FLYING HIGH: LAX will allow passengers to bring their weed

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Friday, September 28, 2018
LAX will allow passengers to carry pot
Passengers flying out of Los Angeles International Airport can now bring their marijuana with them.

LOS ANGELES -- Passengers flying out of Los Angeles International Airport can now bring their marijuana with them.

The policy is tied to Proposition 64, which legalized pot in California.

As a result, LAX is changing its policy to allow travelers 21 or older to carry weed.

There are limits: a maximum of 28.5 grams (about an ounce) of standard marijuana and 8 grams of the condensed variety.

One big warning: If you're flying out of state or out of the country, that pot may well be illegal at your destination.

Also, police note possession is still a federal crime and federal TSA agents may take action.

TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said Thursday that agents won't take it away but will summon the police and let them deal with it.

"TSA's focus is on terrorism and security threats to the aircraft and its passengers," Dankers said in an email.

"Whether or not the passenger is allowed to travel with marijuana is up to law enforcement's discretion," she added.

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.

"Because there is no crime," said airport Officer Alicia Hernandez.

So far, few if any other airports seem to have followed suit.

San Diego International Airport has no policy on pot, said spokesman Jonathan Heller.

In Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, it is still illegal to bring it into Denver International Airport.

Airport spokeswoman Emily Williams says that's because possession is still a federal crime and air travel is governed by federal authorities.

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.

"If it's 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," she said.

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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.