Now that in the United States, the gavel has struck and CBD is now considered to be a legal substance, many amongst us are asking the same question when it comes to CBD: is it safe to fly with CBD? can we travel with CBD?
The answer to these questions is ‘yes’, but there are some caveats that you need to keep your mind on. The last thing you need is to be whisked away by customs.
Under the current laws, any of the CBD products that you are traveling with must be derived from hemp and hemp alone. It is still considered illegal to travel around the country with CBD derived from marijuana. The reason is that marijuana-derived CBD contains THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the active ingredient present in cannabis products that cause the users to feel intoxication and the feeling of being ‘high’.
There is a clear line of distinction between the two types of CBD, and from this alone, you know what you need to have on your person the next time you have your boarding pass in hand…
Traveling With CBD
Unlike in the case of marijuana, you are not going to get in trouble for carrying around hemp-derived CBD products in your bag. This comes down to the key distinctions in legality.
Marijuana and marijuana-derived products are considered legal in only a few states such as California. As such, you cannot travel with a THC-based product from a state that considers it legal, to another state where it is banned. Try flying from California to Philadelphia with THC-based substance on you and you are sure to make a trip to the precinct.
Hemp-derived CBD products are federally legalized. The distinction means that you are free to travel among state lines in federal airways—the same way how you are allowed to ship them from state to state.
Flying with CBD
In May 2018, after the passage of the updated Farm Bill, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) changed their strict guidelines when it comes to traveling with cannabis-related products so as to accommodate the now legal CBD. The TSA website reads:
“Products/medications that contain hemp-derived CBD or are approved by the FDA are legal as long as it is produced within the regulations defined by the law under the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018”
However, when it comes to flying with CBD and TSA, there is a grey area here— how do TSA agents tell the difference between hemp and marijuana-derived CBD? This is why you must have the original packaging as a means of evidence on your side, in times when the legality of the product is in question.