older and have a valid government-issued ID will be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational use, with no more than 5 grams of it being marijuana concentrate.

Although there is no age limit for becoming an Arizona medical marijuana patient and medical cannabis patients can possess up to two and a half ounces of marijuana over a period of 2 weeks. Anyone possessing cannabis over the legal limits will be guilty of a petty offence.

Patients with the following conditions can qualify for medical marijuana use:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Crohn’s Disease
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• HIV or AIDS
• Nausea
• Persistent Muscle Spasms
• PTSD
• Seizures

Yes, recreational marijuana can be grown by adults aged 21 or older, but cultivation is prohibited to six cannabis plants per an individual’s primary residence and twelve plants at a residence where two or adults may be living. Cultivation must only take place in an enclosed area where the marijuana plants are not visible to the public.

Registered medical marijuana patients can cultivate even more marijuana, up to twelve cannabis plants at any given time, if their residence is located more than 25 miles from a state-licensed dispensary facility.

Arizona marijuana users may only consume cannabis in the privacy of their homes. Cannabis use is illegal in public spaces but it is only a petty offence and no longer a felony.

However, Arizona allows medical patients to consume marijuana in edible form in public as long as you are not operating a vehicle or doing anything else that could constitute negligence if you're under the influence of cannabis.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) will establish recreational marijuana regulations on or before April 5, 2021, and will start accepting applications for cannabis recreational store licenses in January 2021.

The ADHS will first accept marijuana establishment license applications from existing nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries, which would be eligible to hold both nonprofit medical marijuana and for-profit marijuana licenses, and potential marijuana businesses within counties that have one or zero nonprofit dispensaries. So far, state-licensed non-profit medical dispensaries may produce and dispense marijuana to authorized patients only on a not-for-profit basis.

Only an individual who is at least 21 years of age and has passed a criminal record check for an excluded felony offence may be a principal officer or board member on an application for a cannabis dispensary registration certificate.

Overall, 145 licenses are available for qualified early applicants, and 26 licenses have been reserved for social equity applicants.

Recreational cannabis stores are expected to have the same regulations as medical dispensaries. Any other conditions will be updated here when released.

Yes, but there are conditions. The ADHS may issue a marijuana establishment license (recreational marijuana dispensary license) to no more than two recreational dispensaries per county that contain no medical marijuana dispensaries, or one recreational dispensary license per county that contains one medical marijuana dispensary.

One entity can apply for no more than five dispensary registration certificates for locations in different CHAA (Community Health Analysis Area). An applicant must be prepared to operate every dispensary applied for.

The ADHS will accept applications from early applicants for marijuana establishment licenses from January 19, 2021, to March 9, 2021, and a license will be issued to qualified applicants within 60 days. Marijuana establishment licenses will be valid for up to a period of 2 years and can be subsequently renewed based on qualifying conditions.

The license fees for recreational stores will be reasonable and must not exceed 5 times the amount of license fees for non-profit dispensaries, which currently cost $5,000 for an initial license and $1,000 for a renewal license, respectively.

Watch this space in 3-6 months from now for more details on the application process.

Arizona State law requires a dispensary to be at least 500 feet away from existing public or private schools. All other zoning requirements are made at the local level. An applicant must attest to meeting local zoning regulations and provide proof in the initial application.

The department may not issue more than one cannabis establishment license for every ten pharmacies in a certain area as per the municipality regulations.

Licensed adult-use marijuana retailers may sell cannabis to adults aged 21 and older, with a valid government-issued identification card, and employees are required to check purchasers’ IDs before making the sale.

In the ever-evolving world of cannabis legislation, staying informed is paramount. Here are some time-sensitive updates you need to be aware of in Oklahoma:

• Pressure is growing in the Oklahoma Legislature to reconsider the contract for the state's marijuana tracking system due to complaints from lawmakers and cannabis businesses about the current system implemented by Metrc on behalf of OMMA. Approximately one out of every five businesses regulated by OMMA was issued $500 fines last year because they had not set up the proper account with Metrc.

