“Hey, did you hear that the Transportation Security Administration is going to allow you to carry CBD oil in your carry-on bag and your suitcase? That’s a wow.
It also may be wrong. At least, for now.
In what may be one of the more confounding changes for travelers, CBD oil can be carried on a plane — if it meets certain requirements. No one seems quite clear how those requirements work.
What has happened
Sometime around Memorial Day, the TSA changed its stance on carrying onboard a plane a medication that treats childhood epilepsy and on CBD oil, which WebMD calls “the hot new product in states that have legalized medical marijuana.” CBD oil is said to relieve pain and is especially popular among those who suffer aches, which is pretty much everyone who ever walked (or limped) the Earth. It’s easy to obtain even if you do not live in a state where marijuana is legal.
Under TSA’s “What Can I Bring” answer program that lets passengers ask about items that may or may not be allowed on planes, its previous advice on medical marijuana, including CBD oil, was no and no for carry-on bags and checked bags.
“Possession of marijuana and cannabis-infused products, such as cannabidiol (CBD) oil, is illegal under federal law,” the old TSA page said. “TSA officers are required to report any suspected violations of law, including possession of marijuana and cannabis-infused products.” If you followed the letter of the law, CBD oil was a nonstarter.
But if you look at the page today, it says medical marijuana can be transported in carry-on bags and checked bags, with the proviso of “special instructions.”
As clear as mud
As Californians know, marijuana, for medical or recreational use, is legal in this state and several others, plus the District of Columbia. Many states allow the use of medical marijuana only, according to Governing.com
Although you may be free to use cannabis products in your home state, the use and possession of such products are illegal under federal law.
Thus, you can walk around LAX with cannabis if you choose to, but you cannot carry it through TSA security because that is a federal entity and marijuana is illegal under federal law.
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