Washington D.C. Now Accepts Medical Cannabis Cards from Any State
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]ashington, D.C. officials announced on Aug, 8 that medical cannabis cards from participating medical cannabis states can be used to purchase medical cannabis products.
According to an official statement from the mayor’s office, nonresidents visiting the city will be able to get the medicine they need as long as they don’t cross into other states, and as long as they have some sort of valid medical cannabis card. The new system is a collaboration between Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Health and the Mayor’s Office of Policy.
“This emergency rulemaking is patient-centric,” said Mayor Bowser. “It ensures medical marijuana patients from other states can obtain their needed medicine. It will also promote public safety by allowing visitors to obtain their medicine at one of the District’s six—soon to be seven—authorized dispensaries rather than forcing them to go without or patronizing the illegal market.”
This expands the number of state medical cards accepted in the city from 19 to at least 27. It’s not an exchange program, so it doesn’t matter whether those other states recognize D.C. medical cards.
The new states added are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont. Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia are under review. Cards from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington State were already recognized in D.C.
Although D.C.’s unique status as a standalone city has made some cannabis policy difficult to enact, it’s no doubt that cannabis is popular within the area. Studies show that 11 percent of government workers in D.C. have purchased cannabis, and the department of health would like to see even more regulation and taxation within the already-popular industry.
