Arizona cannabis employment and drug testing law

• Under A.R.S. § 36-2813, unless a failure to do so would cost the employer a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law, an employer may not discriminate in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment based on a person’s status as a registered medical marijuana cardholder.
• The same section bars penalizing a registered qualifying patient for a positive drug test for marijuana components or metabolites, unless the patient used, possessed, or was impaired by marijuana on the employer’s premises or during hours of employment.

• The federal monetary or licensing-benefit exception written into § 36-2813.
• Use, possession, or impairment on the premises or during working hours is not protected.
• The protection is tied to registered medical cardholders; the section does not extend it to adult-use consumers.

• The statute does not ban testing; it limits what an employer may do with a positive result for a registered patient.

Federal rules still apply. Under the U.S. DOT’s testing rules, a Medical Review Officer must not verify a test as negative because a physician recommended a Schedule I drug under a state “medical marijuana” law, and must not accept use of hemp or other non-prescription marijuana-related products as an explanation (49 CFR § 40.151(e)–(f)). That covers safety-sensitive transportation workers regardless of state law.

Federal workplace drug testing programs follow HHS Mandatory Guidelines, which set the cannabis testing panel and cutoffs for urine and oral fluid (Federal Register, March 13, 2026). Most state protections above include an exception where federal law, a federal contract, or federal funding requires otherwise.

For how long cannabis can show up on each test type, see our drug testing guide and the detection window explainer.