Another article a little old but still very much valid.. and reiterates my point about federal skys and landing with your pot..
Answered: Is marijuana allowed in Sea-Tac Airport?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Sure, but where in hell are you going to go with it?
Basically, since Sea-Tac is owned and run by the Port of Seattle and not federal property, Washington’s marijuana laws under I-502 apply there. So, it’s legal for adults 21 and over to have up to an ounce on their person. And all the other rules apply, too: No displaying or using in public, no selling or handing out, etc., said Perry Cooper, a spokesman with the Port of Seattle for Sea-Tac Airport.
The situation is different in Colorado, where several airports have banned marijuana, because the law there, established under Amendment 64, allows local jurisdictions to ban it. As the
Denver Post writes: The law specifically allows any entity “who occupies, owns or controls a property” to set its own marijuana rules at that property.
Airports around Denver have set up “amnesty boxes” for people to drop their baggies. The airports didn’t want marijuana filling up their open garbage cans.
What about those pesky TSA dudes?
Cooper explained that while the men and women of the Transportation Security Administration are federal employees, they have no law enforcement authority and can only report problems to Port of Seattle police.
“If they want to report something at a checkpoint, they give us a call and we check out the situation,” he said. If Port officers “determine a violation of law, they can make an arrest or confiscate items, but in each situation the officer has the discretion to make an arrest based on totality of circumstances.”
That “totality” involves, say, violent outbursts or large amounts of cash or more than an ounce of pot … you know, extenuating circumstances that would make the marijuana itself pretty much a moot point.
And here’s the TSA’s stance on the deal, as emailed to us by a TSA spokesperson:
TSA’s focus is on terrorism and security threats to the aircraft and its passengers.
TSA’s screening procedures, which are governed by federal law, are focused on security and are designed to detect potential threats to aviation and passengers. As has always been the case, if during the security screening procedures an officer discovers an item that may violate the law, TSA refers the matter to law enforcement. Law enforcement officials will determine whether to initiate a criminal investigation.
Since simple possession is not a crime in Washington, the Port’s police cannot request that you be charged with it. And that would go for any other public transportation facility owned by a Washington city, county or the state itself.
But don’t go onto federal lands with it, such as Mount Rainier National Park, because park rangers can throw the federal book at you.
But would you want to fly out with it?
Cooper reminds people that just because you could get on a plane in Seattle with marijuana in your pocket, you have to get off somewhere. If you land pretty much anywhere outside of Washington (remember, marijuana is forbidden in Colorado airports), you run the risk of arrest, just like in the old days here.
What about getting on an Amtrak train?
“Despite the new state laws in both Colorado and Washington, marijuana use and possession, including medical marijuana, is still and will remain, prohibited for Amtrak passengers and employees,” said Vernae Graham with Amtrak Corporate Communications.
So that’s that.
