Flying from U.S. to Italy w/ CBD a bad idea?
June 28, 2022 9:44 PM Subscribe
I'm flying from the U.S. to Rome soon and would like to pack a few CBD and Delta8 edible gummies. After much googling - it seems medical CBD and 'marijuana light' as they call it, is legal and plentiful in Italy. (Doesn't look like Delta 8 is though) Seems like I could easily just throw these into a jar w/ my other meds etc.
But I'm a little spooked about it all since I don't travel internationally and frankly don't know if my bags will be searched/ sniffed out for such items. Any advice/ recent experience? Grazie
I’ve flown through a metric ton of US airports with weed, so I’m not all that risk averse, and no fucking way in hell would I try to take any type of weed across international borders. That is something you really don’t want to mess with.
posted by That darn sock! at 10:33 PM on June 28, 2022 [35 favorites]
posted by That darn sock! at 10:33 PM on June 28, 2022 [35 favorites]
I wouldn’t fly internationally with D8 (and flying with weed is something I don’t generally consider risky). D8’s only legal in the U.S. because of a confluence of weird laws, iffy interpretations of laws, and indifferent lawmakers; I certainly wouldn’t rely on the same in other countries. Even if you determine that it’s “technically” legal, that knowledge would be cold comfort in an interrogation room with an inspector having a bad day.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:49 PM on June 28, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:49 PM on June 28, 2022 [9 favorites]
Ask Brittney Griner.
Brittney allegedly had stronger items than what you are considering and it was Russia, but what is considered international smuggling in various countries in Europe may not be what it would be in the US.
The risk v reward of the plan you are considering is terrible especially if you can obtain it or most of it when you land. I am a risk taker by profession and by nature and I suggest that you not take the risk. YMMV of course
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:41 PM on June 28, 2022 [10 favorites]
Brittney allegedly had stronger items than what you are considering and it was Russia, but what is considered international smuggling in various countries in Europe may not be what it would be in the US.
The risk v reward of the plan you are considering is terrible especially if you can obtain it or most of it when you land. I am a risk taker by profession and by nature and I suggest that you not take the risk. YMMV of course
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:41 PM on June 28, 2022 [10 favorites]
it seems medical CBD and 'marijuana light' as they call it, is legal and plentiful in Italy. (Doesn't look like Delta 8 is though)
Yeah I’m in Italy and also googled around in Italian and came to the same conclusions.
However, even for those products that are legal, the point is that it may still be verboten to import them from the US to Italy.
If it’s just gummies, they might not look suspicious and you might get away with it, but you never know. I wouldn’t risk it if I were you. You don’t want that kind of risk when traveling internationally. And Italian police can be very, how can I put it charitably, like the weather in Ireland... and the individual particular mood of the day of the officer you run into matters a lot more than what’s written into law. Just buy whatever you can find once in Italy, those shops are everywhere, and not just in major cities really.
posted by bitteschoen at 12:06 AM on June 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
Yeah I’m in Italy and also googled around in Italian and came to the same conclusions.
However, even for those products that are legal, the point is that it may still be verboten to import them from the US to Italy.
If it’s just gummies, they might not look suspicious and you might get away with it, but you never know. I wouldn’t risk it if I were you. You don’t want that kind of risk when traveling internationally. And Italian police can be very, how can I put it charitably, like the weather in Ireland... and the individual particular mood of the day of the officer you run into matters a lot more than what’s written into law. Just buy whatever you can find once in Italy, those shops are everywhere, and not just in major cities really.
posted by bitteschoen at 12:06 AM on June 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
nth-ing everyone else. I'm in Spain where most everything is decriminalized, but *import* of most everything is specifically banned, with potentially severe penalties. Also 2nd-ing the 'southern european police and bureaucracy is a bit like the weather...'
If you're asking the question, it means that you might end up nervous trying to travel with this stuff, and that's just no fun, no matter the outcome.
If you've found that something you like/need is available legally and easily in Italy, just get it there. My experience in Europe is that most contraband/prohibited items are also not hard to find, though I don't see a trend in D8 in Europe these days. That said, I do not advocate breaking the law anywhere at any time for any reason...
posted by jpziller at 1:43 AM on June 29, 2022
If you're asking the question, it means that you might end up nervous trying to travel with this stuff, and that's just no fun, no matter the outcome.
