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HB2081 - 572R - I Ver
PREFILED��� DEC 18 2025
REFERENCE TITLE:
medical marijuana; terminal illness
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2081
Introduced by
Representative
Bliss
AN
ACT
Amending sections 36-2801 and 36-2805,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to medical marijuana.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Subject to the requirements of
article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 36-2801,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
36-2801.
Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Allowable amount of marijuana":
(a) With respect to a qualifying patient, means:
(i) Two and one-half ounces of usable marijuana.
(ii) If the qualifying patient's registry
identification card states that the qualifying patient is authorized to
cultivate marijuana, twelve marijuana plants contained in an enclosed, locked
facility, except that the plants are not required to be in an enclosed, locked
facility if the plants are being transported because the qualifying patient is
moving.
(b) With respect to a designated caregiver, for each
patient assisted by the designated caregiver under this chapter, means:
(i) Two and one-half ounces of usable marijuana.
(ii) If the designated caregiver's registry
identification card provides that the designated caregiver is authorized to
cultivate marijuana, twelve marijuana plants contained in an enclosed, locked
facility, except that the plants are not required to be in an enclosed, locked
facility if the plants are being transported because the designated caregiver
is moving.
(c) Does not include marijuana that is incidental to
medical use, but is not usable marijuana.
2. "Cardholder" means a qualifying
patient, a designated caregiver, a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary agent
or
a
an
independent third-party
laboratory agent who has been issued and possesses a valid registry
identification card.
3. "Debilitating medical condition" means
one or more of the following:
(a) Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human
immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease or agitation of Alzheimer's
disease or the treatment of these conditions.
(b) A chronic or debilitating disease or medical
condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:
(i) Cachexia or wasting syndrome.
(ii) Severe and chronic pain.
(iii) Severe nausea.
(iv) Seizures, including those characteristic of
epilepsy.
(v) Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including
those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
(
c
) A terminal
illness as defined in section 36-1311.
(c)
(
d
)
Any other medical condition or its treatment added
by the department pursuant to section 36-2801.01.
4. "Department" means the department of
health services or its successor agency.
5. "Designated caregiver" means a person
who:
(a) Is at least twenty-one years of age.
(b) Has agreed to assist with a patient's medical
use of marijuana.
(c) Has not been convicted of an excluded felony
offense.
(d) Assists not more than five qualifying patients
with the medical use of marijuana.
(e) May receive reimbursement for actual costs
incurred in assisting a registered qualifying patient's medical use of
marijuana if the registered designated caregiver is connected to the registered
qualifying patient through the department's registration process. The
designated caregiver may not be paid any fee or compensation for service as a
caregiver. Payment for costs under this subdivision does not
constitute an offense under title 13, chapter 34 or under
title
36,
chapter 27, article 4
of this title
.
6. "Enclosed, locked facility" means a
closet, room, greenhouse or other enclosed area that is equipped with locks or
other security devices that
permit
allow
access only by a cardholder.
7. "Excluded felony offense" means:
(a) A violent crime as defined in section 13-901.03,
subsection B, that was classified as a felony in the jurisdiction where the
person was convicted.
(b) A violation of a state or federal controlled
substance law that was classified as a felony in the jurisdiction where the
person was convicted but does not include:
(i) An offense for which the sentence, including any
term of probation, incarceration or supervised release, was completed ten or
more years earlier.
(ii) An offense involving conduct that would be
immune from arrest, prosecution or penalty under section 36-2811, except
that the conduct occurred before December 14, 2010 or was prosecuted by an
authority other than the state of Arizona.
8. "Independent third-party
laboratory" means an entity that has a national or international
accreditation and that is certified by the department to analyze marijuana
cultivated for medical use.
9. "Independent third-party laboratory
agent" means an owner, employee or volunteer of a certified independent
third-party laboratory who is at least twenty-one years of age and
who has not been convicted of an excluded felony offense.
10. "Marijuana" means all parts of any
plant of the genus cannabis
,
whether growing or not, and
the seeds of such
a
plant.
11. "Medical use" means the acquisition,
possession, cultivation, manufacture, use, administration, delivery, transfer
or transportation of marijuana or paraphernalia relating to the administration
of marijuana to treat or alleviate a registered qualifying patient's
debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the
qualifying
patient's debilitating medical condition.
12. "Nonprofit medical marijuana
dispensary" means a not-for-profit entity that acquires,
possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers, transports, supplies,
sells or dispenses marijuana or related supplies and educational materials to
cardholders. A nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary may receive
payment for all expenses incurred in its operation.
