Combat veteran MMJ patient wanting to move to Phoenix from New Mexico

[TheProdigy]

Hey all, first post from me on the Arizona board. I have been battling severe PTSD for about 4 years now, I got my MMJ card back in March, I'm looking for a change of scenery around July and have family in Phoenix so I think that is where I will end up. I have had unrelated legal troubles in NM for the past few years and am currently on probation. I would have to get my probation transferred from NM to AZ and clear it with a probation officer out there most likely. I have a paper that a district court judge here in Santa Fe signed for me, allowing me to use my medicine while on probation here in NM. I have heard many things about the MMJ laws in AZ, I read somewhere that Arizona is the only state that accept out of state cards. Is this true? I want to cover my ass in every way wherever I move, any recommendations?

[KyleIsNorml]

Hello and welcome to the Cannabis boards! Glad to have you aboard. I can't answer all of your questions but I'm sure I can maybe lead you in the right direction.

Here is what I have for you:

Arizona

SUMMARY: Just over 50 percent of voters (50.13 percent) approved Proposition 203 on November 2, 2010. The law removes state-level criminal penalties on the use and possession of marijuana by patients who have "written certification" from their physician that marijuana may alleviate his or her condition. The law took effect on April 14, 2011. Patients diagnosed with the following illnesses are afforded legal protection under this act: cancer; glaucoma; positive status for HIV or AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's disease or any chronic or debilitating medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy, severe or persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis, persistent muscle spasms or seizures, severe nausea or pain. Other conditions will be subject to approval by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than two and one-half ounces of usable marijuana, and may cultivate no more than twelve marijuana plants in an "enclosed, locked facility." The law establishes a confidential state-run patient registry that issues identification cards to qualifying patients. State-licensed nonprofit dispensaries may produce and dispense marijuana to authorized patients on a not-for-profit basis. Qualified patients who reside within 25 miles of a state-licensed dispensary facility will not be permitted to cultivate marijuana at home. Final rules for the program, physician certification forms, and a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page are all available online at the website of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program here. Arizona Medical Marijuana Program (http://www.azdhs.gov/prop203/)


RECIPROCITY: Yes. The act defines a 'visiting qualifying patient' as a person '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.'

This is all that I can share with you and I hope it takes you in the right direction. I'm not too sure if you already knew any of this but I thought I'd try and help. I hope everything works out for you in the near future!