Cannabis Regulations in Tempe, AZ (2026)
3 verified cannabis regulations for Tempe, Arizona, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Home Cultivation
Arizona law (Proposition 207 / ARS 36-2852) permits adults 21+ to grow up to 6 cannabis plants per person (12 per household with 2+ adults) for personal use. Plants must be in an enclosed, locked area not visible from public spaces. Tempe cannot prohibit home cultivation under state preemption but enforces nuisance provisions for odor and other impacts. Landlords may prohibit cultivation in lease agreements.
Tempe Home Cannabis Cultivation Rules
Some RestrictionsA.R.S. § 36-2852(A) — Allowable possession and personal use of marijuana, marijuana products and marijuana paraphernalia
A. Except as specifically and expressly provided in sections 36-2851 and 36-2853 and notwithstanding any other law, the following acts by an individual who is at least twenty-one years of age are lawful, are not an offense under the laws of this state or any locality, may not constitute the basis for detention, search or arrest, and cannot serve as the sole basis for seizure or forfeiture of as...
Dispensary Zoning
Tempe's Zoning and Development Code channels commercial marijuana uses into a short list of zoning districts. A medical marijuana dispensary or marijuana establishment without a cultivation component may locate only in the CSS, CC, PCC-1, PCC-2, RCC or LID districts, while a dispensary paired with cultivation, plus stand-alone cultivation or infusion facilities, is confined to the GID and HID industrial districts under Section 3-426(B).
Tempe Cannabis Dispensary Zoning Districts
Some RestrictionsTempe Zoning and Development Code § 3-426(B)
A medical marijuana dispensary or marijuana establishment, without cultivation, is allowed in the CSS, CC, PCC-1, PCC-2, RCC, and LID districts. A medical marijuana dispensary, marijuana establishment, marijuana cultivation facility or marijuana infusion facility is allowed in the GID and HID zoning districts.
Buffer Zones
Tempe's Zoning and Development Code keeps marijuana dispensaries and marijuana establishments away from sensitive uses under Section 3-426(B)(1). A dispensary cannot sit within 1,500 feet of a childcare facility or school, within 1,320 feet of a place of worship, park, library or residential district, or within 5,280 feet, one mile, of another dispensary. The Community Development Department verifies these distances before issuing a use acceptance letter.
Tempe Cannabis Dispensary Buffer Distances
Some RestrictionsTempe Zoning and Development Code § 3-426(B)(1)
A medical marijuana dispensary or marijuana establishment shall not be operated or maintained on a parcel, measured by a straight line in all directions, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point of the property line of a parcel containing the following: a. Within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from a childcare facility; b. Within one thousand five hund...
Looking for Maricopa County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Tempe city rules.
Cannabis Regulations in Maricopa County →