Trip out

My wife and I both have medical cannabis cards. If we are flying within California, shouldn’t we be OK to carry cannabis and our vape with us in our carry-on or in our checked baggage?

BF

The answer is: Yes! As long are you stay in Cali, you are all good!

Bring a copy of your letter of recommendation with you and you should have no problems. If you are really worried about it, don’t bring anything and take advantage of all the nice dispensaries and delivery services from wherever you are. I bet you could even plan a vacation around different cannabis dispensaries. Someone should start a weed tour. Have a fun trip!

I hear we have a few more states with medical marijuana laws? Do tell.

Noam A’dic

Indeed we do! Please join me in welcoming Ohio and Louisiana to the list of states that have joined the 21st century. Well, kinda.

Ohio’s new law allows patients with qualifying conditions to use—but not smoke. Vaping is cool but smoking is forbidden. No one is allowed to grow his or her own, but folks can buy medicine in states that allow legal cannabis sales and bring it home no problem. This of course will be a challenge for low-income patients, but hey, Michigan is right next door to Ohio, and Michigan recognizes letters of recommendation from all medical-marijuana states. I foresee many road trips. One of the best parts of the Ohio bill is that the list of qualifying conditions is fairly comprehensive. For instance, the law lists “chronic pain” as a condition. While this isn’t a specific disease, pain relief is one of the main reasons people cite when asked about their medical cannabis use, so this law could really help many people.

Louisiana’s new law is actually an expansion of a marijuana law signed by La. Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2015. It allowed cannabis use for only three conditions: people undergoing chemotherapy for cancer; folks with glaucoma; and those who have been afflicted with spastic quadriplegia, a rare form of cerebral palsy. The new law lets doctors recommend cannabis for, among other ailments, cancer, HIV, AIDS, epilepsy, spasticity, Crohn’s disease and muscular dystrophy. The newly expanded law also prohibits smoking and goes one step further by prohibiting vaping as well. Only pills and tinctures will be allowed.

Both laws face challenges. Growing and processing infrastructures need to be set up, and rules and regulations need to be written. While both laws perhaps don’t go far enough right now, they can be expanded. To me, the biggest thing about this is the fact that two states with extremely conservative governors managed to pass laws legalizing medical marijuana. This bodes well for the future, and I thank the activists and politicians who managed to make it happen.