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

Chapter 22A of the Tempe City Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 10 on March 25, 2021 after Arizona voters legalized recreational marijuana under Proposition 207, layers city-level restrictions on top of state law. Section 22A-2 makes it unlawful "to the fullest extent allowable by law" to smoke, consume, sell, distribute, store, cultivate, manufacture or produce marijuana or marijuana products on any property occupied, owned, controlled or operated by the City of Tempe, to smoke or consume marijuana products in an "open space" (defined in Section 22A-1(g) to include public parks, sidewalks, trails, preserves and rights-of-way), or to smoke marijuana in a "public place" as that term is used under the Smoke Free Arizona Act.

The prohibition reaches consumption of edibles and concentrates in open spaces, not just lit product. Enforcement runs through Section 22A-3, which treats every occurrence of a violation as a separate offense and sets the penalty, absent a different state-law penalty, at a Class 1 misdemeanor under the general penalty section, Section 1-7 of the Code. Section 22A-3(d) makes clear a conviction does not excuse the violator from correcting the underlying condition, and city penalties stack on top of, rather than replace, any state or federal enforcement action.

Tempe Police officers issue citations for on-scene violations in parks, on transit property and at city facilities; ASU campus property is state land handled separately. Tempe adopted this chapter to close the gap between the personal-use allowance in state law and the City's ability to keep marijuana smoke and sales off municipal property and public places.