As states continue to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis use, it can be difficult to know what locations welcome the use of edibles and other marijuana goodies. Whether you’re hanging around in your town or on the go at the airport, it’s never fun to worry about what happens if you get caught with edibles. Keep reading to find out why it’s always best to play it safe and know your state’s limits when carrying edibles with you.
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Can You Go to Jail For Edibles?
The legal punishment for getting caught with edibles always depends on the state you live in. In states where cannabis is legal, you can not go to jail for edibles unless you have intent to commercially sell them or are caught carrying bulk amounts.
On the other hand, in states and countries without legal cannabis, carrying edibles on you always comes with the chance of legal consequences. These can include both fines and/or jail time. Because the laws vary from state to state, the best way to avoid being caught is to simply leave the weed edibles at home, or hide them as well as you can. Unfortunately, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, especially if you don’t know whether your local law enforcement regularly enforces cannabis bans.
What Happens If You Get Caught With Edibles at TSA?
The use of marijuana is illegal by federal law, and the TSA in airports are federal employees working to enforce the law. However, most TSA agents don’t spend a lot of time looking for a little bit of weed in your bag when traveling on a domestic flight. Usually, TSA agents will gloss over anything that looks like a few edibles, especially because it’s hard to tell the difference between medicated and regular candy. Still, one thing’s for sure – you definitely won’t get caught with edibles on the plane if you don’t bring them with you in the first place. Any individual officer can choose whether or not they will report you if they do find cannabis goods on your person. The short answer is that it’s best to avoid traveling with edibles and leave them at home before a flight.
Are Edibles Illegal?
In many states where cannabis is legal, you can legally carry several servings of edibles with you while on the go. As long as you are over 21 years old or have a medical marijuana license, you’re not breaking the law. According to Section 11357 of the California Health and Safety Code, adults and medical marijuana patients in California can legally carry up to 28.5 grams of cannabis or 8 grams of concentrate on them at any time before facing repercussions. Therefore, you should be fine traveling within those limits whenever you’re within California or other legalized states like Colorado, New York, and Oregon. You don’t need to worry about keeping a few infused snacks with you, as long as you’re not carrying pounds and pounds of them.
Edibles in National Parks
The only exception to this is if you are on federal land, say a national park like Yellowstone or Glacier. If you’re caught with weed in any form in a national park you will likely get a cannabis charge, probation and have to pay a fine. That said, as beautiful as it may be, you’re better off playing it safe and waiting until you get back home. In any case, it’s important to know your rights especially if an officer requests to search your car. You have the right to say “no” and request a warrant.
Can You Get In Trouble For Having Edibles?
In states with legal weed, people sometimes do get in trouble when caught with only a little bit more cannabis than the legal limit. These instances are rare, though, as the consumption of edibles in medium to large amounts has become so widespread now. More often, the legal system criminalizes cannabis by targeting instances of illegal distribution and unlicensed possession of very large amounts of weed.
Legalization across states removes the worry of getting caught with edibles. What’s better, legalization allows patients with medical ID’s to travel with even more than an ounce of flower or 8 ounces of concentrate at any time. This varies from patient to patient based on the type of license they hold. Hopefully, federal or widespread state legalization of cannabis can help make possession just as worry free for everyone in the US, so that we can all enjoy edibles on the go.
Avoid Getting Caught With Edibles
It can be tempting to pack edibles in your bag before heading to the airport. However, at the very least your goodies may be confiscated and thrown away, and at most you can face legal consequences. While traveling within states where cannabis use is legal, though, you won’t be breaking any laws if you’re caught with edibles on the go. As long as weed is legal in your state, you can easily bring your weed with you to any adventure.
