Lil Wayne appeared in a court hearing in Yuma County, Arizona to officially begin serving 36 months' probation earlier today (November 5).

Wayne received probation after reaching a plea deal to avoid jail time for an arrest in which cops found drugs in his tour bus back in 2008. Under the plea deal, Wayne gets unsupervised probation and must do 300 hours of community service. Word is he'll be completing the hours in Miami where he lives.

According to Wayne's probation documents, obtained by TMZ, the rapper "may not consume or drink any substance containing alcohol" for the next three years. He also can't possess illegal drugs, toxic vapors or controlled substances and must submit to alcohol and drug testing.

Wayne also cannot knowingly associate with criminals or a person with a criminal record without getting written approval from the probation department. Should Wayne violate the terms of his probation, he could be sent back to prison to serve the rest of his sentence.

A bench warrant was initially issued for Wayne's arrest only weeks into his sentence in Rikers Island in New York.

As previously reported, Wayne was released from Rikers Island yesterday morning (November 4) after serving 8 months out of a one-year sentence for a gun possession conviction.

Rumor has it that he may make his first public appearance at the final show of Drake's Light Dreams and Nightmares tour in Las Vegas tomorrow (November 6). Per Cash Money president Mack Maine, Wayne is also scheduled to celebrate his homecoming at a Miami strip club the next day.

Stay tuned as this story develops.