Time to make a trip to Arizona! Here is the e-mail I received from the Marijuana Policy Project:

Someone asked me if Arizona’s initiative includes reciprocity. I thought others might also be interested in the answer, too, so here it is. In Arizona, out-of-state ID cards or their equivalents will provide protection for the amount of marijuana allowed in Arizona (2.5 oz) and within the restrictions included in the Arizona law (no public use, etc) IF the patient has a debilitating condition that qualifies under the Arizona law. However, dispensaries in Arizona cannot sell to patients with out-of state ID cards.

The states that will have reciprocity once Prop. 203 has gone into effect are: Montana, Rhode Island, Michigan, Maine, and Arizona. (All of those were measures drafted by MPP, with the Maine law being an expansion.)

Note: This is offered for educational purposes and is not legal advice. Please consult with an attorney licensed in Arizona if you need legal advice about Prop. 203.

The full law-to-be is available here: http://stoparrestingpatients.org/home/initiative

And here are excerpts about visiting patients:

36-2801. 17. “VISITING QUALIFYING PATIENT” MEANS A PERSON:

(a) WHO IS NOT A RESIDENT OF ARIZONA OR WHO HAS BEEN A RESIDENT OF ARIZONA LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS.

(b) WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH A DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION BY A PERSON WHO IS LICENSED WITH AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE DRUGS TO HUMANS IN THE STATE OF THE PERSON’S RESIDENCE OR, IN THE CASE OF A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN A RESIDENT OF ARIZONA LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS, THE STATE OF THE PERSON’S FORMER RESIDENCE.

18. “WRITTEN CERTIFICATION” MEANS A DOCUMENT DATED AND SIGNED BY A PHYSICIAN, STATING THAT IN THE PHYSICIAN’S PROFESSIONAL OPINION THE PATIENT IS LIKELY TO RECEIVE THERAPEUTIC OR PALLIATIVE BENEFIT FROM THE MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA TO TREAT OR ALLEVIATE THE PATIENT’S DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION OR SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION. THE PHYSICIAN MUST:

(a) SPECIFY THE QUALIFYING PATIENT’S DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION IN THE WRITTEN CERTIFICATION.

(b) SIGN AND DATE THE WRITTEN CERTIFICATION ONLY IN THE COURSE OF A PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP AFTER THE PHYSICIAN HAS COMPLETED A FULL ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALIFYING PATIENT’S MEDICAL HISTORY.

3. “DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION” MEANS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING:

(a) CANCER, GLAUCOMA, POSITIVE STATUS FOR HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME, HEPATITIS C, AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS, CROHN’S DISEASE, AGITATION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE OR THE TREATMENT OF THESE CONDITIONS.

(b) A CHRONIC OR DEBILITATING DISEASE OR MEDICAL CONDITION OR ITS TREATMENT THAT PRODUCES ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CACHEXIA OR WASTING SYNDROME; SEVERE AND CHRONIC PAIN; SEVERE NAUSEA; SEIZURES, INCLUDING THOSE CHARACTERISTIC OF EPILEPSY; OR SEVERE AND PERSISTENT MUSCLE SPASMS, INCLUDING THOSE CHARACTERISTIC OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

(c) ANY OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION OR ITS TREATMENT ADDED BY THE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 36-2801.01.

36-2804.03.

C. A REGISTRY IDENTIFICATION CARD, OR ITS EQUIVALENT, THAT IS ISSUED UNDER THE LAWS OF ANOTHER STATE, DISTRICT, TERRITORY, COMMONWEALTH OR INSULAR POSSESSION OF THE UNITED STATES THAT ALLOWS A VISITING QUALIFYING PATIENT TO POSSESS OR USE MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES IN THE JURISDICTION OF ISSUANCE HAS THE SAME FORCE AND EFFECT WHEN HELD BY A VISITING QUALIFYING PATIENT AS A REGISTRY IDENTIFICATION CARD ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT, EXCEPT THAT A VISITING QUALIFYING PATIENT IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO OBTAIN MARIJUANA FROM A NONPROFIT MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY.

Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies

Marijuana Policy Project