{"id":8455,"date":"2018-09-28T03:51:28","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T03:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=3216887&amp;preview_id=3216887"},"modified":"2018-09-28T03:51:28","modified_gmt":"2018-09-28T03:51:28","slug":"lax-allows-pot-in-airport-but-tsa-says-its-still-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/lax-allows-pot-in-airport-but-tsa-says-its-still-a-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"LAX allows pot in airport but TSA says it\u2019s still a crime"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/lax-allows-pot-in-airport-but-tsa-says-its-still-a-crime\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/lax-allows-pot-in-airport-but-tsa-says-its-still-a-crime.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES \u2014 Here\u2019s another thing travelers can consider bringing when a trip takes them through Los Angeles International Airport \u2014 marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>Just be careful about carrying it onto the plane.<\/p>\n<p>A written policy posted by airport police says small amounts of weed may now be brought into one of the world\u2019s busiest airports. But, police warn, possession of any amount is still a federal crime and TSA agents may find your stash.<\/p>\n<p>What happens if they do remains a little murky.<\/p>\n<p>TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said Thursday that agents won\u2019t take it away but will summon the police and let them deal with it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTSA\u2019s focus is on terrorism and security threats to the aircraft and its passengers,\u201d Dankers said in an email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether or not the passenger is allowed to travel with marijuana is up to law enforcement\u2019s discretion,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>If it turns out a traveler is carrying no more than 28.5 grams (about an ounce), or 8 grams in concentrated form, airport police will simply turn them loose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause there is no crime,\u201d said airport Officer Alicia Hernandez.<\/p>\n<p>Still, police caution people to think twice before embarking on a cannabis-fueled vacation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPassengers should be aware that marijuana laws vary state by state and they are encouraged to check the laws of the states in which they plan to travel,\u201d says the statement posted on the website flylax.com last January after California legalized recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>So far, few if any other airports seem to have followed suit.<\/p>\n<p>San Diego International Airport has no policy on pot, said spokesman Jonathan Heller.<\/p>\n<p>In Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, it is still illegal to bring it into Denver International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>Airport spokeswoman Emily Williams says that\u2019s because possession is still a federal crime and air travel is governed by federal authorities.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, few have been caught carrying pot, she said, and for those who have the penalty was light if the amount was small.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s a small amount the TSA and the Denver Police Department will ask that person to dispose of it and if that person is willing to do that they move through,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Still the best advice to travelers, says Douglas Kidd, executive director of the National Association of Airline Passengers, is to leave your stash at home. You can always buy more when you get there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first thing the TSA is going to do is if they find something that is illegal for federal purposes is they\u2019re going to refer it to local law enforcement,\u201d Kidd said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow local law enforcement may say, \u2018We\u2019re not going to do anything.\u2019 But still, the delay could cause you to miss your flight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another thing travelers can consider bringing when a trip takes them through Los Angeles International Airport &#8212; marijuana. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6811,7827,6813,77,5667,9,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6816,7828,6818,2655,5673,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8455\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}