Pubdate: Thu, 29 May 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

CAN I CARRY COLORADO WEED LEGALLY IN OTHER STATES?

Dear Stoner: Here's a stoner question that's been on my mind: Is the 
world eternal?

Grass Hopper

Dear Grass Hopper: Waxing philosophical is one of life's greatest 
stoned joys. As for your eternally unanswerable question: This stoner 
is a bowl-half-full kind of guy. Yes, the fact that Earth is only 4.5 
billion years old is pretty irrefutable (unless you actually take the 
Bible literally), but the laws of the natural world around us would 
indicate that this world has been around forever - at least on the 
physical plane we currently know. See, the matter that makes up the 
earth - the air, the mountains, puppies, and the newspaper you are 
reading right now - was at one point just floating around in the 
ether of space and time, and it will be that way again someday. Think 
about it like this: The ganja you grow in your garden stems from a 
seed, but it pulls elements from the soil, sun and air to grow. When 
it is harvested, cured and smoked, those elements are transferred to 
another physical state again. In other words, the cannabis plants you 
haven't even grown yet already exist and the plants you toked on 
years ago still linger to this day. Put that in your rolling paper, 
twist it up and ponder it for a while.

Dear Stoner: What happens if I get caught with legal Colorado weed 
out of state?

Jerry Bear

Dear JB: The first thing you should remember is that just because 
that ounce of herb is legal in Colorado, it doesn't mean it's legal 
anywhere else. If you're caught out of state, you're subject to the 
laws of that state - not Colorado. And it is worth noting that we're 
surrounded by some of the worst states in the nation in terms of 
marijuana penalties, and troopers just love profiling and pulling 
over our green-and-white license plates. Any amount of pot can get 
you a year in jail and $2,500 fines in Kansas and Oklahoma; an ounce 
or less will get you fifteen days in jail in New Mexico; and two 
pounds or less can get you up to 1.5 years in jail in Arizona. Utah 
hands down six-month sentences for an ounce or less; Wyoming will 
jail you for a year for three ounces or less, but can jail you for a 
decade for sale or delivery of pot. And while Nebraska has reduced 
possession of up to one ounce of herb to a ticketable offense, those 
caught distributing marijuana there face up to twenty years in jail. 
Our advice (because you're likely to get pulled over): Ditch the buds 
at the border and find a hookup when you arrive at your destination. 
Friendly hotel clerks, bartenders and valet drivers are usually a good source.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom