Peoria is an unusually long city. It starts in the West Valley alongside Glendale and runs roughly thirty miles north past Lake Pleasant, crossing out of Maricopa County and into Yavapai on the way. For most purposes that is trivia. For one part of Arizona’s medical marijuana law it decides the outcome.
The part that is the same everywhere
The card costs $149 for the online evaluation plus $150 to AZDHS — $299, covering the two years an Arizona card runs. On SNAP the state fee drops to $75. Renewal later is $269. A physician certifies you, usually the same day; you then file the state application yourself in the AZDHS portal, and AZDHS has up to 10 business days to issue the card.
What it buys is the same across the state too: no 16% adult-use excise tax, 2.5 ounces every 14 days instead of one, access from 18 instead of 21, and the employment protection in ARS §36-2814. The arithmetic on whether that is worth $299 is in is a card worth it in 2026.
The part that is specific to Peoria: growing at home
Arizona lets a registered patient cultivate up to twelve plants — but only if their residence is more than 25 miles from the nearest operating dispensary. Adult-use cultivation is capped at six plants and has no distance condition.
Southern and central Peoria are nowhere near that line. There are dispensaries on North Lake Pleasant Road and more across the boundary in Glendale and Surprise, so addresses in the built-up part of the city sit comfortably inside 25 miles of several.
The far north is a different question. Past Lake Pleasant the city thins out into the Yavapai County portion, and distances to the nearest dispensary grow quickly. Whether any individual address clears 25 miles is not something to eyeball — AZDHS measures it against your registered address when you apply, your card shows whether cultivation is authorized, and the distance is re-checked when you renew. A dispensary opening nearby in the meantime can remove the authorization at renewal.
If you are planning to grow, settle this before you buy equipment. The full rules are in growing at home in Arizona.
Living in two counties
The county split matters less than people expect. The medical marijuana program is run by the state, not by counties, so the fees, the limits and the qualifying conditions are identical on both sides of the line. What differs is local: zoning and the practical distance to a shop.
Where to buy
Your card works at any dispensary licensed by Arizona. We do not keep a list — the state does, at azdhs.gov, and it is the only one that stays current. Weedmaps and Leafly are better for hours, menus and medical-patient discounts; call ahead before driving out, particularly to the north end.
$299 for two years, wherever in Peoria you live.
$149 evaluation + $150 AZDHS fee · refunded if the physician declines · $224 on SNAP.
Start my evaluation →Distances are checked by AZDHS against your registered address, and re-checked at renewal. Verify current fees and rules at medicalmarijuana.azdhs.gov.