Yuma, AZ Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Yuma City Code § 140-03
- Public use
- Prohibited in any public place, sports facility, open space
- City property
- All marijuana activity banned outright
- Penalty class
- Petty Offense, § 140-03(D)
- Adopted
- Ord. O2020-026, passed 12-16-2020
Summary
Smoking, vaping or otherwise using marijuana anywhere in a public place, sports facility or open space in Yuma is a petty offense under City Code § 140-03(C). The ban is total on city-owned property and reaches every publicly-used indoor or outdoor space, not just parks and sidewalks.
§ 140-03 Marijuana Prohibited on Public Property.
(A) The use, sale, cultivation, manufacture, production or distribution of marijuana or marijuana products is prohibited on property that is occupied, owned, controlled or operated by the city.
(C) It is unlawful for an individual to smoke, mechanically or electronically heat or vape, or otherwise use marijuana in a public place, sports facility or open space in the city.
(D) Violation of this section shall be a Petty Offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-74: Current through May 20, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Yuma City Code § 140-03 sets three separate bans. Subsection (A) prohibits using, selling, cultivating, manufacturing, producing or distributing marijuana on any property occupied, owned, controlled or operated by the city, full stop, with no carve-out for private conduct on public land. Subsection (B) extends the same ban to state or other political-subdivision property whose own rules prohibit marijuana. 01, so the prohibited zone tracks whatever counts as smoke-free under state law. The ordinance, Ord. O2020-026, passed December 16, 2020, sits in the same chapter that separately bans marijuana establishments and testing facilities citywide except for narrow dual-licensee exceptions, showing the city's approach is prohibition-first rather than a permitting scheme.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 140-03(C) is classified as a Petty Offense under § 140-03(D), a lower tier than a misdemeanor but still a criminal citation on your record. Yuma Police Department officers can cite anyone smoking or vaping marijuana in a park, on a sidewalk, at a sports facility, or in any other open space or public place covered by the Smoke-Free Arizona Act definitions. There is no medical-marijuana exception written into this section for public consumption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke marijuana in a Yuma city park?
Does the ban apply even if I'm not on official city business?
Is a medical marijuana card a defense to a public-use citation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yuma
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