Here's what happens if you take cannabis to SFO:
TSA conducts the airport security at Oakland International Airport; however a separate company, Covenant Aviation Security, provides security for SFO. Covenant did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.TSA is most likely going to refer you to local law enforcement — which is the Alameda County Sheriff's Office if you’re at the Oakland airport or the San Francisco Police Department if you’re at SFO — according to Neil Hallinan, a San Francisco criminal defense attorney.
That means local police are going to get called, and local law protects marijuana users. California law allows adults to carry up to an ounce of cannabis and 8 grams of cannabis concentrates at any time. Staff at SFO historically said they did not confiscate “a personal use amount,” according to a 2017 story in
However, charges were never filed against the man. According to Panzer, the cannabis was industrial hemp, a category of pot that contains trace amounts of THC and is federally legal. The investigation was dropped when Panzer showed the district attorney test results confirming it was industrial hemp.