Tricky Issue

[QueenLucy]

My husb is Active Duty Army stationed in WA. We are from CA therefore we have CA id's. I recently got my MMJ card and am wondering the laws in regards to traveling with it to WA or anywhere else we may PCS. Because I am a military dependent and we are still residents of CA will I have to get another prescription in WA? Will they give it to me since I do not have a WA ID? If I get a WA ID will they take my CA drivers license? Any help would be great. Thanks.

[Janjaweed]

i dont see why they wont let ya in the dispensary if they can still verify your stuff.
dunno.. might want to ask in the medical forums too :D

[Dunlap]

I would guess you need a card from that state in order to legally possess there. Most states do require you to surrender your out of state ID when you get a license for there. As far as getting your Washington med card with a California license, I would be surprised.

I don't really know anything about any of the medical laws, so I could be wrong on everything, but if I had to guess, that's how it would work. Good luck to you, hopefully you can work something out.

[QueenLucy]

That is the tricky part...my CA ID is completely valid as long as I have my military Id. I don't have to get a state ID. I technically have two valid addresses. One in CA and one in WA. That is why I am unsure about how it works. I think I might have to consult an atty on this one.

[HappyKitty]

Pinch will know. I believe he said in another thread that his Oakland Cannabis Buyers Co-op Card got him into clubs in several states and Canada.

Pinch, where are you?

[Pinch]

I've used OCBC card in California and British Columbia. Won't accept anywhere else I've tried.. i.e.: Oregon, Ontario in Canada.

Washington.. one of those incomplete laws that does not provide a distribution system for patients.

Chapter 69.51A RCW

For additional information, contact: Glenda Moore at 360-236-4052 or Toll-free in Washington State at 1-800-525-0127; or send correspondence to:

Washington State Department of Health
1112 SE Quince St.
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, WA 98504-7890
(800) 525-0127 or (360) 236-4052
Attention: Glenda Moore
Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Home Page

II. Becoming A Patient

A. How to become a medical marijuana patient with the state of Washington

According to Initiative 692, for a person to qualify to use marijuana for medical reasons he or she must be:

1. A patient of a medical or osteopathic physician licensed in the State of Washington;
2. Have a formal statement signed by the Washington-licensed provider or a copy of medical records, where the patient is diagnosed by that physician as having a terminal or debilitating illness mentioned in the language of the law;
3. A resident of the state of Washington at the time of diagnosis with proof of identity such as a Washington state driver's license or identicard; and
4. Advised by that physician of the risks and benefits of the medical use of marijuana.

If the patient qualifies under the above 4-part test, then the medical marijuana patient will be able to present valid documentation to any law enforcement official who might question that patient.
B. Registration

There is no registration process with the state of Washington. However, it is a class C felony to fraudulently produce any record purporting to be, or tamper with the content of any record for the purpose of having it accepted as, valid documentation under RCW 69.51A.010(5)(a).
C. Eligible medical conditions

The Act was designed to protect seriously ill and terminally ill patients. Terminal or debilitating medical condition means:

1. Cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), multiple sclerosis, epilepsy or other seizure disorder, or spasticity disorders; or
2. Intractable pain, limited for the purpose of this chapter [69.51A RCW] to mean pain unrelieved by standard medical treatments and medications; or
3. Glaucoma, either acute or chronic, limited for the purpose of this chapter to mean increased intraocular pressure unrelieved by standard treatments and medications; or
4. Any other medical condition duly approved by the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission. Since the passage of the initiative the Commission has added the following:
1. Crohn's Disease with debilitating symptoms unrelieved by standard treatments or medications;
2. Hepatitis C with debilitating nausea and/or intractable pain unrelieved by standard treatments or medications; and
3. Any disease, including anorexia, which results in nausea, vomiting, wasting, appetite loss, cramping, seizures, muscle spasms, and/or spasticity, when these symptoms are unrelieved by standard treatments.

D. Written certification must be provided to prove eligibility

The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which means that licensed medical practitioners cannot prescribe it. Your physician can only "recommend" the use of medical marijuana. There is nothing in the law that requires any physician to authorize the use of medical marijuana for a patient. They can only advise or not advise its use for your condition as described in Initiative 692. Physicians, applying professional standards of care, may inform and counsel terminally ill patients and the chronically ill as to the risks and benefits of marijuana as medicine.

The law defines valid documentation as a statement signed by the qualifying patient's physician, or a copy of the patient's pertinent medical records, which states that, in the physician's professional opinion, the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for a qualifying patient.

The initiative protects physicians from being penalized under state law for advising a qualifying patient about the risks and benefits of the medical use of marijuana and providing a qualifying patient with documentation that the medical use of marijuana might be beneficial.

[Pinch]

Originally Posted by QueenLucy

My husb is Active Duty Army stationed in WA. We are from CA therefore we have CA id's. I recently got my MMJ card and am wondering the laws in regards to traveling with it to WA or anywhere else we may PCS. Because I am a military dependent and we are still residents of CA will I have to get another prescription in WA? Will they give it to me since I do not have a WA ID? If I get a WA ID will they take my CA drivers license? Any help would be great. Thanks.

Read 3 below.. don't think so. First step.. Washington residency. Give them a call re: "your military status".

[CounselorH]

Pinch, That was a very thoughtful Breakdown on the actual Way to Become
a Patient, from Doctors to the door of Oalklands, OCBC.