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Thursday, Apr 10, 2025

Are medical marijuana cardholders in Arizona automatically registered with the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

Arizona law requires that medical marijuana cardholders be identified in the state’s Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program, a central database for tracking prescriptions. Lawmakers established the requirement after voters approved a 2010 ballot proposition legalizing medical marijuana.  

The Arizona Department of Health Services regulates both medical and recreational marijuana, securely transferring cardholder information to the prescription monitoring program and matching it with existing patient information. The Arizona Board of Pharmacy oversees the monitoring program but has no access to confidential medical cardholder information. Only registered users, like prescribers, can access a patient’s prescription report. 

As of January 2025, about 87,000 Arizonans held medical marijuana cards.

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