First time in Phoenix? Here's the weed law, minus the legalese

Arizona voters passed Prop 207, the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, in 2020. Since then adults 21 and up can buy, carry and use cannabis under state law. You don't need a medical card, you don't need to live here, and you don't need to know anybody.

What trips people up is the fine print. Where you can actually light up, how much you can have in your pocket, what happens on a reservation or in a national park, and how the cops handle driving. That's this page. For the practical side of finding a spot to sesh, go to where to smoke in Phoenix.

Prop 207 made adult use legal statewide and set up licensed retail. If you're 21 or older you can possess, use and give away small amounts, and you can grow a few plants at home. Licensed marijuana establishments handle sales. Adult-use purchases carry a 16 percent state excise tax on top of regular sales tax, so the number at the register will be higher than the shelf tag.

The law also comes with a short list of things it does not cover. No smoking in public. No consuming in a car. No driving impaired. Employers can still drug test and keep weed out of the workplace, and landlords and property owners can ban it on their property. Keep those five in your head and you're most of the way there.

One more thing the law did: it set up a way for people with certain older marijuana convictions to petition to have their records expunged. If that's you, it's worth a call to a lawyer.

The adult limit is one ounce, and no more than 5 grams of that can be concentrate. Concentrate means wax, shatter, rosin, carts, that family. An ounce of flower is a lot for a weekend, so most visitors never get close.

Going over isn't the end of the world, but it's not legal either. Carrying more than an ounce and up to two and a half ounces, with no more than 12.5 grams of concentrate, is a petty offense. In Arizona a petty offense means a fine, not jail. Past that it gets more serious, so don't stock up like you're opening a shop.

You can also hand up to an ounce, with no more than 5 grams of concentrate, to another adult 21 or over as long as no money changes hands and nobody's advertising it. Passing a joint to your buddy is fine. Selling him an eighth out of your trunk is not.

Yes. If you're 21 or older, you can walk into any licensed adult-use dispensary in the Valley and buy. Out-of-state visitors are welcome. Bring a valid government photo ID, because they will check it at the door and again at the counter. An expired ID is how a lot of first timers get turned around.

The per-visit cap matches the possession limit: one ounce, with no more than 5 grams of concentrate. Reup with your favorite flower or concentrate and keep it simple.

If you carry a medical card from another state, Arizona gives visiting patients legal protection for possession, but out-of-state patients can't buy at Arizona's medical counters. Shop adult-use like everybody else.

Adults 21 and over can grow up to six plants at their primary residence. If two or more adults live in the house, the household cap is 12. That's per house, not per person stacking up forever.

The plants have to be in an enclosed area with a lock or some kind of security device that keeps kids out, and they can't be visible from public view. Your neighbor shouldn't be able to see them from the sidewalk without binoculars. Getting this wrong the first time is a petty offense. Doing it again bumps it to a misdemeanor.

Visitors in a hotel or a short-term rental aren't growing anything, obviously. This is a resident thing. If you rent, check your lease first, because landlords can say no.

Private property with the owner's okay. That's the whole answer for where it's legal. Your place, a friend's backyard, a rental where the host says yes in writing.

Public places are out. Sidewalks, parks, the patio at a bar, a trailhead parking lot, the tailgate before a game. Smoking in a public place or open space is a petty offense, so it's a ticket, not a night in jail. People do it anyway. You'll smell it on any walk downtown. That doesn't make it legal.

Arizona's smoke-free law also covers marijuana. So anywhere tobacco smoking is banned, like most hotel rooms, bars and restaurants, weed smoking is banned too. A no smoking sign means all smoking.

Cars are a hard no. The law does not allow consuming cannabis while operating or riding in the passenger compartment of any motor vehicle, and that covers the passenger seat too. Parked counts. Get there, park, walk inside, then sesh.

Hotels and rentals are their own animal. We break them down on the where to smoke page. Short version: assume no unless the property tells you yes.

Cannabis is still illegal under federal law, and Arizona has a lot of federal land. National parks like the Grand Canyon and Saguaro, national forests like the Tonto, national monuments, a big chunk of the desert you'll drive through. On federal land, Prop 207 doesn't protect you. Rangers can cite you and take your stash. Leave it at the house before a hike or a park day.

Tribal nations make their own laws, and the Valley sits right next to several of them, including the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on Scottsdale's east side and the Gila River Indian Community south of town. Don't assume Arizona's rules apply once you cross onto tribal land. Some communities have kept cannabis fully illegal. If you're heading to a casino or a golf course out there, don't bring it.

Same story for leaving the state. Carrying weed across a state line is a federal crime, even if you're driving to another legal state. Same for flying out. Finish it here or leave it with a friend.

Arizona can charge you with DUI if you're impaired to the slightest degree by any drug, cannabis included. That bar is low on purpose. There's no magic number like 0.08 for alcohol. An officer looks at your driving, your eyes, how you do on the roadside tests, and may ask for a blood draw.

Prop 207 fixed one old problem. Before, you could be convicted just for having cannabis metabolites in your system, which can show up weeks after you smoked. Now metabolites alone aren't enough. They have to show you were actually impaired. That's a defense, not a green light.

Arizona also has implied consent. Driving here means you've agreed to chemical testing, and refusing can cost you your license for a year. The move is easy: grab a ride, take light rail, or let the sober friend drive. Then nobody's spending the trip on the phone with a lawyer.

Arizona's medical program is run by the Arizona Department of Health Services and predates rec by a decade. Patients need a qualifying condition and a written certification from an Arizona-licensed physician. You need to be an Arizona resident to apply.

Cardholders get a higher limit, two and a half ounces in any 14-day period, and skip the adult-use excise tax. They also get extra protection on the metabolite side of DUI law, though not on the impairment side. Whether it's right for you is a question for your doctor.

This one's murkier than it should be. Arizona's attorney general issued a formal opinion that delta-8 and other intoxicating hemp-derived THC products can only be legally sold by businesses licensed by the state health department, which means licensed dispensaries. Under that reading, the delta-8 gummies at a gas station or smoke shop aren't being sold legally.

Federal hemp rules have been shifting too, and the rules for hemp-derived THC keep getting rewritten. If you want something that gets you high and you want zero gray area, the licensed counter is the clear lane.

Start low with edibles. They take a while to kick in, and the heat out here makes everything hit different. Eat a real meal first, then hit the Phoenix munchies list after.

Drink water like it's your job. In summer the Valley sits in triple digits for weeks, and cottonmouth plus 110 degrees is a bad combo. Don't leave carts, edibles or flower in a parked car either. It turns into an oven.

Plan your night before you smoke. Pick where you're staying, who's driving and what you're doing. Something to watch, something to see in the cooler hours, a neighborhood to wander once you're back on foot and sober enough to enjoy it.