Which States Honor Out-of-State Medical Marijuana Cards?

Individuals, corporations, and even governments everywhere are starting to acknowledge the untapped potential of the cannabis industry. Thanks to objective research, new laws, and growing market demand, more and more people are beginning to change their outdated and unsubstantiated views about medical and recreational marijuana. In fact, legal marijuana is commonly regarded as the fastest growing industry in the United States. According to Fortune, sales for legal marijuana could exceed $6.7 billion by the end of 2016.

As of July 2016, medical marijuana is legal in 25 states and Washington D.C. In 1996, California became the first state in our country to legalize medical marijuana. Ohio legalized medical marijuana this year, making it the most recent state to legalize medical marijuana. Louisiana and Pennsylvania also legalized medical marijuana this year. Experts believe his new trend toward legalization will spread to every state in our country with time. In fact, ArcView predicted that Florida will pass legislation to legalize medical marijuana by the end of this year.

As medical marijuana becomes legal in more and more states, patients are beginning to wonder whether authorizations will be legitimate in states other than where they first received their medical marijuana cards.

Fortunately, six states do accept out-of-state cards. This is referred to as medical marijuana reciprocity. Experts predict that more states will allow medical marijuana reciprocity within the next few years. The six states that currently accept out-of-state medical marijuana cards are Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Arizona

The possession limit for medical marijuana in Arizona is 2.5 oz usable; 12 plants. Though Arizona provides limited reciprocity for “visiting qualifying patients”, this doesn’t allow visiting patients to purchase medical marijuana in Arizona.

Maine

The possession limit for medical marijuana in Maine is 2.5 oz usable; 6 plants. This state recognizes out-of-state medical marijuana authorizations, but patients are not allowed to purchase medical marijuana in the state.

Michigan

The possession limit for medical marijuana in Michigan is 2.5 oz usable; 12 plants. This state does accept out-of-state medical marijuana authorizations. Dispensaries aren’t monitored at the state level, meaning some will sell to out-of-state patients and some will not.

Nevada

The possession limit for medical marijuana in Nevada is 2.5 oz usable; 12 plants. This state does accept out-of-state medical marijuana authorizations. Nevada allows those with medical marijuana cards in other states to purchase and consumer marijuana while in Nevada.

New Hampshire

The possession limit for medical marijuana in New Hampshire is 2 oz of usable cannabis during a 10-day period. New Hampshire doesn’t allow out-of-state medical patients to purchase marijuana in the state, however patients with conditions that are qualifying conditions in New Hampshire may possess marijuana if they’ve entered the state with it.

Rhode Island

The possession limit for medical marijuana in Rhode Island is 2.5 oz usable; 12 plants. Rhode Island allows out-of-state medical marijuana patients to purchase from one of 5 state-licensed dispensaries. However, like many other states, public consumption is illegal.

While medical marijuana is legal in 25 states and D.C., it is important that patients note that different states have different policies. Here is some information about medical marijuana policies for different states:

• Alaska - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Alaska is 1 oz usable; 6 plants (3 mature, 3 immature).
• California - The possession limit for medical marijuana in California is 8 oz usable; 6 mature or 12 immature plants.
• Colorado - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Colorado is 2 oz usable; 6 plants (3 mature, 3 immature).
• Connecticut - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Connecticut is 2.5 oz usable.
• District of Columbia - The possession limit for medical marijuana in D.C. is 2 oz dried.
• Delaware - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Delaware is 6 oz usable.
• Hawaii - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Hawaii is 4 oz usable; 7 plants.
• Illinois - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Illinois is 2.5 ounces of usable cannabis during a period of two weeks.
• Maryland - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Maryland is a 30-day supply.
• Massachusetts - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Massachusetts is 10 oz or a 60-day supply for personal medical use.
• Minnesota - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Minnesota is a 30-day supply of non-smokable marijuana.
• Montana - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Montana is 1 oz usable; 4 plants (mature); 12 seedlings.
• New Jersey - The possession limit for medical marijuana in New Jersey is 2 oz usable.
• New Mexico - The possession limit for medical marijuana in New Mexico is 6 oz usable; 16 plants (4 mature, 12 immature).
• New York - The possession limit for medical marijuana in New York is a 30-day supply non-smokable marijuana.
• Ohio - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Ohio is a 90-day supply of cannabis.
• Oregon - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Oregon is 24 oz usable; 24 plants (6 mature, 18 immature).
• Pennsylvania - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is a 30-day supply.
• Vermont - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Vermont is a 2 oz usable; 9 plants (2 mature, 7 immature).
• Washington - The possession limit for medical marijuana in Washington is 24 oz usable; 15 plants.

Several states have some sort of marijuana reform on their November ballots. Do you think more states will offer medical marijuana reciprocity?

Photo Credit: David McBee