Yo, check it, according to the 2023 Deloitte Holiday Travel Survey, almost half the country is planning to travel between Thanksgiving and January. It ain’t all about “revenge travel” no more, but the past few years of restrictions got people hyped up to explore. And get this, 5% of Americans are even planning international trips. They tryna hit up South America and Asia, but you know the Caribbean, Mexico, and Europe still hold it down as the hottest spots.
Now here’s the deal, over 50% of folks live in places where weed is legal. But hold up, unlike Canada, weed is still illegal on a federal level in the US. That means the Travel Security Administration (TSA) ain’t playin’ with that green. They straight up say on their website that marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products, including some CBD oil, are illegal under federal law. The only exception is if the product has less than 0.3 percent THC or is FDA-approved.
But yo, here’s where it gets interesting. People be flyin’ with small amounts of marijuana every day ’cause them TSA officers ain’t actively lookin’ for that stuff. They focused on security and lookin’ for threats to aviation and passengers, you feel me? The TSA be sayin’, “If we find any illegal substance during screening, we gonna pass that info to law enforcement.” So basically, if they find your stash, they gonna call the cops and let them deal with it.
But check this out, most of the time airport security ain’t snitchin’ on people carryin’ a little bit of weed. They ain’t gonna report you for that. Lorie Dankers, a spokesperson for TSA, straight up said that airport law enforcement will only be notified if a TSA officer finds marijuana during the screening process. And then it’s up to the cops to decide if they wanna start a criminal investigation or take any action at all.
But let’s be real, most of the time law enforcement ain’t tryna waste their resources on small-time weed carriers. Neil Hallinan, a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco, said it himself. Yeah, it’s technically illegal to take weed through security ’cause of that federal law, but the feds ain’t tryna spend their time and money on enforcing it. They got bigger fish to fry, ya know?
So bottom line, you can fly with weed, but it’s still a risk. Technically, it ain’t allowed, but the chances of gettin’ caught are pretty low. Just don’t be stupid and try to bring a whole pound of bud with you. Keep it small and lowkey, and you should be straight.
And there you have it, fam. This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been reposted with permission. So if you tryna fly with that green, just remember the risks involved. Stay chill and stay safe out there!