Cannabis Laws Do Not Apply to Flights Outside of Legal States
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]ith more than 24 flights being performed every day, international airports such as Los Angeles International airport (LAX) were swamped with passengers flying into Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) this Thanksgiving weekend. But many passengers were soon reminded that federal rules are dramatically different in Illinois than they are in the Golden State.
LAX posted a policy on their website earlier this year, stating that passengers are allowed to travel through the airport and on to their destinations with as much as “28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana.”
This policy essentially becomes invalid once passengers travel to states where recreational cannabis is not yet legal. Hence, California’s policy nullifies as soon as passengers depart from California and land in states such as Illinois, where recreational cannabis is still illegal. Some passengers returning to California during the holiday weekend said that these varying rules and discrepancies over different states are confusing and that something needs to change.
Matt Sutton, one of the many passengers flying from California to Illinois, expressed his exasperation over this disparity. “I don’t know how they are going to deal with the issue,” he told CBS Chicago. He also stated that he doesn’t see a clear solution to the issue. “I’ve got my own personal opinions on what I think, but until the states decide on what they want to do along with federal law, there’s going to be tricky situations all the time.”
Last year, Chicago Police Department (CPD) handled approximately 36 narcotics cases at ORD and 23 at MDW. Four passengers were arrested for carrying more than 30 grams of cannabis and one passenger was arrested for carrying less than 30 grams. Twenty-five passengers were arrested so far in 2018 at ORD and MDW for allegedly carrying controlled substances.
