# Are there any laws prohibiting marijuana dispensaries at airports? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067 "2021-11-09T20:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/1 "2021-11-09T20:26:18Z")
My friend has a flight at 420 pm today and that sparked my curiosity. It seems like a good idea to me. I don’t remember seeing any marijuana at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, not that I was specifically looking for it after a long overseas flight. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/2 "2021-11-09T20:38:03Z")
Contrary to a widespread perception, recreational use of cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands; it is merely tolerated, i.e., authorities won’t enforce the prohibition as long as the possession or retail sale of it remains within reasonable limits. But selling it at an airport would probably go so far that they would intervene. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/3 "2021-11-09T20:45:11Z")
Cannabis is legal in Canada, but since you can’t smoke in airports, or on the tarmac, or on the plane, I doubt you could get a licence for a pot shop, especially since there can be international flights leaving for countries where it’s still illegal, eg the US. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/4 "2021-11-09T20:51:04Z")
Aren’t airports considered to be federal property? [This article seems to think so](https://www.4grewallaw.com/blog/2020/august/cannabis-and-airports-what-s-the-deal-/), and therefore selling weed at the airport would fall under the same idiotic stricture as crossing state lines–you could buy an ounce of weed in Washington, drive down through Oregon to California then over to Nevada and you’d be perfectly legal EXCEPT for each microsecond when your car crossed the state lines. So weird. Also dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/5 "2021-11-09T20:52:11Z")
For some reason, this thread has me picturing a stoned Lloyd Bridges floating upside down… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/6 "2021-11-09T20:52:52Z")
Illegal to carry in most US airports. [![](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2727fa2716b3897bfffe1f70a59e07bb4661bd6d/c=21-154-482-769&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/2015/07/21/USATODAY/USATODAY/635730747314593624-Pot-sign-at-PDX.jpg) ](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2727fa2716b3897bfffe1f70a59e07bb4661bd6d/c=21-154-482-769&r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/2015/07/21/USATODAY/USATODAY/635730747314593624-Pot-sign-at-PDX.jpg) If your friend has an intra-Oregon flight, though, I suppose they could take the TSA risk: > **[Oregon's Portland International Airport Allows In-State Travelers To Carry...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/portland-international-airport-marijuana_n_55a40a18e4b0a47ac15d05ef)** > > New pot policy allows carry-on weed for high-flying Oregonians. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/7 "2021-11-09T21:23:32Z")
Even without the sign I’d recognize the PDX carpet lol. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/8 "2021-11-09T22:54:31Z")
I’ve got the “old carpet” socks. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/9 "2021-11-09T22:57:45Z")
Noice! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/10 "2021-11-10T13:13:09Z")
I talked with a TSA guy the last time I flew (pre-pandemic) and he told me, off the record, that cannabis for personal use, carried discretely, is not a priority for them. _However_, batteries used with cartridges are a huge concern. I’ve flown with carts in my carry on, but I buy an eight dollar battery at my destination. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/11 "2021-11-10T14:46:13Z")
I recently had a layover in Denver and thought, if not a dispensary in the airport, at least a smoking lounge (ie, a weed bar, not a package store) would be nice. On the way home I through Chicago I saw they had installed “amnesty boxes” to throw your weed away. But they were inside the TSA checkpoint, meaning you had already passed the risky part - why ditch your stash then? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/12 "2021-11-10T16:42:14Z")
All the above posts seem to refer specifically to _smoking_. What about edibles? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/13 "2021-11-10T18:09:39Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > ren’t airports considered to be federal property? [This article seems to think so](https://www.4grewallaw.com/blog/2020/august/cannabis-and-airports-what-s-the-deal-/), and therefore selling weed at the airport would fall under the same idiotic stricture as crossing state lines–you could buy an ounce of weed in Washington, drive down through Oregon to California then over to Nevada and you’d be perfectly legal EXCEPT for each microsecond when your car crossed the state lines. So weird. Also dumb. This isn’t really true. Any time you are possession of pot, you are violating federal law. They may choose not to enforce the law, but it is still there. I suppose what you say may be true for state law that legalizes possession (as far ad the state is concerned) but outlaws export to another state. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/14 "2021-11-10T18:19:46Z")
Well, practically speaking, where is it likely that someone driving through the Left Coast states is likely to interact with any law enforcement on the federal level? I mean, Oregon has already told the DEA it will not lend any state cooperation in any cannabis related busts, that’s been the case for years. And WA, OR, CA and NV are _all_ fully recreationally legal states where an ounce of weed is at or well below the maximum allowed to be in possession at a time. So for all practical purposes my statement stands–the states in question have agreed that cannabis in personal use amounts are completely legal and the only time someone here gets into violation is when crossing a state line, where the interstate commerce rules kick into effect. And practically speaking, where exactly do you think in a legal recreational state it would be possible to empanel a jury who’d convict someone of possession of state legal amounts of cannabis? Jury nullification is a thing and no federal agency wants to risk having federal law overturned by trying to prosecute a bunch of weed busts in legal states and having every one of them nullified on the basis that the federal Schedule I status of a fucking plant is stupid. That could likely go all the way to SCOTUS and even with the current bunch on the bench I bet the federal scheduling would go down in flames. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/15 "2021-11-10T18:57:03Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > But they were inside the TSA checkpoint, meaning you had already passed the risky part - why ditch your stash then? Because you likely commit a trafficking crime by taking it across state lines if you take it on your flight? So anyone who wants to not commit that crime could avoid it by ditching the pot while still in that state. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/16 "2021-11-10T19:16:45Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Because you likely commit a trafficking crime by taking it across state lines if you take it on your flight? So anyone who wants to not commit that crime could avoid it by ditching the pot while still in that state Five-ish years ago my nephew was flying from Denver to Pittsburgh to visit us for xmas. He had lots of weed in his carryon, which he purchased at a recreational dispensary in Denver to give out as gifts. Going through security the TSA dude noticed the cannabis and told my nephew he would permit him to throw it out. My very naive nephew argued about the offer. He insisted it was legal, etc. and couldn’t believe TSA wouldn’t allow him to keep it. Luckily, the majority of his marijuana was in a checked bag that never got caught. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/17 "2021-11-10T19:22:25Z")
Who wants to pay airport prices for weed? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/18 "2021-11-10T20:21:30Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Aren’t airports considered to be federal property? Nope! And I wouldn’t hire a law firm that didn’t understand how the US’s dual-sovereignty system works. Consider it this way: are you allowed to distill moonshine, make automatic weapons and shoot migratory birds if you are **not** on Federal property? But consider that they (at least the large international airports) have both state and Federal LEO’s on the property, that means you can get popped for violating Federal and/or State law at one go. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/19 "2021-11-10T20:36:07Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Who wants to pay airport prices for weed? 😀 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067/20 "2021-11-10T20:53:07Z")
I’d bet a million dollars I don’t have that if you replaced weed with alcohol at airport lounges and in flight, you’d have a lot less angry passenger/flight attendant confrontations. Just a hunch. A lot more interest in the in-flight meals though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-laws-prohibiting-marijuana-dispensaries-at-airports/954067.md?page=2)