How Much Weed Can You Legally Have in Arizona?

In Arizona, adults 21 and older can legally have up to one ounce of marijuana, with no more than five grams of that total in concentrate form. Medical marijuana patients registered with the state can hold more. Anything above those limits moves from a fine-only infraction into criminal territory, with felony charges starting once you cross 2.5 ounces.

The One-Ounce Recreational Limit

Proposition 207, the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, sets the ceiling at one ounce (about 28 grams) of marijuana for adults 21 and older. That one ounce covers every form combined: flower, edibles, and concentrate all count toward the same total.¹

Inside that one ounce, no more than five grams can be concentrate — products like vape oil, wax, or shatter. The five-gram cap is a carve-out, not an add-on. Carry five grams of wax and you have room for roughly 23 grams of flower before you hit the overall ceiling. THC in edibles counts toward the concentrate portion, so a bag of gummies containing three grams of concentrate leaves only two more grams of concentrate headroom.

You can also give up to one ounce (with no more than five grams as concentrate) to another adult 21 or older, as long as no money changes hands and you don’t advertise the transfer.¹

Higher Limits for Medical Patients

Registered patients under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act have a larger allowance. A qualifying patient or their designated caregiver can obtain up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana within any 14-day period from a licensed dispensary, and dispensaries track purchases to keep patients within that window.² Qualifying requires a debilitating medical condition and registration with the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Home Cultivation Limits

An adult 21 or older can grow up to six marijuana plants at their primary residence for personal use. If two or more qualifying adults live in the same household, the cap doubles to twelve plants for the whole residence. Twelve is the household ceiling no matter how many adults live there.¹

Three conditions apply to the grow area. Plants must be in an enclosed space like a closet, spare room, or greenhouse. That space needs a lock or other security device to keep minors out. And the plants can’t be visible from any public vantage point without binoculars or other optical aids. An open backyard garden a neighbor can see from the sidewalk won’t qualify.

Medical patients whose registry card authorizes home cultivation can grow up to twelve plants in an enclosed, locked facility, and that allowance runs per patient rather than per household.²

Where You Can Actually Use It

Having a legal amount doesn’t mean you can use it anywhere. Arizona bans marijuana consumption in any public place, and violating that ban is a petty offense.³ “Public place” is defined broadly and covers restaurants, bars, retail stores, malls, hotels, health care facilities, public transit, and common areas of apartment buildings.

Private residences are the safest option, but a landlord or property owner can prohibit marijuana use on the premises. A lease that bans smoking or cannabis is enforceable, and property owners can bar cultivation on rental property.

Federal land is where legal Arizona users run into the worst trouble. The state has the Grand Canyon, national forests, and numerous national monuments, and marijuana remains federally prohibited. Possessing any amount on national forest land, in a national park, or on any other federal property is a federal offense carrying a mandatory court appearance, up to one year of imprisonment, and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense.

Driving with Marijuana in the Car

You can transport marijuana in your vehicle as long as you stay within the one-ounce limit, but consuming it while the vehicle is in operation is a petty offense for both drivers and passengers. A sealed container avoids ambiguity during a traffic stop.

Arizona’s DUI statute makes it illegal to drive impaired to the “slightest degree” by any drug, marijuana included.⁴ There is no set THC blood concentration threshold the way there is a 0.08 blood alcohol limit. If an officer believes you’re impaired, that alone can trigger a DUI investigation.

Under the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, merely having marijuana metabolites in your system does not by itself support a drug-DUI charge; there must also be active impairment.¹ Before Proposition 207 passed, Arizona’s zero-tolerance rule meant a detectable metabolite from use days earlier could sustain a DUI. That’s no longer the case for legal users, though active impairment is still prosecuted aggressively.

What Happens If You Go Over

Penalties escalate sharply with quantity.

Slightly Over: A Fine, Not a Conviction

Possessing more than one ounce but no more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana, or more than five grams but no more than 12.5 grams of concentrate, is a petty offense carrying a maximum fine of $300.³ There’s no jail time, and the statute doesn’t distinguish between first and repeat offenses for adults 21 and older in this band.

Above 2.5 Ounces: Felony Territory

Once possession crosses 2.5 ounces, Arizona’s criminal drug statutes take over. First-time offender ranges are:

These ranges assume personal possession. If prosecutors can show intent to distribute, the charges climb further.

Rules for People Under 21

The one-ounce protection does not extend to anyone under 21. A person under 21 caught with one ounce or less of marijuana, or up to five grams of concentrate, faces escalating consequences:³

First violation: civil penalty up to $100, with the court able to order up to four hours of drug education or counseling.
Second violation: petty offense, with optional drug education or counseling up to eight hours.
Third or later violation: Class 1 misdemeanor.

Using a fake ID to buy marijuana is a petty offense on the first attempt and a Class 1 misdemeanor after that. Soliciting another person to buy on your behalf escalates from a petty offense to a Class 3 misdemeanor.³

Clearing an Old Marijuana Conviction

Proposition 207 created a path to erase certain past marijuana offenses. You can petition for expungement if you were arrested, charged, adjudicated, or convicted for possessing 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana (including up to 12.5 grams of concentrate), cultivating six or fewer plants at your primary residence, or possessing marijuana paraphernalia.⁷

The petition goes to the court that resolved your case. If the arrest never resulted in a court case and you want only the law enforcement records expunged, file in the Superior Court for the county where the arrest happened. Each case number needs its own petition. If the court grants expungement of a felony marijuana conviction, your civil rights are restored, though you’ll need to submit a new voter registration form to regain voting eligibility.⁷

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-2852
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-2801 – Definitions
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-2853 – Violations, Classification, Civil Penalty, Additional Fine, Enforcement
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-3405 – Possession, Use, Production, Sale or Transportation of Marijuana
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders, Sentencing, Definition
7
Arizona Supreme Court. Instructions for Completing a Petition to Expunge Marijuana-Related Offense Records Pursuant to ARS Section 36-2862