The Couch
Why Can’t My Favorite Brand Send Me Mail Order
Now that we’ve got a ton of states joining the effort to legalize marijuana, you may be starting to wonder just how far certain liberties extend. In many cases, you can just go to a dispensary and pick up some cannabis, and it’s easier than ever to find those spots, thanks to the internet. But what if you don’t want to go pick it up, or what if a brand you want to try isn’t anywhere close to you? Can your favorite brand, or a brand that you just want to take for a test ride, ship their product to you? The answer is no, for the most part.
Sadly, it’s not quite as simple as a product being legal in a state, then having that legality extended, so the product is able to travel through the mail system. There are plenty of completely legal products, like perfume, that can’t even go through the mail, so you should probably assume that something that is still as hated as cannabis isn’t going to have a gentle ride on the Pony Express.
The Post Office: not the best place to bring your favorite cannabis products
Federal Laws Limit Mailing Cannabis Across States
If you’re in a state that has legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and you have the great idea of shipping edibles through the mail, the current federal laws will give you a rude awakening. Since the cannabis would be going across state lines, even if both sides of those lines having legalized it, the best way to describe the situation is that the line itself has not legalized cannabis. Bringing anything from one state to another violates federal law, which sees this action as interstate trafficking.
Thanks to cannabis not being legal at the federal level, moving the product across state lines gives up those state rights, as the cannabis becomes a schedule one substance, as it moves from state to state. So, in terms of the United States Postal Service, or any mailing service, shipping any form of ganja is not allowed.
If you decide to take your chances, watch out: shipping marijuana could count as shipping “poisonous and hazardous materials,” which can mean federal prison time on its own, besides the schedule one substance part of it. Side note: while you won’t get that hazardous and poisonous materials charge for taking marijuana across state lines in a personal vehicle, if you get pulled over with marijuana products that were purchased in a different state, you will receive a drug trafficking charge.
In-State Mailing Also Illegal
If you wanted to mail cannabis products or have them mailed to you within your own state, that’s also not going to happen. The USPS, being a federal entity, goes by federal policies at all times. FedEx also prohibits the mailing of anything that is federally illegal, so there’s not really any way to get your brand to ship mail order edibles.
You could take your chances – and many people do – but no brands are going to, and the repercussions are definitely not worth it. FedEx and UPS can’t arrest you if they decide that they’re not going to mail your weed, but there’s nothing to stop them from calling the cops, to alert them of your attempt to mail a federally illegal substance.
Your Best Bet: Direct Delivery
So, shipping edibles through the mail is an absolute no-go. You don’t want any cannabis products floating around any mailing systems with your name on them. But is there any way to get products besides in person? Thankfully, if you live in the right place, yes.
In Nevada, quickly after legalizing cannabis and getting dispensaries open, the state actually made cannabis delivery services legal. So, as long as the state licensed them, businesses in Nevada can do door-to-door delivery of their cannabis products. This doesn’t mean that your favorite brand can send a delivery boys hundreds of miles and over state lines to bring their product to you (although if it didn’t cross state lines, I guess they technically could). But, it does mean that, if you don’t have a car and really want that product from a dispensary across town, there just might be someone who can drop that off at your house.
With a license, a delivery boy can bike to your house with your cannabis purchase
As there are so many new products on the market this year, in-person delivery provides a great alternative to mail order edibles, to those with or without cars. Depending on the state you’re in, you might have legal delivery services as well, which means you can order your weed and your pizza, and, hopefully, they’ll show up at around the same time.