If you've found that something you like/need is available legally and easily in Italy, just get it there. My experience in Europe is that most contraband/prohibited items are also not hard to find, though I don't see a trend in D8 in Europe these days. That said, I do not advocate breaking the law anywhere at any time for any reason...
posted by jpziller at 1:43 AM on June 29, 2022
One thing to know, it doesn't matter what the label says on the package, when you buy "delta 8" products you're buying in an unregulated and Wild West market in the US. You have no idea what's in the bag or the gummies. A lot of stuff sold as delta 8 is actually treated "spice," inert flower treated with sprayed on concentrates, or else it's weak assed cannabis (but not actually commercial hemp) with plenty of the real "delta. 9" stuff in it for legal purposes. Those products aren't being tested or assayed and they're sold and marketed by scammers, crooks, and fly by night operators in a weird interstate gray market. You simply cannot trust or believe a product labeled "delta 8" is going to pass a lab test ordered by a determined foreign customs official.
Personally I don't recommend consuming any "delta 8" products whatsoever at this time, for safety reasons. But I surely would not travel internationally with it.
posted by spitbull at 3:02 AM on June 29, 2022 [8 favorites]
Personally I don't recommend consuming any "delta 8" products whatsoever at this time, for safety reasons. But I surely would not travel internationally with it.
posted by spitbull at 3:02 AM on June 29, 2022 [8 favorites]
I would not personally try and do this over international borders. As others have said, it's about transportation/importation, not whether it is legal in the destination.
posted by mippy at 3:12 AM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mippy at 3:12 AM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nthing not to do this over international borders. Moreover, if you get into any kind of trouble in Italy, it might translate into legal repercussions on the EU level and all 27 of the EU member states. I wouldn't want to risk one single move that could potentially get me banned from/in trouble with 27 countries.
posted by gakiko at 3:39 AM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by gakiko at 3:39 AM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
just throw these into a jar w/ my other meds etc.
Prescription medication needs to be in its original packaging with your prescription label attached for international travel. Non-prescription medication should also be in its original packaging. Showing up in another country with a jar of meds (OMFG) could be extremely bad news.
E.g., Benadryl is a controlled substance in Japan.
posted by heatherlogan at 3:48 AM on June 29, 2022 [12 favorites]
Prescription medication needs to be in its original packaging with your prescription label attached for international travel. Non-prescription medication should also be in its original packaging. Showing up in another country with a jar of meds (OMFG) could be extremely bad news.
E.g., Benadryl is a controlled substance in Japan.
posted by heatherlogan at 3:48 AM on June 29, 2022 [12 favorites]
I've done this with CBD oil. I wouldn't with Delta8.
posted by einekleine at 4:21 AM on June 29, 2022
posted by einekleine at 4:21 AM on June 29, 2022
Don't even try it. I have seen the Italian police training their cute little drug-sniffing beagles at Bologna Airport. Those puppies do not miss a thing. In italy there is an amazing thing called "risotto"... you can get high on that.
posted by zaelic at 5:11 AM on June 29, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by zaelic at 5:11 AM on June 29, 2022 [9 favorites]
Also wanted to point out that if you happen to have any left over in your bag on the way back, it could be equally bad news. Weed still isn't legal federally, much less the import of weed.
posted by praemunire at 7:11 AM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 7:11 AM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Don't do this. In Canada at every airport (and maybe land borders, I don't know) they have signs everywhere that say that international travel with cannabis is illegal. Don't risk it - if it's legal there, you can get it there.
posted by urbanlenny at 7:54 AM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by urbanlenny at 7:54 AM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would do this domestically without a second thought, but play it completely by the book when you're crossing international borders. Absolutely not worth the risk.
posted by superfluousm at 8:45 AM on June 29, 2022
posted by superfluousm at 8:45 AM on June 29, 2022
Another vote for don't do it - you REALLY don't want to get involved with potential charges of drug trafficking. I doubt you'd end up in a Brittney Griner incident, but is it really worth it? If it's legal there then just buy it when you arrive.
posted by photo guy at 12:43 PM on June 30, 2022
posted by photo guy at 12:43 PM on June 30, 2022
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posted by hungrytiger at 10:06 PM on June 28, 2022