Traveling with CBD and the TSA’s Guidelines

June 7, 2019

What’s Happening?

Back in April, you may have heard about the woman arrested at Disney World for carrying CBD oil in her purse.

Florida’s medical marijuana law mandates that patients using CBD oil with over 0.3% THC must register in the state’s medical marijuana registry, despite CBD being federally legal. Officials tested the oil and found traces of marijuana, leading to her arrest. Despite experts frequently noting the inaccuracy of such testing kits, she spent 12 hours in jail and faced charges of hashish possession. She has since been released and is suing for illegal detention.

What Does It Mean?

You have to be asking yourself, am I at risk? It is important to protect yourself. If the product you’re carrying with you contain less than 0.3% THC and contains CBD derived from hemp plants, then it is perfectly legal to carry it in any state.” It is also important to make sure that you have documentation on you when traveling that verifies your CBD is from a hemp plant, rather than marijuana, and has less than .3% THC. We always recommend that you are able to access lab test results for any products taken. In most cases, you can now find those in a QR code right on the bottle. If not, they can be found on the manufacturer’s websites or by contacting the company that you purchased them from. At Green Wellness Life, we have all of our product lab test results available upon request.

Are There New Regulations?

As with most things, there are new regulations and there are some things that have not changed. As per the TSA’s website, “Possession of marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products, including marijuana-based cannabidiol (CBD) oil, remain illegal under federal law. TSA officers must report suspected law violations, including possession of marijuana and cannabis-infused products. Hemp-derived CBD products, legal under federal law if produced within regulations set by the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018, are approved by TSA. Screening procedures prioritize security to detect aviation threats. While TSA security officers do not actively search for illegal drugs like marijuana, any discovery prompts referral to law enforcement.

Let’s Unpack That.

That’s a lot of info to take in. Let’s look at it closely. The statement, “violations of law, including possession of marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products,” refers to those marijuana-based CBD products I mentioned in my last blog with too high a THC content. The TSA website later mentions “ legal… within the regulations defined by the law under the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018.” What this is saying is that CBD that is in-line with the Federal 2018 Farm Bill is fully legal to travel with. Also, keep in mind that TSA, while not searching for CBD or marijuana, will inspect and possibly alert law enforcement if they find anything derived from cannabis and deem it an illegal substance.

What Can I Travel With?

At the time of this writing, only FDA-approved hemp-derived products, such as Epidiolex, an anti-seizure drug, are safe for travel. Most CBD products, lacking FDA regulation, do not fall into this category. So what about those products that do not fall into the category of FDA regulated? It is best to travel with the product labels and details so that you can prove their CBD and THC content. Here is a copy from the TSA website regarding their policy. This document along with the product labels and/or lab results should clarify what you are carrying and that it is a legal product.

My Advice:

If you’re traveling with CBD this summer, make sure that it’s clearly labeled and that you have the test detail to back it up. While it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have any issues, knowing the law and having documentation is always a best practice. Like your mom always says – better safe than sorry!

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