What happens if TSA finds weed in my bag?

You are flying from a state where marijuana is legal to a state where marijuana is legal. You think that means you’re in the clear, but you’d be wrong. Regardless of your departure and arrival destinations, it is still illegal to fly with marijuana.

That’s because possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and when you fly, federal agencies are in charge.

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The Transportation Security Administration is in charge of security while the Federal Aviation Administration controls the airways. Then, when you enter the country from abroad, there is Customs and Border Protection.

They enforce federal laws, and “at the federal level it remains a crime to possess any amount of cannabis even for medical purposes,” said Brett Schuman, a partner at the Goodwin law firm and co- chair of its cannabis practice. (There is one caveat: Cannabis is legal if it contains no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis.)

That is why it is illegal to carry marijuana — from joints to edibles — through airport security, fly with it or go through customs and immigration with it in your checked or carry-on bag, even if you’re flying between two places where it’s legal.

However, that doesn’t mean you’re going to federal prison if the TSA finds weed in your bag.

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“The TSA is clear that its focus is security for us, the passengers, and not the drugs,” said Shawn Hauser, a partner at the national cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP and co-chair of the department. of the company’s hemp and cannabinoids.

I’ve spoken to the TSA several times about the subject, and their policy is straightforward: “TSA does not search for marijuana or other drugs,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said in an email. “And remember, TSA canines are trained to detect explosive odors, not drugs.”

If TSA officers find marijuana or other drugs during a routine screening process, they must notify local law enforcement, who makes the final call.

That final call may vary. If you’re in a state where marijuana is legal, local law enforcement is unlikely to answer calls at the airport if they find it. And if they do, Hauser says they won’t arrest someone who’s following state law (for example, authorities at LAX can’t arrest you for possessing cannabis if it’s within the legal amount allowed in California.)

The TSA may simply confiscate the marijuana, tell you to throw it away or “they may ask you to put it in an amnesty box or even take it in your car,” Hauser said. Some airports prohibit the possession of marijuana on their property and may fine passengers caught violating their rules.

Again, “it’s not written anywhere, but individual TSA officers can use discretion not to report you at all,” Schuman said.

You may experience more significant consequences if you’re carrying large amounts of weed or traveling to a state that remains strongly anti-cannabis such as Idaho, Nebraska or Texas, Schuman said.

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In anti-pot states, other authorities – not TSA – usually search for marijuana and charge travelers.

CBP has been known to find marijuana in passenger luggage, sometimes with the help of drug detection K-9s, which can result in fines, criminal charges or loss of your Global Entry membership.

There have also been serious cases of authorities finding travelers carrying large amounts of weed. In Arkansas, detectives and their drug-detecting dogs found 180 pounds of marijuana in a lawyer’s luggage at the Little Rock airport last year.

That same month in Tennessee – a state that is “strictly against” cannabis – a drug dog used by the Drug Enforcement Administration and local detectives found 12 bags of marijuana in luggage at the Memphis airport. , which led to the imprisonment of the owner of the bag, a search. warrant for his home, and, later, criminal charges, FOX13 Memphis reported. In December, two Spirit Airlines passengers in Nashville were booked into the Metro jail and charged with felony drug possession after a K-9 unit found 18 pounds of marijuana in their luggage at the airport.

It’s “rare” to see everyday travelers face legal consequences for small amounts, Hauser said, despite having a client stuck at an airport in a state where weed is illegal. , which went through “a simple court proceeding that was quickly resolved.”

Schuman was of the same opinion. He is not known to the “average Jane or average Joe who travels to an airport with a pre-roll or package of gummies” who has spent any time in prison.

But even if the TSA doesn’t search your pot, “the bottom line answer should be: It remains federally illegal,” Schuman said.

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