• In March 2023, Oklahoma residents voted against a state-wide referendum to legalize recreational cannabis use. Despite the state's thriving medical marijuana industry, the ballot question proposing recreational cannabis sales to adults over 21 was met with widespread opposition from law enforcement, educators, and religious and political leaders. Supporters argue that cannabis legalization in Oklahoma is inevitable due to widespread usage, but opponents emphasize law and order in the state.

• Oklahoma lawmakers have proposed numerous bills related to the cannabis industry in 2023. These bills address various aspects, including potency limits on THC, location restrictions for dispensaries, taxation of cannabis farms, temporary business licenses, conflicts of interest disclosure, product testing procedures, and regulations for medical marijuana doctors. These legislative efforts reflect the continued growth of the cannabis industry in Oklahoma and further expansion is anticipated if a statewide referendum on recreational marijuana is approved by next year.

Marijuana stores may sell cannabis, cannabis resin, cannabis products, cannabis extracts, seedlings, immature marijuana plants and marijuana paraphernalia.

Yes, Medical marijuana dispensaries that obtain a recreational marijuana dispensary license could operate both entities in the same/shared location.

On or before April 5, 2021, medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to sell recreational marijuana to adults until the ADHS issues licenses for recreational dispensaries.

Patients buying medical marijuana incur only state and local sales taxes. However, with recreational marijuana, there is a 16% excise tax plus state and local sales taxes, which will put the total tax at about 24%.

Delivery is so far only allowed for medical marijuana. Patients located far from their closest dispensary may opt to use a medical cannabis delivery service. These services will deliver medical cannabis directly to a registered patient’s or designated caregiver’s residence.

On or after Jan 1, 2023, the ADHS can adopt rules to permit recreational marijuana deliveries.

A marijuana establishment may not:

• Package or label cannabis products in a false or misleading manner
• Sell products that resemble the form of a human, animal, insect, fruit, toy or cartoon
• Sell or advertise marijuana products that resemble or imitate food or drink brands marketed to children

Any marijuana and its products must be sold to consumers in child-resistant packing which should be clearly and conspicuously labelled with contents and all health warnings.

A marijuana establishment or non-profit medical dispensary may engage in advertising, as long as the advertisement legibly identifies it by its name and registration/license number but any marketing must not appeal to or target anyone under the age of 21.

A dispensary is required to be open and available to dispense marijuana to qualifying patients and designated caregivers at least 30 hours per week. The dispensary is also required to provide educational materials for qualifying patients or designated caregivers and to have materials available for the assessment of the therapeutic or palliative use of marijuana for the qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition.

In addition, a dispensary may cultivate marijuana for the dispensary's inventory or to sell to other dispensaries; transport medical marijuana and related paraphernalia; prepare or sell marijuana-infused edible food products; prepare, sell, or dispense marijuana-infused non-edible products; and sell or provide marijuana paraphernalia or other supplies related to the administration of marijuana to qualifying patients and designated caregivers.

Sales regulations for recreational cannabis will be updated here as and when they are released.

Most states require dispensaries and cannabis stores to track and trace all of their cannabis products for regulatory and compliance reporting requirements. Records identifying the source of each ingredient must include the date of receipt of the ingredient, vendor’s name and address, name of the ingredient, etc. A compliant POS software system helps you do all of that without any worries or violations.

There should be records consisting of marijuana transfer information, such as where the dispensary gets its product and how much went into inventory. Inventory should be kept at a minimum each morning, taking into account transfers, sales, disposals, harvests, etc. Patients should be tracked in accordance with the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program Code. Marijuana that has been cultivated, produced, or disposed of should also be tracked in the inventory system of choice. These records should be kept for a minimum of 5 years.

Arizona is not currently contracted with a state mandatory tracking system such as Leef, BioTrack, or Metrc. However, the department still expects an adequate inventory control system for safeguarding records and patient information for medical marijuana.

Yes. Cova's Cannabis Dispensary POS Software and inventory management system includes all the features needed to keep cannabis retailers compliant, including:

• ID scanner for age and card verification
• Integrated inventory and sales tracking and reporting
• Built-in product equivalency conversions and purchase limit enforcement