The short answer
There is no national rule for cannabis at airports. TSA screens passengers under federal authority. Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812. A flight crosses federal jurisdiction. State legalization does not cover the flight.
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TSA states that its officers do not search for marijuana or other drugs. If an officer finds a substance during screening, the officer refers the matter to local law enforcement. The local agency decides the outcome.
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Two sets of rules
Rule one covers the checkpoint. That is federal.
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Rule two covers the airport property. That depends on who owns the land and what the airport authority posted.
Some airports sit on federal land. Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National sit on land owned by the federal government and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority under a lease. Virginia law permits adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce. That state allowance does not govern federal property.
Airports with posted bans
Denver International Airport bans marijuana on the property, and signs at DEN state the ban. Colorado law allows adults 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces.
Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas installed amnesty boxes. Travelers drop cannabis into the boxes before the security checkpoint. Clark County runs the airport. Nevada law allows 1 ounce.
Los Angeles International Airport has taken a different position. Los Angeles World Airports has said passengers 21 and older may carry up to 28.5 grams on the property, which matches the California limit. That policy does not change federal law on the aircraft.
Public possession limits in adult-use states
- Alaska: 1 ounce
- Arizona: 1 ounce
- California: 28.5 grams
- Colorado: 2 ounces
- Connecticut: 1.5 ounces
- Delaware: 1 ounce
- Illinois: 30 grams
- Maine: 2.5 ounces
- Maryland: 1.5 ounces
- Massachusetts: 1 ounce
- Michigan: 2.5 ounces
- Minnesota: 2 ounces
- Missouri: 3 ounces
- Montana: 1 ounce
- Nevada: 1 ounce
- New Jersey: 1 ounce
- New Mexico: 2 ounces
- New York: 3 ounces
- Ohio: 2.5 ounces
- Oregon: 1 ounce in public
- Rhode Island: 1 ounce
- Vermont: 1 ounce
- Virginia: 1 ounce
- Washington: 1 ounce
- District of Columbia: 2 ounces
Medical programs without adult-use sales
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia run medical programs. Rules on flower, THC content, and card recognition differ in each state. A state medical card from another state may not apply.
States with no high-THC program
Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming do not run a medical or adult-use program. Nebraska voters approved a medical measure in 2024, and rules were pending. Tennessee allows cannabidiol with strict THC limits.
Programs change. Confirm the state law before travel.
CBD and hemp
TSA allows CBD products on flights if the product is FDA-approved or contains no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis. The 2018 Farm Bill set that threshold for hemp. Hemp is not marijuana under federal law.
If an officer finds cannabis
TSA calls local police. Outcomes include a warning, a citation, confiscation, or an arrest. The result depends on the state, the county, the amount, and the agency.
Checked bags go through the same referral process. TSA screens checked bags by X-ray and can open them. A bag tag does not shield contents.
Crossing state lines
A flight from one legal state to another legal state is still a federal matter. Transport between states falls under federal law. Customs and Border Protection applies federal law at international terminals and at preclearance sites abroad.
What is not settled
Airport policies change without notice. Some airport authorities do not publish a rule. A terminal building may sit on city land while runways sit on federal land. Ask the airport authority for the property rule, and ask TSA about the checkpoint.