Can I Take A CBD Vape Pen On An Airplane? Yes, But Be Careful
CBD

Can I Take A CBD Vape Pen On An Airplane? Yes, But Be Careful

You can’t take THC vapes on a plane unless you’re flying between cities in a country where marijuana is completely legal. You can’t fly anywhere with marijuana or cannabis products in America or on international flights. And naturally, weed is illegal in Britain. Tobacco vapes are generally ok to fly with, with some minor restrictions.

But what about CBD?

CBD and CBD products are now legal in almost all Western nations, so it would seem OK to take a CBD vape pen with you when flying. That’s generally true, but there are pitfalls to avoid if you’re planning to carry a CBD vape onto an airplane.

  • All airlines prohibit packing vapes of any kind in checked luggage, not because of what they contain, but because the devices’ batteries are considered fire hazards at high altitudes.
  • Countries and US states where CBD is fully legal allow passengers to carry CBD vapes or put them into carry-on bags, but the vapes may not be legal to possess at your destination. (Your UK-legal CBD vape would be illegal when landing in Singapore, for example, as would a California-legal CBD vape when landing in South Dakota.)
  • Different jurisdictions have restrictions on how much THC cannabidiol can contain. A vape containing CBD with 0.3% THC would be illegal as soon as you land in London where the limit is 0.2%.
  • Carrying a CBD vape pen might be legal, but not all airport security agents (like the CAA in Britain or the TSA in America) understand that fact. To minimize issues, carry a small vape pen (with a small battery) and bring your clearly labelled bottle of CBD vape liquid with you. It’s best to keep the pen’s tank empty when you board, too.

Still worried about getting on a plane with a CBD vape? Read on.

CBD, THC, and Legalities

Since THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are regulated very differently in most countries, particularly the UK, let’s look at what they are and how they differ.

THC vs. CBD

Both substances are plant compounds called cannabinoids. They’re two of more than 100 cannabinoids found in cannabis and hemp plants, they’re the most important, and their chemical structures are extremely similar. Only the arrangement of their atoms is different. It’s a crucial difference, though, because it makes THC psychoactive and CBD non-intoxicating.

A major similarity between the two is that they each apparently provide many medical benefits. That’s why marijuana and other byproducts of cannabis — which contain bountiful amounts of THC — are legal for medical purposes in many nations and US states. (Cannabis only has low levels of CBD.)

Almost all of cannabidiol’s apparent benefits have only been shown in preliminary research, so it hasn’t been approved as a general medical treatment. CBD products are instead classified as supplements; the CBD they contain is extracted from hemp plants because those plants contain lots of cannabidiol and only small amounts of THC.

There’s another big difference between THC-rich cannabis and CBD products: their legal status.

The Legality of THC and CBD

Fewer than a dozen countries have legalised recreational use of cannabis, while about four dozen have some form of legal medical marijuana. In the UK, cannabis is only legal for medicinal purposes (and isn’t easy for patients to get); in the US, recreational use is legal in 24 states and medicinal use is legal in 38, although weed is technically illegal at the federal level.

The use of CBD products was legalised in virtually every Western nation in the late 2010s, but it remains illegal in most of the Middle East and Africa, and much of Asia and South and Central America. Notably, the countries that allow the use of CBD have different regulations that are important for travellers to understand.

When cannabidiol is extracted from hemp, it also contains low, non-intoxicating levels of THC. So, when nations enacted laws legalizing CBD, they focused on the amount of THC contained in CBD products — and the legal maximum varies by country. For example, it’s 0.2% in the UK and 0.3% in the US, but as high as 0.6% in Spain and as low as 0% in nations like Sweden.

Those limits are a big deal if you’re taking a CBD vape pen on an international flight. Read on.

Taking Vape Pens on Planes

Cannabis, tobacco, and CBD are very different substances, needless to say, but they can all be vaped, so we’ll start by talking about flying with vape pens.

You can take the devices on an airplane if they’re completely empty, although you can’t pack them in carry-on luggage because the batteries can catch fire at high altitudes. However, if the vapes aren’t empty, what’s in them makes a big difference.

Cannabis and Tobacco Vapes

Let’s get cannabis out of the way first. There are only a few situations in which you can take THC vape juice or any type of cannabis product on a plane; they all involve domestic flights in countries where recreational marijuana use is legal. That means it’s almost always illegal to carry a THC vape pen on planes.

It’s different for tobacco vapes. Generally speaking, you’re allowed to carry them on a plane or pack them in carry-on baggage, but it’s forbidden to pack vapes in checked baggage whether they’re full or empty. Some nations do ban vaping or place restrictions on nicotine content, though, so it’s smart to check the laws at your destination before taking an international flight.

CBD Vapes

Here’s where things get even more complicated.

As with tobacco vapes, you can take CBD vapes on the plane if they’re legal in the country (or state) where you’re boarding. (You know by now that you can’t pack them in checked baggage.) You’ll also need to check the laws and regulations where you’ll be landing, especially if you’re flying to Asia, Africa, or the Middle East, because CBD is illegal in many countries.

That’s not all you’ll have to check, either. Remember that the maximum allowable amount of THC in CBD products varies from nation to nation — which means that the legal vape that you take off with may wind up being an illegal vape where you arrive, even if CBD is legal in that country.

If you take your CBD vape with you on a flight from the UK to Japan, you could be facing a problem since Japan only allows the use of CBD if it contains no THC at all. And that’s just one example. THC limits widely from nation to nation, even within the EU.

There’s a way to deal with situations like these, and we’ll discuss it in our final section.

Avoiding Issues When Taking a CBD Vape on an Airplane

Just because something’s legal, you should be prepared for potential hiccups. Several can rear their heads when you’re flying with a CBD vape in your pocket, purse, or carry-on bag.

  1. You may know that it’s legal to bring your CBD vape on the plane, but the CAA, TSA, or government security agents in other nations may not believe it. Don’t draw extra attention by carrying large, ostentatious vapes with huge batteries (which agents may mistakenly believe are banned from the plane because of fire risks). Also, print a copy of applicable government rules to bring with you; calmly explaining the situation and showing the agent “evidence” that your vape is legal to take on board may resolve the issue. If not, ask to speak to their supervisor.
  2. The agent may believe that you’re carrying a THC vape and not a CBD vape, they may think that THC and CBD are the same thing, or they may not even know what CBD is. Bring a bottle of your CBD vape juice with you so you can show the label to prove what you’re carrying. If you can print out a copy of the product’s Certificate of Analysis (COA) proving its minimal THC content, even better. Best of all: fly with an empty vape pen, so there can be no claim that you’re carrying THC juice in the pen. You can fill it when you arrive.
  3. If you’re travelling to a destination that has a lower THC limit than where you’re coming from, carry broad-spectrum vape juice (which contains only a trace of THC) or CBD isolate (which contains no THC at all). Full-spectrum CBD will contain the maximum amount of THC allowed in the country where it was purchased. (Being able to show a security agent that your juice contains no THC may help you with the previous issue, too.)
  4. A few other tips to help make your trip as smooth as possible:
  • The US and many other countries have strict regulations governing what can be carried on board. Your CBD vape juice must be in bottles no bigger than 100 milliliters, and all of your carry-on vape liquid, other liquids, creams, and similar items must fit in a single one-quart plastic bag. If you can’t fit all of your vape juice, it’s OK to pack in your checked luggage. Just be sure it’s bagged in case it leaks.
  • Spare vape batteries are in the same category as vape pens: they can’t go into your luggage. Put them into your carry-on, and pack them safely.
  • Don’t fill the tank in your vape pen to the top; changing pressures in the plane’s cabin can cause it to leak. Only fill it part-way, or even better (as we suggested earlier), travel with empty tanks and fill them after you arrive.
  • Some airlines have stricter rules than others when it comes to CBD vapes and vape pens in general. Check with your airline before you fly.

Bon voyage!

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