Is Weed Legal or Nah?
All across the country you can smell the aroma of that sweet sweet Ganja as residents light up that sticky icky and indulge with the peace of mind that there won’t be a knock at the door with the boys in blue ready to raid the place. But this is far from guilt free consumption, oh no! While millions have indulged, and I mean greatly, into “legal” cannabis, there are still hundreds of thousands of people being arrested for simply doing what millions of people do on a daily basis. But how can that be? Weed is legal right? Yes, but not quite. The answer is complicated but I will summarize to the best of my abilities.
To start, we need to define legalization. I like Leafly's definition which is such; “Cannabis legalization is the removal of criminal penalties for cannabis activities such as production, distribution, possession, and consumption, and includes the replacement of those penalties with regulations on commercial cannabis activity.”
Ok, so now that we are on the same page with the definition of legalization, we have to have a basic understanding of how the law works. The most important thing to know here is that there are State laws and Federal laws. Federal Laws cover the entirety of the United States and its territories, and State law are controlled by each individual state. As of now Marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance and is Federally illegal for any and all purposes, Period! Ok, that was the easy part.
Now the State level is a bit more complicated. Although Cannabis is illegal on the Federal level, which does Trump state laws (there he goes again), in 2013, under President Obama, the Justice department pretty much said they’re going to turn the other cheek and put that money to better use and States that wish to partake will need to implement regulations that will allow them to do so in a responsible manner that protects the public. And so throughout the years we have seen State after State roll out their own regulations. These regulations can be summed up in a few terms:
Decriminalization - You probably won’t get arrested for having a small amount of Cannabis on you. Criminal penalties are generally removed but you might get a ticket.
Medical Legalization - This typically means that you would need to “prove” to a licensed professional that you have some sort of ailment which symptoms could be better controlled with Cannabis. They would then grant you a medical card, and you would then make your way to the medical dispensary to be served, in the professional sense of the term.
Legalization - The almost gold standard. Anyone of legal age can consume Cannabis and other products.
Prohibited - Don’t even think about it.
This is a current Cannabis Legalization Map provided by Rolling Stone
I wish I could say that it was as simple as this and all you need to do is avoid the yellow brick road from here, but as with all things in America right now, it is not that easy. Within each State the laws will vary by City, by county, and by district. These laws will dictate how much Cannabis you are able to have on you at one time, whether or not and how many plants you are able to grow, where you can grow them, where you can consume, etc. These laws get much more complicated for those participating in Cannabis as producers in any form of the industry, and let’s not get started on transportation across state lines. You also have thousands of activists out there fighting the good fight to expand access to Cannabis and to reform many of its current laws, so things are changing all the time.
If you are looking for a safe place to consume Cannabis the best thing you can do is look up the Cannabis laws in the places in which you will be residing and traveling. In this space we know that you are not doing anything wrong in your interaction with Cannabis, but as your Sister I do not want you to get into legal trouble for something avoidable. My recommendation is to consume where you are allowed.
Here are 5 common questions asked in regards to Cannabis Legalization:
Can you mail Cannabis
Answer: NO! They’ll take it and smoke it for themselves, probably. But No, that is ILL-Legal!
Does that include Edibles?
Answer: Yes, that includes Edibles.
Can I Fly with Cannabis?
Answer: Don’t EVER do this!!! Let me break it down. When you are traveling by plane, you are no longer in legal territory. Instead, you are in federal territory and if you are caught, the punishment will be severe, even for first time offenders, especially if you are black.
So what about driving?
Answer: I still do not recommend it. Once again, the highway puts you in Federal territory and it really is just not worth the risk.
Can I buy Cannabis as a gift for someone?
Answer: Absolutely! Just give it to them in person, in a state where it is legal to consume, and make sure that they are of legal age.
Now I am not naive or ignorant to the fact that cannabis is mailed throughout the United States on a daily basis. I am well aware of the people that take risks to transport small to unthinkable sums of cannabis regularly. This is of course an industry of risk. But there is even a right way to do wrong so I hope people are at least being safe and smart about it. Now that you know the rules, you roll your own dice.
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