Medical cannabis in Puerto Rico for tourists

January 5, 2024 10:30 AM

I'm a medical cannabis patient in Canada. I plan to travel to Puerto Rico. Is my prescription valid there? If so, how does it all work and what do I need to bring/do?
posted by wheatlets to Travel & Transportation around Puerto Rico (2 answers total)

Calling a dispensary is likely the best course of action. Puerto Rico recognizes anyone who possess a valid medical marijuana card (MMJ) issued by US states, but that reciprocity does not appear to extend to foreign nationals. A temporary MMJ card can be procured for use in Puerto Rico and you might be able to register ahead of time for one. If you are comfortable sharing the required information with one of many rando/sketchy looking 'doctor' websites that provide the necessary "medical evaluation" for issuing a prescription.

Otherwise it would just be an extra step in person- but I would assume low friction because it is a booming business.

Whatever you do - do not transport any drugs or related items. The US feds are in charge of the airspace* and you can be certain any agent would love to bust someone for something that remains very illegal.

*and likely the waterspace too.
posted by zenon at 10:52 AM on January 5 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: I wanted to post an update because I noticed this question in the search results during my research:

I ended up getting a tourist pass from IslandMedPR. I was extremely wary, because a lot of one star reviews and Reddit posts say that the company is a scam, will charge your credit card extra, and will bombard you with texts. None of these things happened to me. Everyone I spoke to on the phone was extremely helpful, especially Fernando. Note that you do need to be a US citizen for IslandMed.

I stopped at a Bwell dispensary on the way in from the airport, and it took a while to get my documents in order. Once they did, though, I was able to purchase all cannabis products, flower included. Make sure to ask for a copy of your document so that you can go to a different dispensary if you wish - they were a little reluctant to do this, but allowed it as they didn't carry CBD flower and a dispensary close to where I was staying did. Puerto Rico has excellent flower and very strong edibles (I recommend the Kuni brand, but be careful!)
posted by wheatlets at 3:10 PM on February 7 [1 favorite]