Arizona Marijuana Laws

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last updated February 23, 2021

With all the new changes throughout the country regarding medical marijuana's legality, it's hard to keep track of the various states' marijuana laws. Read on to get an overview of Arizona's marijuana laws.

Arizona Medical Marijuana Act

In 2010, voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act by a narrow margin of just over 50%. The citizen initiative (Proposition 203) called on the Arizona Department of Health Services to create a medical marijuana program.

About 50,000 people participate in Arizona's medical marijuana program. The Medical Marijuana Act authorizes the possession and personal use of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by patients with written certification from a physician to alleviate a variety of symptoms associated with conditions (and the treatment prescribed for these conditions) such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, Crohn's disease, and Hepatitis C.

State Penalties for Non-Medical Marijuana Use

Arizona legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older by passing the Proposition 207 ballot initiative in November 2020. It is important to note that possession or sale of more than 28 grams is still a crime in Arizona.

The classification, amount of incarceration time, and amount of fines associated with marijuana drug charges in Arizona are as follows:

Arizona Marijuana Penalties
Offense	Drug Amount	Felony Class	Incarceration Time	Fine
Dependency	Possession up to 1 ounce	Legal
	Less than 2 lbs.	Class 6	6 months - 1.5 years	Minimum fine of $1000
	2 - 4 lbs.	Class 5	9 months - 2 years	Minimum fine of $1000
	4 lbs. or more	Class 4	1.5 - 3 years	Minimum fine of $1000
CULTIVATION & PRODUCTION	Up to 6 plants for non-commercial purposes	Legal		Minimum fine of $1000
	2 - 4 lbs.	Class 4	1.5 - 3 years	Minimum fine of $1000
	4 lbs. or more	Class 3	5 - 7 years	Minimum fine of $1000
POSSESSION FOR SALE	Transfer with no remuneration up to 1 ounce	Legal
	Less than 2 lbs.	Class 4	1.5 - 3 years	Minimum fine of $1000
	2 - 4 lbs.	Class 3	2.5 - 7 years	Minimum fine of $1000
	4 lbs. or more	Class 2	4 - 10 years	Minimum fine of $1000
SALE OR DELIVERY FOR SALE	Less than 2 lbs.	Class 3	2.5 - 7 years	Minimum fine of $1000
SALE OR DELIVERY FOR SALE	2 lbs. or more	Class 2	4 - 10 years	Minimum fine of $1000
POSSESSION PARAPHERNALIA	N/A	Class 6	6 months - 1.5 years	Minimum fine of $1000
MARIJUANA DUI	Impaired to Slightest Degree	Misdemeanor; Felony	Varies	Varies
MARIJUANA DUI	THC Metabolites in Blood	Misdemeanor; Felony	Varies	Varies

Note: State laws are constantly changing -- please contact an Arizona criminal defense attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.

Federal Marijuana Laws

Keep in mind that although Arizona state law now legalizes marijuana, federal law does not. The federal penalties for possession and sale of marijuana are outlined in the table below:

Federal Marijuana Penalties
Offense	Drug Amount	Crime Classification	Incarceration Time	Fine
POSSESSION	1st offense - any amount	Misdemeanor	up to 1 year	$1,000
	2nd offense - any amount	Misdemeanor	min. 15 days; up to 2 years	$2,500
	3rd offense or more - any amount	Misdemeanor; Felony	min. 90 days; up to 3 years	$5,000
SALE	less than 50 kg.	Felony	up to 5 years	$250,000
	50 - 99 kg.	Felony	up to 20 years	$1,000,000
	100 - 1000 kg.	Felony	min. 5 years; up to 40 years	$2,000,000
	more than 1000 kg.	Felony	10 years - life	$4,000,000

Note: State laws are constantly changing -- please contact an Arizona criminal defense attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the law(s) you are researching.