Mesa, AZ Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Mesa City Code Title 6, Chapter 25, "Marijuana Prohibition," was adopted after Arizona voters legalized recreational marijuana, and the City states its intent to regulate consistently with state law rather than override it. Section 6-25-3 bars acquiring, possessing, consuming, purchasing, selling, cultivating, manufacturing, producing, storing, transferring, or distributing marijuana or marijuana products on any property owned and controlled by the City, covering parks, City-owned parking lots, City facilities, and rights-of-way under City control. Beyond City property, Section 6-25-7 makes it unlawful to knowingly consume marijuana on private property where the owner, occupant, or controlling entity has posted reasonable notice prohibiting it, and Section 6-25-8 bans consuming marijuana while driving or riding in the passenger compartment of an operating vehicle, boat, vessel, or aircraft.

Section 6-25-9 sets the penalty structure as petty offenses adjudicated in Mesa Municipal Court: a fine of $150 to $1,500 for a first offense, $250 to $2,000 for a second, and $500 to $2,500 for a third and each subsequent offense. Section 6-25-10 assigns enforcement to the Mesa Police Department. These public-property and posted-property restrictions sit alongside, and do not replace, the Chapter's separate prohibitions on marijuana establishments, testing facilities, and delivery within the City discussed under Sections 6-25-4 through 6-25-6.