Have weed, will travel? Not quite.
The relaxation of marijuana laws in more than two dozen states has resulted in overlapping—and occasionally conflicting—state and federal rules that air travelers may find perplexing.
Airports in Denver, Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, don’t allow pot on the premises—but Los Angeles International—the world’s fifth-busiest airport—now allows customers aged 21 and over to bring marijuana, a policy changemade to accord with California law on personal consumption of the drug. So do the two largest Pacific Northwest airports: Sea-Tac and Portland International, which follow state laws in Washington and Oregon, respectively. The law in Oregon even allows travelers to carry marijuana on flights within the state—even though airlines prohibit pot.
“It’s a tangled web, for sure,” said Dave Bannard, an attorney with Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP in Boston, who consults with airports on marijuana and other regulatory issues. “Airports are having to come to grips with this in a way that nobody expected a few years ago.”
Regardless of the airport, your personal pot isn’t allowed beyond the security checkpoint, a federal zone where marijuana of any amount—irrespective of a medical purpose—remains illegal. The U.S. government classifies marijuana a “Schedule 1” drug, along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Most U.S. airlines, which traverse federal airspace, also prohibit marijuana aboard their flights.
The Transportation Security Administration is at airports to combat terrorism, not to police drugs. When agents find some, either on a traveler or in checked luggage, they call the airport police to deal with it. In places that have legalized pot, officers typically ask the traveler to dispose of it, store it in a parked vehicle or call a friend to take it, airport representatives said.
Portland police have responded to 83 calls regarding travelers’ marijuana this year through Sept. 30, compared to 74 in 2017. Los Angeles airport police are also responding to an increased number of TSA calls arising from pot, due to the state law changes, said Officer Rob Pedregon, a police spokesman.
“We’ve actually seen more of an increase in the checked luggage from people who don’t really understand” the California law, Pedregon said. “They go into the dispensaries and they say, ‘Oh, give me five pounds to take home to Texas with me.’” Airport police file drug charges against such high flyers about once per month, he said.
In some cases, if the TSA doesn’t detect your stash, you may actually get through and onto a flight. “If you don’t get searched, it doesn’t mean you didn’t break the law, it just means you got away with something—it’s like bringing in Cuban cigars from Montreal,” Bannard said.
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