Want to Charge Weed? What Credit Card are You Carrying?

[Update: Some offers mentioned below have expired. For current terms and conditions, please see card agreements. Disclosure: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.]

A growing number of states have passed laws legalizing marijuana, and more states are currently considering legalization bills of their own. If you live in one of the 16 states that already allows marijuana to be purchased for medicinal use, you can charge it according to most major credit card issuers’ policies.

If you’re a Mastercard holder, however, the fact that you’ve swiped weed expenses in the past doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to do so in the future.

“The issue of purchasing medical marijuana is an emerging issue, and we’re continuing to look into it,” says Jim Issokson, a spokesman for MasterCard.

Visa and Discover also allow people to purchase medical marijuana in states where it’s legal. Citing the fact that marijuana–medical or not–is still illegal according to federal law, American Express does not allow its customers to use its cards for pot purchases of any kind.

“It is our policy to adhere to the federal law in such matters,” Bradley R. Manor, an AmEx spokesman, told Smartmoney.com.

Last week Delaware became the latest state to legalize medical marijuana. Patients in Delaware may possess up to six ounces of pot, as long as they obtain a written note from their doctor describing the specific medical need and send a copy of the note to the state’s health and human services department, according to a summary by medicalmarijuana.procon.org.

Ten other states have bills pending in their state legislatures that, if passed, would allow patients to possess different amounts of marijuana. Connecticut, which has six bills pending, including one advanced by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, appears closest to passing the next legalization law.

[Featured Product: Research and Compare Secured Credit Card Offers on Credit.com]

Image: skinfitness, via Flickr