Oct 20, 2009
Alameda County, California, oakland, Oakland International Airport, Robert Raich
Over the weekend, the Oakland Tribune reported that law enforcement officers at Oakland International Airport follow an official written policy of respecting California's medical marijuana laws. Qualified medical marijuana patients traveling out of Oakland are not arrested or cited for possession of eight ounces or less of processed marijuana. In fact, patients are allowed to board their plane with their marijuana just as they could with any other legal medicine or prescription drug.
The policy was enacted after an intensive local lobbying campaign by Robert Raich, one of California's preeminent attorneys specializing in medical marijuana law. Although the federal government continues to criminalize medical marijuana, Raich points out that federal regulations restricting marijuana possession aboard an aircraft provide an exception if it is "authorized by or under any Federal or State statute."
Airport security screenings are conducted by the federal Transportation Security Administration, but passengers in possession of marijuana and other drugs are deferred to the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, which applies the favorable policy.
Hopefully all the airports in California -- and 12 other medical marijuana states -- will follow Oakland's lead so that even more patients will be able to travel without fear of persecution.