Denver International Airport Bans Marijuana Possession on Property

Don’t get caught with bud at DIA

As first reported Monday on the Denver Post, Denver International Airport has announced that they are the first city-owned area that has banned the possession of marijuana on its property. This announcement came just two days before New Year’s Day, when Colorado became the first state in the nation to legally sell cannabis in a retail, non-medical environment.

With the passage of Amendment 64 last year, anyone over 21 can posses an ounce of marijuana (or less) without facing a criminal charge; while this does not allow for smoking in public and continues restrictions on stores displaying marijuana products, the legal sale to tourists is certainly going to open a gigantic can of worms for law enforcement that don’t want any cannabis crossing the Colorado border.

Since it’s literally impossible to stop everyone leaving the state, this is an obvious move that sends a message loud and clear: don’t take weed out-of-state. What’s most interesting to me about this announcement, is the subtle distinction between banning possession and actually saying that it’s illegal; because possession of under an ounce cannot technically be punished by law enforcement anymore, this was really the city’s only option for making sure that people don’t fly out with the weed they legally purchase in the state.

Since Amendment 64’s passage, it’s been a fairly open secret that TSA at DIA will let you fly with a reasonable amount of weed. Many friends of mine have gotten through with an ounce or two in the past several months with no problems at all. This announcement certainly puts a damper on that, but it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. The TSA announced in October that they are considering relaxing their response towards people trying to travel with their medical marijuana.

If TSA does find weed in your bag at DIA, they won’t arrest you and take you federal prison, but they will most likely do what they would in any other situation… either tell you to throw it out right there, or just tell you to leave airport property (which, if you’re trying to catch your flight, will only really leave with you option one.)

So things are sort of back to the way they were before 64 when it comes to flying out of Denver, but really all that means is that those wishing to take herb on their vacation should continue doing what they’ve always done: be careful, clever, and don’t get caught!