Where is Medical Marijuana Legal?

Many people hear about medical marijuana being legalized around the country, but it’s not available in all 50 states. This means you have to be realistic about where you can go and be able to get it. More importantly, you have to know what states you can visit with it on your person and not get in trouble for it, even if it is being used for medicinal purposes and you have a prescription for it.

Where It’s Legal

Medical marijuana is legal in quite a few states across the United States, particularly on the west coast. This includes Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and New Mexico. Hawaii and Alaska have legalized medical marijuana as well and there are quite a few New England states that have also made it legal.

There are also states that are CBD-specific. This essentially means that they must use Cannabidiol and there may be legalities that you need to be read up on. There are patient possession limits and, generally, only a small number of qualifying conditions that would allow a person to receive such a prescription, such as debilitating epileptic conditions.

There may or may not be home cultivation permitted in states and state-licensed dispensaries may not be allowed. For example, Alabama does not have dispensaries or allow home cultivation, and it is not permitted for people to possess CBD unless they are in a state-sponsored clinical trial. However, in Colorado, it is allowed for patients to cultivate at home, there are state-licensed dispensaries, and a long list of qualifying conditions that are permitted.

As such, it is important for a person to read through the legalities of a state before simply bringing marijuana over the state line assuming that “legal is legal” because there are very different views, even in states that share a border.

Where it May Soon be Legal

The CBD-Specific states are those that are at least considering the benefits, which is providing hope to their residents. This represents a significant number of the southern states, such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and even Oklahoma.

It looks like Michigan and Ohio are getting closer to legalizing medical marijuana as well, though it’s not yet clear where they stand in terms of home growing as well as whether dispensaries will open in the state.

There are other states that are not even considering it yet, such as Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota. Lawmakers want to see more research before they do anything, and they are still not sure if they will ever allow it.

There have been plenty of medical reasons to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, and the people who have prescriptions swear by it. Further, there are more dispensaries being opened every year. Knowing the laws in every state you visit, however, will ensure you don’t get yourself in trouble with the law, even when you are simply following doctor's orders. It is always better to be safe than to be in jail with possession charges.