Arizona to Allow Recreational Marijuana Deliveries Starting Friday
Arizona is set to expand its recreational marijuana delivery service, allowing adults 21 and older to purchase cannabis for delivery to their doorstep. Previously, the service was only available to registered medical marijuana patients.
The policy change was announced by the Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA), which praised regulators for working ahead of schedule to implement the new regulations. The changes will take effect on November 1, according to the state Department of Health Services.
The updated rules require tracking of orders and deliveries, including times and locations, and mandate that delivery workers have a means of communicating with the marijuana establishment. Marijuana products and cannabis plants can be lawfully transported to buyers, but the new policy does not cover the delivery of paraphernalia.
Arizona joins other states that have adopted recreational marijuana delivery services, citing potential increases in public safety. For example, New Jersey regulators highlighted cannabis delivery services as a measure to reduce impaired driving.
In related news, a state appeals court recently ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries can operate near preschools, and another ruling stated that the state cannot suspend a driver’s license solely because someone has THC in their bloodstream.
Arizona’s medical marijuana market has been shrinking since voters approved recreational legalization, with sales dropping to one-quarter of the size of the adult-use market three years after recreational sales began.
As the November election approaches, two new polls show strong majority support for marijuana legalization, federal rescheduling, and cannabis banking reform among likely voters in Arizona, a key presidential battleground state.
Separately, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a bill into law allowing firefighters and peace officers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to receive workers’ compensation coverage for MDMA therapy if it is federally legalized. Hobbs previously vetoed a proposal to legalize psilocybin service centers.
