Now that marijuana is legal in 11 states, you would assume that flying with marijuana was easy, right? Surely flying with edibles in checked luggage is no biggy? It’s a lot more complicated than you might think.
Airports are a mish-mash of federal and state law. Understanding the demarcations between these two can save you trouble and potential prison time.
We’ve pulled together expert advice about flying with marijuana and traveling with weed. Ready to discover the ins and outs of its legality? Then read on, and find out!
Table of Contents
Traveling With Marijuana
The way that state laws intermingle in the United States has long been something of a cause for confusion. Now that some states’ legislatures don’t see eye-to-eye about pot, traveling with it can be dangerous.
For example, the Nebraska-Colorado state border has very tight security today. Due to Colorado being a legal state and Nebraska not being one, local law enforcement sees travelers returning from Colorado as something of an easy bust. Check out this article if you want to learn more.
You should avoid bringing marijuana into illegal states. No matter where you’re coming from, it’s not worth the risk. Just enjoy the good stuff while you’re in a legal state.
If you are traveling between legal states, you shouldn’t have a problem.
Flying With Marijuana
Let’s say that you want to bring some edibles with you from California to Colorado. Flying with edibles or any other kinds of weed seems like they should be fine in this scenario. Both of the states have legal pot and you’re not stopping anywhere else.
This is where things get tricky.
While flying with marijuana should be fine, and visiting certain areas of airports while in possession of marijuana is fine, flying with it is different. Marijuana, as we know, is still illegal at the federal level.
Who handles post-security airport areas? A federal agency, the TSA. This means that if they find you in possession of marijuana at or after security, they can bust you.
The state you’re in doesn’t matter one bit. Sniffer dogs will smell out any pot in your luggage and alert the TSA.
On a practical level, the consequences are likely to be non-existent. If airport police in California, for example, are alerted to this fact, they will not usually take any further action. If you are carrying a huge amount of weed and they suspect you may be involved in trafficking, things get a lot worse.
Final Thoughts
Flying with marijuana is a minefield. If you’re caught with marijuana post-security in a legal state, you could still get busted by the TSA.
While you aren’t likely to get into any real trouble, you’ll miss your flight. If you want to avoid this issue, just don’t fly with weed. Wait until you land in the other legal state and buy some there.
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