Pubdate: Sun, 21 Jul 2013
Source: Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH)
Copyright: 2013 Telegraph Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.nashuatelegraph.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/885
Author: David Brooks

CAN NH PATIENTS GET MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN OTHER STATES? NOT REALLY

While New Hampshire patients wait for marijuana dispensaries to be
established in this state, a process that may take years, it's easy to
wonder whether they could just drive over the border and get their
doctor's order filled at dispensaries already up and running in
neighboring states.

The answer? Not really.

The only possibility is Maine, whose medical marijuana law includes a
"reciprocity clause" that allows out-of-state residents to get marijuana.

However, this is allowed only if you have a medical certificate from a
physician or osteopath certified to practice in Maine. It's not enough
to have a certificate from your own doctor in New Hampshire; you'd
have to establish a relationship with a Maine doctor, which at a
minimum would include office visits.

That clause was designed "to allow people who summer in Maine, or
college students, to get (marijuana)," said Marietta D'Agostino,
director of the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program. "We're
certainly not looking to have people drive up for the day to get it."

Heading west instead of east won't help: While Vermont's medical
marijuana law allows certificates from New Hampshire doctors, it is
limited to Vermont residents only.

Massachusetts may have dispensaries operating by next year, but it is
also limited to state residents.

New Hampshire's law, incidentally, is confusing on this issue. It says
out-of-state patients with valid paperwork from their doctors can
legally possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana in New Hampshire  but it
also says they can't buy it here, and since all states with medical
marijuana forbid its transport across state lines, it's not clear how
they would possess it.

Further, if they have pot here, it's no good to them: Out-of-staters
cannot use marijuana in this state nor give it away, even if they have
valid medical documents.

What else should you know about medical marijuana laws in New
Hampshire's neighbors? Here are some details.

Maine

The Pine Tree State is far ahead of anybody else in the Northeast when
it comes to medical marijuana, which has been legal there since 1999 
although it didn't really exist until voters passed a statewide
referendum in 2009 that led to dispensaries.

Its law is much less restrictive than New Hampshire's:

Maine allows marijuana to be grown outside of dispensaries, although
details about this "home-grown" option are still being debated.

State regulators, for example, want to require that all marijuana be
grown in enclosed, locked facilities surrounded by fences at least 8
feet tall that "completely obscure the view" of the growing marijuana,
with motion-activated lights as a theft prevention measure.

The list of conditions that make a patient eligible for marijuana is
far longer than in New Hampshire, covering not just diseases with
chronic nausea and pain  the symptoms that cannabis is best known to
help  like cancer, glaucoma and AIDS.

This year, the Maine legislature expanded the list to add
post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a disease that was
specifically removed from New Hampshire's list during legislative
debate in Concord. They also added inflammatory bowel disease and
"dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders" such as
Parkinson's.

Even though Maine is far ahead of the rest of New England, data about
recent usage of medical marijuana is still being compiled. A March
2011 report said more than 2,200 patients were registered in the
program. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The previous sentence has been edited; the
number was previously incorrect.)

A new report is due out soon.

Vermont

The Green Mountain State passed a medical marijuana law in May 2011,
but its first dispensaries only opened in June of this year.

Four dispensaries are allowed in the state. Two are open: one in
Burlington and one in the capital, Montpelier. A third, near Rutland,
should open this year.

Marijuana can be grown at home. "No more than two mature marijuana
plants and seven immature plants" can be grown at a time, and they
must be in a "single secure indoor facility" that can be accessed only
by the patient or caregiver. The location of this facility must be
disclosed in advance.

Patients can get on the statewide registry if their doctor certifies
that they have cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, or a disease that is
"chronic, debilitating and produces severe, persistent, and one or
more of the following intractable symptoms: cachexia or wasting
syndrome, severe pain or nausea or seizures."

Massachusetts

In November 2012, Bay State voters approved a ballot question that
allows qualifying patients to use medical marijuana, and the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health is in the process of drawing
up rules.

The law allows up to 35 dispensaries around the state; some could be
licensed by the end of 2013 and might open early next year, although
many details are being debated  including fees that must be paid to
the state.

Marijuana cannot generally be grown at home, unless patients receive a
"cultivation registration" certificate that lets them to grow a
"60-day supply" if they have financial hardship or cannot get to a
marijuana dispensary. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The previous sentence has been
edited; it previously did not mention the hardship option.)

The law says people with certain "debilitating medical conditions,"
including cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or other conditions determined by a
doctor, can obtain a registration card and possess up to a 60-day
supply of marijuana.

Quebec

Canada has had medical marijuana in various forms for more than a
decade, but it still remains controversial.

It also remains out-of-bounds to U.S. citizens: Cross-border medical
marijuana trips aren't feasible.

In recent years, the situation has become more like that in the
U.S.

Previously, homegrown marijuana was relatively common in Canada  more
than 30,000 permits have been issued to grow it throughout the
country, dating back as far as 2002  but in July of this year, federal
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said no more permits will be issued to
individuals to grow medical marijuana.

Instead, the federal government will choose private contractors to
produce medical marijuana, for which a patient must have a doctor's
order.
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MAP posted-by: Matt