
The Legal Gray Zone of Marijuana at Airports - chmaynard
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-baffling-legal-gray-zone-of-marijuana-at-the-airport-11567589405?mod=rsswn
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vonseel
I wish they would just go ahead and legalize recreational use nationwide.

As someone who binge drank _a lot_ from ~16yo to 22yo, I can't imagine what
kind of lunacy causes someone to think alcohol is safer or more acceptable
than marijuana use. Maybe the people behind propaganda didn't like how
marijuana can make people less social and more eccentric, but since drinking
alcohol is seen as a way of socializing and camaraderie, it's acceptable?

The older I get the less I like alcohol. _Hangovers_ suck. I was (un)lucky
enough to have a bad lifetime case of acid reflux/GERD which is exacerbated by
alcohol, so between that and not liking the hangovers, I generally can't
imagine being an alcoholic. But alcohol ruins a lot of lives. I don't know how
many lives marijuana ruins, except maybe out of laziness or lack of
motivation.

~~~
cr0sh
> I was (un)lucky enough to have a bad lifetime case of acid reflux/GERD

Have you seen your physician about this and/or do you have it under control?

If not - try this. I am not a doctor, so this is just friendly advice, but it
worked for me. Where it came from is my wife had a friend who had basically
the same issue, and she was a hypochodriac to boot - her doctor basically
recommended the same thing, though. So - when my GERD became bad, my wife had
me try this - and so far, it has worked great. No more waking up in the middle
of the night choking and thinking you're having a heart attack, or at worst
unable to breath because you aspirated acid into your throat and/or lungs...

When you wake up - before you eat, take one each of:

20mg Esomeprazole (1 tablet) - acid controller 20mg Famotidine (1 tablet) -
acid controller 150mg Ranitidine (1 tablet) - ulcer preventative

Do the same in the evening, before you eat dinner. Also, eat dinner earlier
(5-6pm - I was in the habit of eating closer to bedtime, which made things
worse).

You're also supposed to avoid drinking alcohol with these - I've never had a
problem having an occasional beer or alcoholic beverage long after I took
them, but ymmv (and I know you said you don't drink anymore - but I'm relating
this in case others want to try it out). If in doubt, don't drink anything
alcoholic.

These amounts may seem large, but they are (supposedly) no where near the
limits of what a doctor can prescribe (it's like ibuprofen - OTC is 200mg
tablets, but prescription levels are upwards of 2400mg max per day, depending
on your weight - and you also have to have blood work done at that level,
too). I currently take two of each pill, mainly because I prefer my diet as-is
(I'm a stubborn fella).

If that still seems like too much - then just do the same regimen of the first
two pills, twice a day. That's what I did for a few years, then my symptoms
started to return. My wife suggested adding the third, I did - and things got
better.

But you might find yourself needing a higher dose after a few years, which is
why I take two of each. As I note below, I started with the first two, then
doubled up, then added the third. That's been working for me.

Note that this won't make things perfect. You can change your diet to help, of
course, the frequency you eat, your portions, etc - all of that helps too.
Also, drink a lot of water vs other liquids - that's a big help overall. But I
can tell you that it should help you to sleep better at night, and make you
feel better overall.

Finally - if you notice anything weird while on this regimen, then see your
doctor. Really, all you need to do is check the whites of your eyes - if
things start tinging yellow, then your liver and kidneys are being stressed
hard, and you'll want to back off and drink a ton of water of course (and
maybe see your doctor too). If you're in decent health otherwise with no major
issues, your body can take a lot before you keel over (I mean, seriously -
look at how much drug abusers put their bodies thru - the body is actually
insanely resilient).

Now - I'm probably going to be chastised for being facile about this advice
and such - so again, this is only offered knowing what it's like having
extreme GERD and not wanting others to be in the same pain. So again - if you
are at all unsure about this advice, talk to your doctor about it if you
aren't already under the care of a physician.

But the truth is, they're going to tell you the same thing:

1\. Eat less, exercise more

2\. Stay away from spicy and fatty foods

3\. Stop smoking

4\. No caffeine

5\. Lose weight

6\. Take one or more pills I've already mentioned

That's the absolute truth - other than #6, it's like their mantra or
something. I'm not saying it's bad advice - I'm just saying it should be
"common sense" advice. It's also, imho, advice that takes some of the fun out
of livin' \- so take it all in moderation, too. None of us are getting out of
this alive. Might as well have some fun before the end.

~~~
mttyng
With respect to your daily medications, did your physician sign-off on this
for _that_ duration (a few years)? From what I’ve heard these medications were
not supposed to be taken for longer than a few weeks at a time.

I’m asking out of curiosity and as a near-chronic sufferer of reflux. It seems
that anything other than room temperature water gives me indigestion.

~~~
vonseel
My doctors have told me it’s fine to take the PPI as long as you need; I’m not
sure about the others.

There is evidence of negative effects but I guess it’s a choice between
heartburn symptoms or risk of those..

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advertising
A person I know routinely flies with ~1 lbs of marijuana in his checked
luggage as well as edibles and vape products, all just for personal use. He
flies internationally to and from the States and no one ever says anything to
him. Even flying into other countries where there’s no rec marijuana. It’s
insane.

