Colorado was one of the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use. This has since spread to many more states, with Ohio being one of the most recent. The recreational use of marijuana is allowed, and people are not going to be arrested for simple possession of small amounts of marijuana.
But you may be wondering if you are allowed to bring those products – which were purchased legally within the state – outside of Colorado. Perhaps you’re going on a vacation and you want to take the marijuana products with you because you’re used to using them consistently. Or perhaps you are a tourist who has visited Colorado from somewhere else. You know that you can make a legal purchase here, and you would like to take the products home with you. Are you allowed to do so?
2 potential problems
There are two reasons why this won’t work. First and foremost, marijuana remains federally illegal. This means that you cannot cross state lines with it in your possession. Even though you purchased it legally, once you cross state lines, you have potentially committed a federal crime, so you do not want to take the products outside of the state. Even showing a receipt to prove that they were purchased somewhere legal isn’t going to make a difference.
The second issue is that, if you go to a state where marijuana is not yet approved for recreational use, then those products are illegal under state law. Once again, it won’t matter that you bought them in Colorado, where you weren’t breaking the law. If you bring the products to a state where older laws are still in place, you are then bound by those laws.
When laws are changing, it’s possible for confusion and mistakes to lead to an arrest. Those who are facing drug charges must know about their legal options.