Arizona Revised Statutes

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-2501 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

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A. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Board" means the Arizona state board of pharmacy.

2. "Cannabis" means the following substances under whatever names they may be designated:

(a) Marijuana.

(b) All parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not, its seeds, the resin extracted from any part of such plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin, but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.

(c) Every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such resin, tetrahydrocannabinol (T.H.C.), or of such plants from which the resin has not been extracted.

3. "Controlled substance" means a drug, substance or immediate precursor in schedules I through V of article 2 of this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to article 2 of this chapter.

4. "Department" means the department of public safety.

5. "Drug dependent person" means a person who is using a controlled substance and who is in a state of psychic or physical dependence, or both, arising from the use of that substance on a continuous basis. Drug dependence is characterized by behavioral and other responses which include a strong compulsion to take the substance on a continuing basis in order to experience its psychic effects or to avoid the discomfort caused by its absence.

6. "Drug enforcement administration" means the drug enforcement administration of the department of justice of the United States or its successor agency.

7. "Immediate precursor" means a substance that the board has found to be and by rule designates as being the principal compound commonly used or produced primarily for use and that is an immediate chemical intermediary used or likely to be used in the manufacture of a controlled substance, the control of which is necessary to prevent, curtail or limit manufacture.

8. "Narcotic drug" means any of the following whether produced directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of vegetable origin or independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis:

(a) Opium and opiate and any salt, compound, derivation or preparation of opium or opiate.

(b) Any salt, compound, isomer, derivative or preparation that is chemically equivalent or identical with any of the substances referred to in subdivision (a) of this paragraph but not including the isoquinoline alkaloids of opium.

(d) Coca leaves and any salt, compound, derivation or preparation of coca leaves including cocaine and its optical isomers and any salt, compound, isomer, derivation or preparation that is chemically equivalent or identical with any of these substances but not including decocainized coca leaves or extractions of coca leaves which do not contain cocaine or ecgonine.

(e) Cannabis.

9. "Opiate" means any substance having an addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability. It does not include the dextrorotatory isomer of 3-methoxy-n-methylmorphinan and its salts (dextromethorphan). It does include its racemic and levorotatory forms.

10. "Opium poppy" means the plant of the genus papaver, except its seeds.

11. "Poppy straw" means all parts, except the seeds, of the opium poppy after mowing.

12. "Production" means the manufacture, planting, cultivating, growing or harvesting of a controlled substance.

13. "Registrant" means a person registered under the provisions of the federal controlled substances act (P.L. 91-513; 84 Stat. 1242; 21 U.S.C. sec. 801 et seq.).

14. "Schedule I controlled substances" means the controlled substances identified, prescribed or listed in or adopted by rule pursuant to section 36-2512.

15. "Schedule II controlled substances" means the controlled substances identified, prescribed or listed in or adopted by rule pursuant to section 36-2513.

16. "Schedule III controlled substances" means the controlled substances identified, prescribed or listed in or adopted by rule pursuant to section 36-2514.

17. "Schedule IV controlled substances" means the controlled substances identified, prescribed or listed in or adopted by rule pursuant to section 36-2515.

18. "Schedule V controlled substances" means the controlled substances identified, prescribed or listed in or adopted by rule pursuant to section 36-2516.

19. "Scientific purpose" means research, teaching or chemical analysis.

20. "State", when applied to a part of the United States, means any state, district, commonwealth, territory or insular possession of the United States and any area subject to the legal authority of the United States of America.

B. Words or phrases in this chapter, if not defined in subsection A of this section, have the definitions given them in title 32, chapter 18, article 1, unless the context otherwise requires.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 21 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2024 · leading case: State v. Christian, 47 P.3d 666 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2002).

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State v. Christian, 47 P.3d 666 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 8× “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is eligible for probation. The court shall suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and place such person on probation.”

Calik v. Kongable, 990 P.2d 1055 (Ariz. 1999). · cites it 3× “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 shall be eligible for probation.”

Foster v. Irwin, 995 P.2d 272 (Ariz. 2000). · cites it 5× “¶4 The statute at issue declares that “any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is eligible for probation.” § 13-901.”

State v. Story, 75 P.3d 137 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 3× “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is eligible for probation. The court shall suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and place such person on probation.”

State v. Estrada, 4 P.3d 438 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 3× “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is eligible for probation. The court shall suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and place such person on probation.”

Dawkins v. State, 547 A.2d 1041 (Md. 1988). “900 (1962); Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. §§ 36-2501 to 36-2553 (1956); Ark.”

Gray v. Irwin, 987 P.2d 759 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “Subsection (F) allows the imposition of as much as one year in jail as a condition of probation upon a second conviction: If a person is convicted a second time of personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501, the court may include additional…”

State v. Jones, 995 P.2d 742 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 4× “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is eligible for probation. The court shall suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and place such person on probation.”

State v. Superior Court of Cty. in & for Pima, 627 P.2d 686 (Ariz. 1981). · cites it 2× “In 1979, the Arizona legislature, in Laws 1979, Chapter 103, adopted the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, A.R.S. § 36-2501 et seq., and the subject matter of A.”

State v. Pereyra, 18 P.3d 146 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2001). “The question, however, is whether § 13-3411(B) is superseded by the explicit terms of § 13-901.01(A), which provides: Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who is convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501 is…”

Goddard v. Superior Court, 956 P.2d 529 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1998). “01(G), provides in pertinent part: A person who has been convicted three times of personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in section 36-2501 is not eligible for probation under the provisions of this section but instead shall be sentenced pursuant to the…”

Raney v. Lindberg, 76 P.3d 867 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2003). “01(F) previously provided "[i]f a person is convicted a second time of personal possession or use of a controlled substance as defined in § 36-2501, the court may include additional conditions of probation it deems necessary, including intensified drug treatment, community…”

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