~~~
siruncledrew
1 lbs for personal use?? How long is this person traveling for, because even
an everyday smoker would have a hard time using a whole pound of weed in
addition to vapes and edibles on a trip. That’s 454 grams of weed, they would
need to be getting high like 24/7.

~~~
MisterTea
I know some serious smokers who will burn an ounce in three days. I don't know
how or why they'd want to smoke that much weed but they do. And I smoke every
day, though not heavily. Just a few bowls after work.

~~~
edaemon
Even at that rate it would take 48 days to consume a pound.

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gadders
Slightly Offtopic:

There was a section on a British news program this morning (Today on Radio 4)
that said that UK subjects that invest in US Cannabis companies (even ones
that are legal in their states) could be prosecuted in the UK under the
Proceeds of Crime act. This applies even if the companies were held in a fund.

I think there are lots of grey areas when it comes to legal Marijuana.

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BurningFrog
My friend who runs a bomb sniffing dog for the TSA ("We don't find a lot of
bombs, no") says that it's _always_ illegal to bring pot on a flight.

Even if the flight is between two cities where pot is 100% legal, it can
always be diverted, and you might end up landing in Kansas City.

~~~
cbm-vic-20
If a flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco (both in legal California, over
one hundred miles from any land that is not California) is diverted to Kansas
City, we've got bigger problems than someone carrying a few joints in their
luggage.

~~~
bdamm
The aircraft could end up landing at one of several Air Force bases along the
way, where it definitely is illegal. But I cannot imagine the legal process
whereby someone is actually charged for possession because their flight had an
emergency landing still within the state of California. The court would have
to be a military court, and I don't know the process by which a civilian would
end up tried in a court that has jurisdiction over an AF base. The court
matters because the DA and prosecutor decide who to charge.

~~~
rascul
I don't believe civilians can be sent to a court martial in general (although
I could certainly be wrong). The few times I was aware that a civilian got in
trouble on post, the local police come pick up the civilian (if they need to
be held) and it's tried in a civilian court.

~~~
vwcx
_Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)_ was technically a US citizen being tried by a
military tribunal:
[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/507/](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/507/)

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vonseel
_But casinos prohibit all forms of marijuana, including vaping and edibles._

What do casinos have against edibles?

Do they also ban e-cig vaping?

This seems like an odd rule for places where people regularly do cocaine.

~~~
ativzzz
It says it right afterwards because they have federal gambling licenses, they
don't want federally illegal substances.

> regularly do cocaine.

Illegally doing drugs is different and has been done in Vegas for just about
forever, but they don't want federally illegal substances out in the open. I'm
sure they would confiscate your coke if they found it too.

~~~
Rebelgecko
>because they have federal gambling licenses, they don't want federally
illegal substances.

I wonder if that is true for Native American casinos

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Simulacra
I just put the vape oil cartridges in my luggage and check it. I think that is
the safest.

~~~
mises
That still sounds like a pretty big risk. If you're just away for a few days,
maybe it's easier to not take any. They can and do search checked bags, and
you may have gotten lucky.

~~~
v64
I've taken oil carts through in my carry on bag a handful of times and have
only been asked about them once. I replied that they were e-cigarette
cartridges and that was deemed fine. Visually, a THC and nicotine cart are
indistinguishable.

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reaperducer
It's not exactly a gray zone everywhere. I was at LAS last week, and there are
green trash bins at all the entrances so that people can dispose of their pot
before they enter the airport.

~~~
defterGoose
Sounds like a goldmine!

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malandrew
National Parks and National Forests are another place you cannot possess even
if that park/forest is in a state where it is legal. Park rangers are federal
police and the land falls under federal jurisdiction.

~~~
KingMachiavelli
True. And most rec. states (at least CO) still ban the use of cannabis in
their state parks but anyone in Boulder can tell you that there one of the few
'public' places you can easily consume cannabis even if it's technically
'more' illegal (federal vs local regulation).

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joncrane
While the article is interesting, I don't see anything "baffling" about it.
All the rules seem internally consistent to me.

~~~
dang
Ok, we've debaffled the title above.

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idlerig
The truth is that there is no gray zone. Marijuana, until otherwise classified
by the FDA, is illegal.

Many states have decriminalized it, meaning that they have effectively
nullified the federal regulations-- though not technically the legislation, as
none [that I'm aware of] exists.

Like immigration, the federal government chooses to enforce (under Trump) or
ignore (under Obama) sections of federal legislation and regulation as they
see fit.

I'd personally feel much more comfortable if everyone was subject to the same
laws, as selective enforcement can quickly lead to corruption where one group
is punished, while the other is ignored.

~~~
gnopgnip
The omnibus bill has effectively legallized medical marijuana in states where
it is legal at the federal level, by prohibiting interference with state
medical marijuana laws including a complete prohibition on prosecution. This
is federal legislation.

~~~
Karunamon
That's all well and good but can be changed on a whim at any time. There's a
pretty big difference between "legal" and "illegal, but we won't bother to
enforce it". The latter is regularly abused.

~~~
gnopgnip
It can be changed when the omnibus spending bill is renewed, by congress. Not
really at any time.

~~~
Karunamon
Which is on a regular schedule, and subject to all manner of political
gamesmanship on what is and isn't included in it. It's not as reliable as an
actual distinct law, in other words, and can't be treated as such.

