The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website has said since the beginning of 2018 that agents no longer search for “marijuana or other illegal drugs.” However, as of April 27, TSA updated that language to include only “illegal drugs.” words marijuana The removal was part of a quiet update to the TSA’s medical marijuana information page, which quickly spread on social media, leading many travelers to conclude that the agency had newly authorized people to fly with marijuana.
The agency says that’s not the case.
“TSA’s policy on medical marijuana has not changed,” a TSA spokesperson told Afar. The agency’s screening procedures focus on aviation security, not drug enforcement, according to its website. If illegal substances or evidence of criminal activity are discovered during the search, the officer will refer the matter to local law enforcement.
The “What Should I Bring?” section on the TSA website currently states “Yes (Special Instructions)” for medical marijuana in both carry-on and checked baggage.
“The ‘yes’ label that was all the rage this spring is not new,” said Javier Hasse, a veteran marijuana reporter. high times magazine, Afar said. βTSA has listed medical marijuana as such since at least 2019.β
However, this spring, the words around me changed. According to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the medical marijuana page previously began with a line citing the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 and stating that marijuana “remains illegal under federal law.” That provision has now been removed, and the agency’s long-standing search disclaimer, which previously said officers would not search for “marijuana or other illegal drugs,” now just says “illegal drugs.”
This page was updated days after the Justice Department took steps to ease federal cannabis regulations. On April 22, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order reclassifying two narrow categories of cannabis: Food and Drug Administration-approved cannabis medicines and state-licensed cannabis medical products from Schedule I, the federal government’s reservation for substances without approved medical uses, to Schedule III, a less restrictive classification. Recreational marijuana is still classified as Schedule I, but that could change with an extensive rescheduling hearing on June 29th.
The TSA has not published any specific instructions for importing marijuana, and there are no guidelines regarding documentation, quantity limits, or interstate travel.
Cameron Clark, co-founder and CEO of Kanha, a California-licensed cannabis edibles company, said the documentation gap extends to the checkpoint itself.
βTo be honest, no TSA employee would think about the difference between medical and recreational use,β Clark said in a statement to Afar.
Medical marijuana is legal in 41 states and three territories and the District of Columbia, and recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states. Domestic travel is especially complicated due to the lack of TSA guidance, as each state has different regulations and marijuana use is not federally legal. For example, a medical marijuana patient in California may carry a medical marijuana identification card issued by the California Department of Public Health, but this is not the case in all 40 states, and TSA has not specified whether such documents meet undisclosed special instructions.
Cannabis attorney Brandon Dorsky, who has been working in the field since 2009, said a standard medical marijuana card may not be enough for patients who fall through the gap. In some states, patients may also be required to prove that they are enrolled in a state-run database. Dorsky advises patients to carry their state-issued documentation, their doctor’s recommendation, and to keep their cannabis in medically-issued packaging whenever possible.
What hasnβt changed is that lack of clarity remains one of the biggest challenges when traveling with marijuana.
βOnce the federal government officially recognizes certain cannabis products as having medicinal uses, patients who rely on cannabis medicinally should be given clear written rules regarding travel. “Telling patients that their medication is allowed ‘with special instructions’ and leaving those instructions blank makes the basic act of traveling with their own medication stressful and uncertain,” Hasse told Afar.