What Is the Arizona Allotment Checker?
The Arizona Department of Health Services makes it easy for medical marijuana patients to keep tabs on their cannabis use with a convenient online medical marijuana registry: the Arizona Allotment Check. This registry is easy to use and only requires your email address, a password, and your MMJ card number.
If you are a medical marijuana patient in Arizona, understanding how the Arizona Allotment Checker works will help you manage your cannabis purchases and remain compliant with the law.
How Much Medical Marijuana Can Patients Buy?
In Arizona, medical marijuana patients can purchase 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks as per Proposition 203—the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act—which was passed in November 2010. The more recent Smart and Safe Arizona Act, passed in November 2020, allows any adult age 21 and above to buy and possess up to 1 ounce of flower, of which up to 5 grams are allowed to be concentrate.
This means that medical patients can possess 2.5 times as much flower as recreational users—however, this flower needs to last for two weeks. Some patients with a qualifying condition for medical marijuana find it easier to buy their allotment all at once to save themselves a trip. However, patients who live fairly close to the city may find it easier to go to the dispensaries whenever they run out or visit several dispensaries as part of their weekly stock-up.
The Arizona Allotment Checker
For those who buy from several dispensaries or don't max out their allotment all at once, the Arizona Allotment Checker is an important ally. This online registry is updated in real-time to reflect your marijuana purchases and lets you know how many ounces and grams you are still allowed to buy.
While you can see your entire purchase history, budtenders can only see how many ounces and grams you have left—to ensure they don't take you over the limit. They can't see what you bought, when, or at which dispensaries.
How to Check Your Allotment
There are two ways to check your allotment:
Log in to the Arizona Patient Portal yourself
Ask a budtender to check it for you
Logging in to the Allotment Checker
To begin, go to the Arizona Department of Health Services website and head to the Individual Licensing Portal. Enter your login details (or create a new account), and then click on "Medical Marijuana Patient." Finally, click on "My ID Card" to view your remaining allotment for that ADHS two-week calculation period.
Ask A Budtender to Check
If you don't have access to a computer or didn't check your remaining allotment before visiting the dispensary, you can ask a budtender to check how much medical marijuana you have left in your allotment for the current two-week period.
To check your balance, the budtender will enter your ID card number into the site using the dispensary's own account. Your remaining MMJ allotment will show on the screen in ounces and grams.
Flower vs. Concentrates
The Arizona Allotment Checker tracks not just your general cannabis allotment but also your concentrate allotment. Concentrates include hash, wax, shatter, budder, concentrated vape oils, and all other cannabis extracts.
While recreational users have a tighter limit on how much concentrate they can purchase and possess (5 grams), medical marijuana patients don't have the same limit. Once you know how many ounces and grams you have left in your allotment, purchasing wax, vape oils, and other concentrates will help you to get more "bang" out of each gram of marijuana use.
How to Get an MMJ Card in Arizona
If you're reading this, you may be considering the advantages of getting a medical marijuana card but aren't currently an MMJ patient in Arizona. The good news is that it's easy to obtain a medical marijuana card in Phoenix or Mesa if you are at least 18 years old and have a qualifying condition.
As you may have noticed, medical marijuana patients have significant advantages when it comes to the amount of marijuana they can buy. Medical patients also have access to patient-exclusive discounts, medical-strength strains, and in some cases, free marijuana.
If you are eligible, it's definitely worth applying for an MMJ card in Arizona. Not only will you have access to the Arizona Allotment Checker but you'll be able to make better use of your two-week allotment to enjoy some much-needed relief.
Whether you’re enjoying cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes, make sure to keep an eye on the allotment checker. It’s easy to access, it’s free, and it eliminates a lot of the guesswork from buying cannabis.
