Medical Marijuana & Residency Questions!

[thedocta]

Hey everyone, I've been searching all over online but can't find the answer to my question. So I've recently obtained my medical marijuana card in the state of Montana even thought I'm a Michigan resident. I believe the law states that you must be a resident to get your "green card" in Montana, yet somehow I still got mine.

Since I'm technically not a resident of Montana, and don't plan to establish residency here, does that make my medical marijuana card invalid?

IF i were to be stopped by police and they found marijuana on me (small amount of course), could I be prosecuted since I'm a Michigan resident even though I have my card?

Also, does anyone know if I can posses marijuana in my home state of Michigan with my Montana card? I've read lots of conflicting information about reciprocity between states.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm kinda worried I could still get screwed over by cops since I'm not a Montana resident.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TorturedSoul]

Re: Medical Marijuana & Residency Questions!!

Hey everyone, I've been searching all over online but can't find the answer to my question. So I've recently obtained my medical marijuana card in the state of Montana even thought I'm a Michigan resident. I believe the law states that you must be a resident to get your "green card" in Montana, yet somehow I still got mine.

Since I'm technically not a resident of Montana, and don't plan to establish residency here, does that make my medical marijuana card invalid?

IF i were to be stopped by police and they found marijuana on me (small amount of course), could I be prosecuted since I'm a Michigan resident even though I have my card?

Also, does anyone know if I can posses marijuana in my home state of Michigan with my Montana card? I've read lots of conflicting information about reciprocity between states.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm kinda worried I could still get screwed over by cops since I'm not a Montana resident.

Thanks in advance!

Are you just visiting, or do you reside part-year in Montana? If you're just visiting I would think you are potentially screwed since the state is said to require residency - meaning that without proof of even part-year residency the card would be technically null and void.

If you are a legitimate part-year resident then I would think that the card would be valid for the part of the year that you are in residence (but have no bearing on your activities while in other states) as long as you do have proof of legal residence.

But I'm no lawyer, lol.

One thing that I can't figure out: Michigan has medical marijuana laws. Montana is unique (more or less) in that it honors other states' MMJ laws. IOW, why didn't you just become a legal MMJ patient in Michigan? That would have offered you a large degree of protection while you were in Montana (residing part-year, visiting, or just passing through).

And - I have to ask - did you travel to Montana for the sole purpose of obtaining a card so that you could purchase product and then return to your home state? If so then that's fraud and would also invalidate the card.

 

[thedocta]

Re: Medical Marijuana & Residency Questions!!

I do reside in montana for part of the year! And no I did not travel to montana the obtain my card with the intent to bring product back to Michigan. I don't plan to bring ANY marijuana back to michigan from montana actually...way too risky. As for why I didn't get my card in Michigan, I got my card here in Montana for an injury that's been giving me a lot of consistent pain and I've heard it's much harder to become a patient in Michigan for ailments such as pain.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Re: Medical Marijuana & Residency Questions!!

I do reside in montana for part of the year!

Then technically you are a resident, lol - albeit a part-year one. Trouble is, I just did some searching through the Montana Code and found no reference to the term "part-year resident."

Looks like for personal (non-commercial) driver's licenses, a person is considered a resident after 60 days. Some bit on health insurance gave either 30- or 60-day requirement for residence, which was the only one I saw directly related to health care (although not related to MMJ as none are required to cover it). Seems like the time-period for residence status can vary according to the activity up to two years for becoming eligable to the office of supreme court justice (lol). Saw a couple mentions that if you are counted as a resident in another state for tax purposes then you aren't considered a Montana resident. One that stated coming to Montana for the express purpose of being enrolled in a Montana college did not automatically make you a resident.

And that's about it. I couldn't find any mention in the annotated code that defined resident in the context of the state's medical marijuana law. Weird, huh?

Here is the Montana Department of Health & Human Services web page on the Montana Medical Marijuana Program:

https://www.dphhs.mt.gov/medicalmarijuana/index.shtml

I looked around on it and didn't see anything. I even checked the "New Application Form: Registration for the Montana Medical Marijuana Program" application while I was there - and it states to write down your Montana drivers license number or state id card number if applicable (emphasis mine) - which, owing to the fact that most state's want everyone to have one of their forms of identification, gives me the impression that a person who is IN the state of Montana has as much right to get (and use) one of their med cards as a person who is a legal resident. But I'm no lawyer, that's just the impression I got after looking.

If you did not in any way defraud the state or your doctor and/or misrepresent yourself to either, well... They took your money and gave you your card... And after looking specifically for a defining yea or nay, I'd be willing to state that if there is such a document, it's hidden better than the Vogon order to destroy the earth in order to create room for a new hyperspace bypass was.

Generally speaking, when ever I find myself not categorically-categorized, and there is a bit of law that approves something I wish to be approved for, I try to learn that law backwards & forwards so that I would be able to quote it exactly as written to any LEO or judiciary personnel that might have issues with me. At that point it can often swing either way depending on the judge's personal feelings/politics I mean the judge's interpretations of said law. But by taking the proactive approach and showing that you have done the research and have attempted to reason my status out may well make the difference between a guilty with punishment, a guilty with no punishment or suspended sentence, or even a dismissal - even if the judge's opinion differs from yours.

And no I did not travel to montana the obtain my card with the intent to bring product back to Michigan. I don't plan to bring ANY marijuana back to michigan from montana actually...way too risky.

Cool; better safe than sorry.

As for why I didn't get my card in Michigan, I got my card here in Montana for an injury that's been giving me a lot of consistent pain and I've heard it's much harder to become a patient in Michigan for ailments such as pain.

Just doesn't seem right that as you hop across state's borders the things that are helpful to you and the ones that are bad for you can magically change, does it? I know someone that spends part of most years in a psychiatric care facility - and even they say, "That's f*cking crazy!"

 

[thedocta]

Re: Medical Marijuana & Residency Questions!!

TorturedSoul- Thank you very much for the info! Very helpful stuff. I know as far as in the eyes of the college I attend in MT I am not a resident after being here for 60+ days, though I'm sure that is just so they don't lose out on the extra thousands of dollars I pay for out of state tuition. I guess I'll just continue to do my very best to avoid situations in which I would ever have to show my card to an officer....still nice to have just in case, and to get me into coops. Hopefully over the summer I can get my medical card back home and then I'd have no worries in either states since it sounds like MT does accept cards from other states.

If anyone else has info on this subject I'd still like to hear more!