According to Russian authorities, WNBA star Brittney Griner was found with a marijuana electronic pod in her carry-on luggage at a Moscow airport in February of this year. As a result, she has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
The two-time Olympic basketball champion and member of the US national team was arrested after being found in possession of a container of cannabis derivative oil.
Before announcing the verdict, Griner told the court that she inadvertently brought an electronic cigarette pod containing cannabis oil with her when she flew to Moscow to play basketball in Yekaterinburg in February.
The legality of possessing marijuana products varies by state and jurisdiction, which may impact the experiences of individuals traveling with such products.
In the United States, marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Although cannabis is legal for adults in some states in the United States, it is still illegal according to federal law. It is not recommended to transport it across borders.
THC is the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana, while CBD is a non-psychoactive component of cannabis that is typically sold in other products such as lotions and supplements.
Certain cannabis-infused products, including CBD oil, are considered illegal at the federal level if they contain more than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by dry weight.
It is currently unclear whether the ammunition canister carried by Griner, as mentioned by Russian officials, contains either one or both of CBD or THC.
In January 2021, the organization reported that the US Food and Drug Administration has only approved one cannabis-derived product, Epidiolex, which contains purified CBD, as well as three synthetic cannabis-related drug products: Marinol (dronabinol), Syndros (dronabinol), and Cesamet (nabilone). These can only be obtained with a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider.
TSA Does Not Search for Drugs
Officials from the Transport Safety Management Bureau are required to report suspected illegal activities to local, state, or federal authorities, but they will not conduct searches for illegal drugs during screenings.
According to the website, TSA security personnel do not search for marijuana or other illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance is found during the security screening process, the TSA will report it to law enforcement officials.
The TSA has stated that their dogs cannot detect marijuana. However, in an Instagram post, they reiterated that in the screening process, if a substance or product infused with marijuana is found, even for medical use, law enforcement will be notified.
Carrying marijuana products while traveling abroad.
There are no specific guidelines for traveling internationally with cannabis products, but if a certain product is illegal in a particular country or region, carrying it while traveling could have consequences.
For instance, while marijuana is legal for adults in Canada, the government's tourism website states that transporting these products across the Canadian border, regardless of the amount of medical authorization, is illegal.
According to the website, this applies even if the person is traveling to and from a place where marijuana is decriminalized. The consequences of traveling with cannabis products may include being denied entry into a particular country or region.
According to the Canadian government website, "if you have used cannabis or any substance prohibited by local law in the past, you may be denied entry to your destination country." "You may also be refused entry to other countries in the future.
In recent years, Russia has arrested two women for similar reasons.
In Russia, cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes is illegal.
In April 2019, an Israeli-American woman was arrested at Moscow airport while traveling from India to Israel and found with 9 grams of cannabis in her luggage, according to BBC News.
A 26-year-old woman, Naama Issachar, was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for drug trafficking. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned her in January 2020 before the visit of then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Moscow.
According to a report by The Moscow Times in September 2019, a film student from New York was charged with possession of drugs in St. Petersburg for allegedly bringing medical marijuana into the country.
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