Almost half of the states in America have legalized medical marijuana, and that doesn’t include states that have passed CBD-only legislation. More and more states are looking into legalizing medical marijuana every year, and in states that have already legalized, there are more and more people becoming medical marijuana patients.
Most medical marijuana states do not recognize out of state medical marijuana cards/patents. They require that the person be a citizen of that state, and have a valid medical marijuana designation in that state. But there are a handful of states that recognize out of state patients. This is important to know if you are traveling and want to stay legally protected. Below are states that you can travel to that recognize out of state cards:
Arizona – this state honors out of state cards, but doesn’t allow out of state patients to make purchases at dispensaries. You will have to bring your own from home.
Maine - Maine accepts other states’ medical cards and patients can purchase in-state. The patient has to have their home-state doc, complete a Maine form (which they get from Maine DHHS), and then bring the home-state ID or DL, home-state certification, and ME cert filled out by the home-state doc to a dispensary. It’s a lot of hoop jumping, but Maine purchases are allowed at dispensaries if all the hoop jumping is completed.
Michigan – Michigan recognizes medical marijuana patients from other states, and has dispensaries. However the dispensaries are not licensed at the state level, and some will sell to out of state patients while others will not.
Nevada – Nevada recognizes out of state patients, but only if they have a valid ID in the state that the card was issued. Nevada is about to roll out dispensaries (there is currently only one in Sparks as of this post) which will sell to out of state patients that fit the previously mentioned criteria.
New Hampshire – New Hampshire doesn’t have dispensaries yet, but does honor out of state cards.
Rhode Island – this state recognizes out of state patients, but only for the conditions allowed according to Rhode Island law. I don’t know how that is exactly enforced, but I’d only travel there with medical marijuana if I also had my doctor notes showing that I have a qualifying condition according to Rhode Island law. Short of that, you may be running the risk of getting busted.
Oregon – Oregon is a bit unique in the medical marijuana policy world, in that it does not recognize out of state cards, but it does allow non-Oregon citizens to get cards while they are here. The card is only valid in Oregon, states listed above, and is at the center of the debate in Nevada where the medical marijuana law has the license and card provision.
Every other state either doesn’t have medical marijuana legalized at the state level, or doesn’t recognize out of state cardholders. Hopefully this information helps, and I wish you safe travels!
