Marijuana legalization has meant millions of Americans have easier access to cannabis than ever before. But flying with marijuana remains a tricky subject, as airports are regulated by federal law, which still forbids many pot products.
That creates a challenging question for cannabis fans who may want to bring their preferred marijuana products when they travel. This is especially thorny when flying between two legal states, with travelers not knowing if a Transportation Security Administration officer will stop them from carrying a pack of edibles or joints on a route like San Francisco to New York City.
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The TSA quietly updated its website’s listed policy last month to reaffirm that “medical marijuana” can be included in both carry-on and checked bags. The administration’s April 27 update added that its security procedures are focused on security threats, not drugs.
“TSA security officers do not search for illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer,” the statement.
The update was first pointed out in a post to X on Sunday by Jeremy Berke, the founder and editor-in-chief of Cultivated Media. Fellow cannabis journalist Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment pointed out that the TSA site had previously included a similar message before this latest update.
The April 27 message makes it clear that TSA is not specifically looking for cannabis but reserves the right for airport security officers to send passengers to other law enforcement officers if they believe someone has an illegal substance. That means if TSA officers catch a passenger with cannabis, they may refer them to a state or federal officer to decide if any further action is required.
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What an officer decides would be based on their jurisdiction’s laws. Whether cannabis is illegal becomes deeply confusing because of convoluted state and federal laws. The marijuana you can buy at a licensed pot shop in California is legal under state laws but is illegal according to federal law. Meanwhile, federal law allows many types of hemp products, including products like edibles or vapes that contain intoxicating THC.
People traveling with multiple pounds of cannabis are regularly caught and charged with trafficking, but authorities do not appear to often be charging people who travel with small amounts of cannabis. In 2022, SFGATE spoke with multiple criminal defense attorneys who said that federal officers rarely want to investigate small marijuana possession cases.
Neil Hallinan, a San Francisco criminal defense attorney, said the last time he had an airport cannabis case was in 2017, when a client of his was caught traveling with 25 pounds of cannabis. The client was arrested and charged, but Hallinan said the case was ultimately dismissed when the client proved the cannabis was for medical uses.
The attorney said that traveling with more than an ounce of flower was especially risky, while edibles are safer.
International travel still remains a major risk for Americans traveling with cannabis, with multiple people getting arrested and charged with major crimes for carrying cannabis into places like Russia and Bali.
*This article first appeared on SFGATE. GreenState and SFGATE are owned by the same parent company but operate independent newsrooms. This article is reposted with permission.