Perhaps it is a slight exaggeration to suggest that moving states is as tricky as climbing each of the biggest peaks in the Himalayas in succession with no additional oxygen.
However, when you’re in the middle of a move from San Diego (which is more excellent than what South Park says), to New York (the less said about that, the better), it certainly seems that way.
If you’re a weed user, things may feel a smidge better since you get to toke up and dream of the time you weren’t uprooting your life for an extra ten grand a year before tax (last week).
If you have an MMJ card, one big consideration is whether you can transfer your medical card to another state.
If you can’t, what do you? I pull back the smoke-stained curtain to answer these questions and the meaning of life (not really) in this article.
Marijuana Is Federally Illegal, and It’s Not a Great Idea
Before I reveal the answer, it’s a good time to outline why people use MMJ in the first place. It’s also important to note that our beloved federal government bans the drug.
So, in theory, a bunch of federal agents could burst into your house and bust you for weed possession.
If this seems ridiculous, former Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions threatened to do the very thing.
That Reagan nominated this guy as assistant United States attorney in 1981 tells you all you need to know.
Remember, Reagan was mister “War on Drugs,” following in the lead of Nixon, you know, the guy who got in trouble for that thing with the hotel.
It may come as a shock to you that Sessions has been accused of racism.
From the Marion Three situation to referring to the renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. as “some criminal,” Sessions has never failed to disappoint those who suggest he might be prejudiced.
Given that the history of marijuana prohibition is based almost entirely on racism (thank you Harry Anslinger), and it’s hardly an earth-shattering discovery that Sessions might be against pot.
Timothy Leary thought he had cracked the code when he managed to get the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act overturned because it was unconstitutional.
However, the Controlled Substances Act soon ensured that marijuana remained a Schedule I controlled substance because it’s as harmful as heroin.
According to the CSA, weed has no known medical value. This must shock the litany of researchers who have released studies on the medical benefits of marijuana.
As far as I know, there aren’t many studies on the health benefits of heroin. Meanwhile, good ol’ ketamine is only a Schedule III drug.
Nixon jumped on the anti-marijuana bandwagon like a homeless dude on a sandwich that may not exceed the five-second rule.
Nixon’s judgment can be summed up by the fact he approved the hotel thing (the evidence is substantial but not completely definitive).
Indeed, he did it as a means of securing his second term. Well, he was up against George McGovern. George. McGovern.
Hindsight is a great thing, but unless Nixon was caught on camera smoking marijuana, he was winning that election and probably would have won anyway. McGovern won ONE state.
This was four years after Hubert Humphrey came reasonably close to beating Nixon. Hubert. Humphrey.
So, Nixon is the guy who thought marijuana was the devil. And he was wrong.
So, Can I Transfer My MMJ Card to Another State?
No, you can’t. I wish I could answer better, but it’s the truth. In states with medical marijuana programs, you must prove you’re a state resident.
So, suppose you live in San Diego, California. You’ve decided that you hate beaches and warm weather.
For some reason, you would rather have a traditional Christmas where you freeze half to death rather than enjoy a homemade cocktail on the beach.
You have a California MMJ card but are moving to New York to get shouted at by angry motorists for having the audacity to stop at a red light.
Unfortunately, you need to get a new medical marijuana card once you make the LONG trip across the country to NY state.
On the plus side, you can get an MMJ card at MMJCardOnline. This platform makes the whole process a lot easier.
Depending on where you live, it’s even possible to complete an online consultation so you get your card without leaving the house.
Remember, in most states, you can do the application online, too.
This is fantastic news when it’s 15 degrees in the wonderfully named Colden, and you can’t leave the house because a foot of snow is up against your front door.
Meanwhile, a hungry black bear is rummaging through your bins in the backyard.
The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation isn’t picking up the phone because it’s dealing with 43 other cases of bears in the backyard.
Sorry, You Can’t Transfer Your Medical Card to Another State
When you move state, you must also apply for a new medical marijuana card. It is a pain, but it’s less of an issue if you live in a place that allows recreational cannabis.
You can buy up to an ounce in these states if you’re 21+.
You’re out of luck otherwise, though. Fortunately, you can use specific services to make the process easier.
So, please make sure you do some research on the subject before making the move.
Also, research where you plan to live because you could end up in a place where hungry wildlife roam in an increasingly desperate search for food due to humankind’s destruction of their habitat.
So, in a nutshell, don’t be a McGovern, be a Nixon.
Actually, no, that’s terrible advice.