13. "Nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary
agent" means a principal officer, board member, employee or volunteer of a
nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary who is at least twenty-one years of age
and has not been convicted of an excluded felony offense.
14. "Physician" means a doctor of medicine
who holds a valid and existing license to practice medicine pursuant to title
32, chapter 13 or its successor, a doctor of osteopathic medicine who holds a
valid and existing license to practice osteopathic medicine pursuant to title
32, chapter 17 or its successor, a naturopathic physician who holds a valid and
existing license to practice naturopathic medicine pursuant to title 32,
chapter 14 or its successor or a homeopathic physician who holds a valid and
existing license to practice homeopathic medicine pursuant to title 32, chapter
29 or its successor.
15. "Qualifying patient" means a person
who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical
condition.
16. "Registry identification card" means a
document issued by the department that identifies a person as a registered
qualifying patient, a registered designated caregiver, a registered nonprofit
medical marijuana dispensary agent or a registered independent third-party
laboratory agent.
17. "Usable marijuana":
(a) Means the dried flowers of the marijuana plant
,
and any mixture or preparation thereof.
(b) Does not include:
(i) The seeds, stalks and roots of the plant.
(ii) The weight of any non-marijuana
ingredients combined with marijuana and prepared for consumption as food or
drink.
18. "Verification system" means a secure,
password-protected, web-based system that is established and maintained
by the department and that is available to law enforcement personnel and
nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary agents on a twenty-four-hour
basis for verifying registry identification cards.
19. "Visiting
qualifying patient" means a person:
(a) Who is not a
resident of Arizona or who has been a resident of Arizona
less
fewer
than thirty days.
(b) Who has been diagnosed with a debilitating
medical condition by a person who is licensed with authority to prescribe drugs
to humans in the state of the person's residence or, in the case of a person
who has been a resident of Arizona
less
fewer
than thirty days, the state of the person's former
residence.
20. "Written certification" means a
document dated and signed by a physician, stating that in the physician's
professional opinion the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative
benefit from the medical use of marijuana to treat or alleviate the patient's
debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating
medical condition.� The physician must:
(a) Specify the qualifying patient's debilitating
medical condition in the written certification.
(b) Sign and date the written certification only in
the course of a physician-patient relationship after the physician has
completed a full assessment of the qualifying patient's medical history.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Subject to the requirements of article
IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 36-2805, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
36-2805.
Facility restrictions
A. Any
hospital,
nursing care
institution, hospice, assisted living center, assisted living facility,
assisted living home, residential care institution, adult day health care
facility or adult foster care home licensed under
title 36,
chapter 4
,
of this title
may
adopt reasonable restrictions on the use of marijuana by
their
its
residents or persons receiving inpatient services,
including:
1. That the facility will not store or maintain the
qualifying
patient's supply of marijuana.
2. That the facility, caregivers or hospice agencies
serving the facility's residents are not responsible for providing the
marijuana for qualifying patients.
3. That marijuana be consumed by a method other than
smoking.
4. That marijuana be consumed only in a place
specified by the facility.
B.
Nothing in
Except
as provided in subsection D of this section,
this section
requires
does not require
a facility listed in subsection A
of this section
to adopt restrictions on the medical use of
marijuana.
C. A facility listed in subsection A
of this section
may not unreasonably limit a registered qualifying
patient's access to or use of marijuana authorized under this chapter unless
failing to do so would cause facility to lose a monetary or licensing-related
benefit under federal law or regulations.
D. Except as provided in subsection C
of this section, a facility listed in subsection A of this section shall allow
a registered qualifying patient who has a terminal illness to use medical
marijuana in the area designated by the facility and shall:
1. Prohibit smoking or vaping as
methods of using medical marijuana.
2. Include the registered qualifying
patient's usage of medical marijuana in the registered qualifying patient's
medical record.
3. Reasonably restrict the manner in
which a registered qualifying patient stores and uses medical marijuana,
including requiring the medical marijuana to be stored in a locked container to
ensure the safety of other patients, visitors and employees of the facility, to
maintain compliance with other state laws and to ensure the safe operations of
the facility.
4. Develop and disseminate written
guidelines for the use of medical marijuana within the facility.
E. Subsection D of this section does
not apply to a patient receiving emergency services and care or to a hospital's
emergency department.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3.
Requirements for
enactment; three-fourths vote
Pursuant to article IV, part 1,
section 1, Constitution of Arizona, sections 36-2801 and 36-2805, Arizona
Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, are effective only on the affirmative
vote of at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature.
Sec. 4.
Short title
This act may be cited as "Ryan's
Law".