Patients Can Board Airplanes With Marijuana
When I mentioned this to a friend the other day he looked very puzzled. I asked him, “Did you know now you can fly on some airplanes with ounces of pot legally?” He replied, “No, are you serious?” I said “yep, isn’t life great in California?”
I don’t think he believed me, but I DO have the news articles to back me up.
Bay Area news reports that Considering the haziness surrounding medical marijuana laws, it may be surprising that some of the most uptight places in the Bay Area — local airports — are also some of the most laid back when it comes to medical pot patients.
San Francisco police, who patrol San Francisco International Airport, say they allow card-holding medical marijuana patients to carry up to 8 ounces of dried cannabis when traveling. The SFO policy follows the guidelines police use within the city of San Francisco, said Sgt. Wilfred Williams.
Isn’t that nice? You can actually board and travel on airplanes in California with your medicinal pot now without fear of arrest.
Then-San Francisco police Chief Heather Fong enacted the policy in November 2008 through a three-page bulletin to officers. It instructs officers to leave medical marijuana patients and their drugs alone if they are using the marijuana for medical purposes and not for criminal activity.
And when it comes to air travel, local police — not airport officials or federal authorities — determine which passengers can fly with medical pot.
The reason it is allowed is because local police, not federal police determine who is allowed onto planes.
Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said airport security officers are trained to check for dangerous items such as explosives when screening departing passengers, their carry-on bags and checked luggage.
If the local police force allows the passenger to keep their medical marijuana, the TSA would not stop them from traveling with the drug, she said. Likewise, SFO spokesman Mike McCarron said officials at the transportation hub have nothing to do with enforcement of medical marijuana laws at the airport.
Isn’t informing yourself great? I bet most Americans would fail this question for a $1 million dollar prize. ”
“Are Americans allowed to board planes carrying marijuana?” The answer is now, YES! And it is NOT just in the Bay Area…
At Mineta San Jose International Airport, enforcement of medical marijuana laws is left to San Jose police, said airport spokesman David Vossbrink.
San Jose police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said they also do not arrest or cite passengers with medical marijuana at the airport or seize their drugs. They do, however, write a report and send it to federal authorities, who determine whether to file charges, he said.
Although filing any kind of report for a person carrying their medicine legally is a bit fascist, at least this policy is continuing at other airports in the state.
However, although we can fly in California with pot, this does not extend to other states where the drug remains illegal.
In the East Bay, the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office enacted a specific policy last year that allows medical marijuana users to travel from Oakland International Airport with the drug. As at SFO, a qualified patient or primary caregiver as defined by California law can carry up to 8 ounces during travel out of Oakland.
Of course, just because passengers are allowed to take their marijuana out of the Bay Area does not give them full immunity from prosecution, as more than 30 states ban medical marijuana. If a Bay Area traveler lands in a place where the drug is illegal, they could be prosecuted by state authorities.
The fight continues. Keep toking your medicine and never give up fighting for our right to use natural and effective medical marijuana, as well as, our right to fly anywhere in the U.S. with our cannabis. Our day is coming, the time is now!