How to Start a Marijuana Delivery Service in Arizona

The 2020 Arizona ballot legalized recreational marijuana, making it legal for adults to possses and grow marijuana for personal purposes. 

This is in addition to the passing of  Proposition 203 in 2016, which permitted access to medical marijuana for qualifying patients.

The state of Arizona is currently redefining its rules for marijuana businesses, however, the marijuana program is fully operational within the state.

The following conditions qualify a patient to be treated with medical marijuana:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Lou Gehrig’s disease
• Cachexia (wasting syndrome)
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Crohn’s disease
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• HIV/AIDS
• Nausea
• Persistent muscle spasms
• PTSD
• Seizures
  

What type of marijuana/cannabis businesses can you start in Arizona?

In the medical marijuana industry of Arizona, there are several possible licenses.

For example, retail marijuana stores, marijuana product manufacturers, marijuana cultivators, marijuana distributors, and marijuana extraction services can all be licensed to produce, process, test, or retail medical cannabis.

Currently, those wishing to deliver medical marijuana (or be involved in the process in any way) must have a valid Medical Marijuana dispensary card.

For that reason, the application process to deliver marijuana is essentially the same as for a dispensary. The state is still setting guidelines for recreational delivery services.

Caregivers and dispensaries may deliver medical marijuana to their registered patients, as long as all the legal specifications have been met.

Delivery itself is not explicitly described in the law, but distribution is allowed.

Therefore, if you are a caregiver or dispensary, you may deliver medical marijuana to your patients – assuming you follow all the possession and other laws.

The Arizona Department of Health Services started accepting early applicants for adult-use licenses in 2021.

These licenses are available to current medical dispensaries or businesses in areas with limited ‘nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries’.

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Arizona’s marijuana market

As of November 2015, Arizona had over 86,000 patients, 77% of whom have chronic pain. In 2016, the state approved additional patients, no the total number is nearly 115,000.

More than 3,000 pounds of medical marijuana was sold in 2015, along with 300 pounds of medical marijuana products.

This is one reason why Arizona is considered to be one of the fastest-growing major marijuana markets in the country.

It reached $115 million by the end of 2014 and has only been increasing since then.

Owner requirements

Arizona has a social equity program. This means preference will be given to those disproportionately impacted by marijuana laws.

The state plans to issue 26 business licenses through this program. It is unclear whether these licenses will apply to delivery businesses.

License requirements

Since you need to be a caregiver or a dispensary owner before you begin delivering to patients, it’s important to understand how you would open a dispensary in the state of Arizona.

According to current Arizona law, a dispensary must employ at least one state-licensed doctor.

If the business is in a county that does not currently have a dispensary, its application will be prioritized over other locations.

Applicants must be residents of Arizona and have been so for at least the three years before the date of application (and they must be able to prove it).

If someone is connected with several dispensary registration certificates, he or she will receive separate feedback for each one.

Financial requirements

The full financial requirements depend on how big the dispensary will be and where it will be located, of course. Nonetheless, the following fees should be taken into consideration:

• $5,000 – Dispensary Registration
• $1,000 – Dispensary Registration renewal (annual)
• $2,500 – Dispensary location change
• $2,500 – Cultivation site location change or additional cultivation site
• $500 – Identification Card for Dispensary Agent Registry
• $500 – Identification Card for Dispensary Agent Registry Renewal (annual)
• $10 – Change to Registry Card
• $10 – Registry Card Replacement
  

How much does an Arizona delivery service make?

The amount of money that can be made from a delivery service can vary.

It is common for marijuana dispensaries and delivery services to make anywhere from $50,000 a year up to millions, The opportunity to make lots of money in Arizona is great due to a growing market.

Timeframe

Allow plenty of time to get any business started – especially marijuana-related ones. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least a year.

Links to consulting companies that can help open a Nevada marijuana delivery service

Looking to start a marijuana delivery service in Arizona?

The consulting companies listed below provide a wide range of services from helping with state licensing requirements and applications to running and stocking your business.

• Canna Advisors
  https://thinkcanna.com/
• DispensaryPermits.com
  https://dispensarypermits.com/
• GreenZipp
  https://greenzipp.com/pages/states
• Medicine Man Technologies
  https://www.medicinemantechnologies.com/
• Green Rush Consulting
  https://greenrushconsulting.com/open-a-dispensary/
• Quantum 9 Inc.
  https://quantum9.net/portfolio/cannabis-consulting-services//
• Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting
  https://www.3ccannabis.com/