Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2016
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Column: The 420
Copyright: 2016 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Ngaio Bealum

POT ON THE MOVE

Would my medical marijuana recommendation be legal in other states 
that also honor recommendations?

- -Dee Starr

Generally, it depends on the state. Michigan and Maine will welcome 
anyone with a medical cannabis card to visit their dispensaries. 
However, states like Arizona will allow you to legally possess 
cannabis if you have an out-of-state letter, but they won't let you 
buy cannabis. Nevada is supposed to honor your letter, but the cops 
that wrote me up in 2015 didn't see my valid letter of recommendation 
as a legal defense allowing me to have marijuana in my possession.

Here's the thing, though: 2016 is gonna be awesome for adult-use 
cannabis law reform. Massachusetts, Arizona, Nevada (fingers crossed) 
and North Dakota (activists there submitted petition signatures just 
last week) are all expected to pass legalization laws. Oregon, 
Washington, Colorado, D.C. and Alaska already have legal adult-use 
cannabis laws in place. There are plenty of great vacation options in 
all of those legal states; plus, it's always a good idea to spend 
your vacation money in places that support your right to be a 
responsible pot-using adult. Have fun planning your trip!

How can you say you are on the AUMA bandwagon? Don't you have 
concerns about corporations taking over your marijuana? I really hope 
you come to your senses and vote against this evil corporatist bill.

- -Tru B. Lieber

Yada, yada. Listen: Corporations aren't going to take over the weed 
game. They may try to create monopolies, but the Adult Use of 
Marijuana Act does a pretty good job of allowing for smaller, 
craft-style growers to have a share of the market. Also, just like 
how I hardly ever drink corporate beer, I am pretty sure I will 
support small-batch cannabis farms. If the new regulations lead to 
horrible commercial-grade pot, I am more than sure the black market 
will be willing to provide quality cannabis for a reasonable price.

Let's not forget that cannabis has been genetically modified, er, 
selectively bred for generations. How do you think high-CBD strains 
like Harlequin and Ringo's Gift were invented? Granted, crossbreeding 
for specific qualities is way different than splicing genes, but the 
concept is the same. And while I am pretty sure I wouldn't want to 
smoke a Strawberry Cough that was created with the DNA of actual 
strawberries (although, maybe I would-I bet the flavor would be 
intense), I am pretty sure that cannabis can handle all kinds of 
crazy breeding programs.

If you are so worried about evil scientists creating zombie GMO 
cannabis strains, now would be a good time for you and your 
doomsday-prepper friends to start an heirloom cannabis seed bank. In 
fact, you could start a business that specializes in non-GMO cannabis 
seeds. That way, you could make some money and "pure" cannabis will 
still have a place at the weed table. Win-win. Vote yes on Proposition 64.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom