Transporting marijuana in the United States has become very complicated. Part of the reason for this is that there are now a patchwork of cannabis laws across the country. Some states prohibit the use for any reason, other states allow the use of medical marijuana, and about half of the states – including Maryland – allow recreational use. The laws used to be uniform and they simply banned marijuana everywhere, but that has dramatically changed.
One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is that you still can’t bring marijuana across state lines. This is true if you’re driving across the United States, for example, or if you’re flying through domestic airports. It’s even true if you’re driving out of one state that allows for legal marijuana use into another state that also has the same laws. Crossing that border could cause problems and legal complications.
Federal marijuana laws
The big issue here is that federal law still bans the use of recreational marijuana. States are allowed to set up their own laws, which Maryland and others have done, but that doesn’t change the way that the federal government views these controlled substances.
That becomes important because federal law takes jurisdiction when criminal activity crosses state lines. So you could be accused of transporting marijuana illegally, for example, just because you were driving into another state. This is still true even if you legally purchased that marijuana at an authorized dispensary in Maryland.
It’s important for people to understand how this works because they could make an honest mistake or forget that they have marijuana products in their bag, but they could still find themselves facing very serious charges. Those in this position need to know about all of their defense options.