As weed becomes legal in additional states, how and if travelers can bring their stash on board stays up within the air.
Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use for adults 21 years and older, and 37 states and Washington, D.C., have medical marijuana programs. But marijuana remains to be illegal under federal law.
That leaves travelers hoping to fly with pot on domestic U.S. flights to face an ever-changing patchwork of conflicting state and federal laws.
Traveling between states where marijuana is legal in each the origin and destination may sound straight-forward, but with overlapping jurisdictions and hard-to-enforce guidelines, it gets complicated.
Can I fly with marijuana?
Technically, no. Under federal law, the possession and sale of marijuana is illegitimate.
Despite President Joe Biden’s recent pardons for anyone convicted of a federal crime for easy possession and his directive to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law, marijuana remains to be classified as a Schedule I substance.
Based on the Drug Enforcement Administration, Schedule I substances haven’t any accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse. That also includes drugs like heroin and LSD.
And though airports are locally owned and operated, air travel still falls under federal law.
“Most persons are under the impression that it is appropriate to travel with cannabis because it is legal in California, nonetheless, they will not be aware of the travel restrictions,” said Karla Rodriguez, police captain at Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Los Angeles International Airport. “Moreover, passengers need to pay attention to the legality of cannabis in other states or countries.”
She said most arrests involve “passengers who take an amount which is greater than what is taken into account personal use.”
What about medical marijuana?
Well, that changes things.
The Transportation Security Administration said that medical marijuana products that “contain not more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis or which can be approved by FDA,” are permitted in each carry-on bags and checked bags.
TSA agents would not likely ask to see a medical marijuana card unless the traveler was carrying a bigger amount or was traveling through a jurisdiction where weed was entirely illegal, an agency spokesperson said.
OK sure, but will TSA search me?
TSA said it is just not actively trying to find marijuana but fairly focuses screening procedures on “potential threats to aviation and passengers” like weapons and explosives.
“The TSA is in search of anything illegal, but they will not be law enforcement,” said William Kroger, a defense attorney who’s represented clients arrested for marijuana at airports.
Kroger says if agents find marijuana in a passenger’s luggage, the TSA doesn’t have the facility to arrest travelers. It might, nonetheless, call local police. Some local police officials told CNBC they’d follow local laws in that situation.
The DEA might be alerted by local law enforcement if the amount of marijuana exceeds personal use or officers have reason to be suspicious that the traveler intends to sell marijuana.
What if the TSA finds marijuana on me?
While the TSA is not actively trying to find marijuana or other federally illicit drugs, if it does find an amount that exceeds local limits, which vary widely for each weed and THC-infused edibles, it would alert local officials.
Some airports offer amnesty boxes for travelers to discard their pot before traveling. There are 12 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and one at Midway International Airport, in line with the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Cannabis products are legal for private use in Illinois as of Jan. 1, 2020, and residents can possess as much as 30 grams, or about an oz, of cannabis flower.
A Cannabis amnesty box at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago
Leslie Josephs | CNBC Photo
“When the amnesty boxes are cleared and there are items within the box, officers will create a report, inventory the cannabis or cannabis products after which they might be disposed of much like how narcotics are disposed of,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said in a press release.
In Latest York and Latest Jersey, airport police implement those states’ laws, said a spokesperson for the Port Authority of Latest York and Latest Jersey, which oversees the realm’s largest airports. Latest York and Latest Jersey each legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2021.
Travelers at Denver International Airport can return their marijuana to their vehicle or pass it to someone not traveling if it’s not more than 2 ounces, in line with the Denver Police Department. Colorado legalized recreational pot back in 2014.
They also can give up it to cops where it would be “sent to get destroyed and never returned to them,” said Jay Casillas on the Denver Police Department. “Any amounts greater than 2 ounces will warrant an investigation where they could be subject to arrest and will face charges.”
Nevertheless, the severity of the penalty is basically as much as the jurisdiction, said Kroger, the defense attorney. In states with harsher marijuana laws, “you might be facing serious time in jail or prison,” he said.
Can I fly high?
Airlines’ contracts of carriage, the document that lists policies for every little thing from overbooked flights to lost baggage, state that intoxicated travelers cannot fly.
In a practice that is much like how a passenger attempting to board barefoot might be denied boarding, airlines can refuse to permit a customer to get on the plane if, in line with Delta’s rules, for instance, “the passenger’s conduct is disorderly, abusive or violent, or the passenger appears to be intoxicated or under the influence of medicine.”
What about traveling internationally?
Again, no. Marijuana rules vary internationally, nevertheless it remains to be banned outright in lots of countries, and while most of the high-profile prison sentences for carrying weed through foreign countries are for big quantities, even smaller amounts could carry hefty fines or more severe punishments.
