It was in November that with the passage of Proposition 207, the state of Arizona voted to legalize adult use of marijuana. Now health officials have begun writing the rules for the sales which could begin in the spring.
It is now legal for adults to possess as much as an ounce of marijuana and grow six plants at home, or 12 if there is more than one adult in the home.
The Department of Health Services announced draft rules last week, most of which still need to be written, along with a survey asking the public what they like and what they see as deficient in the draft. The survey will be open until Dec. 17.
Health department spokesman Steve Elliott said Arizona anticipates meeting the statutory deadlines within the measure.
“While a large part of the operations of other ADHS divisions are devoted to the pandemic, ADHS, as currently staffed and structured, has the necessary personnel and resources to research, write, modify and improve rules for all programs within the agency’s purview,” Elliott said. “At this time, we don’t anticipate needing additional staff to implement Proposition 207.”
Applications to sell begin in January and most licenses will go to the approximately 120 existing medical-marijuana shops in Arizona. There will be roughly 12 new recreational-sales only licenses available in rural counties that have one or no medical retailers.
