Memorial Day is in the rearview and summer road trip season is in full swing.
Cannabis is legal in Washington, but that doesn't mean traveling with it is as simple as bringing some beverages along for the ride to the lake cabin or Airbnb. The complexity of how state and federal laws interact makes the checklist for taking cannabis in the car a bit longer.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Jeffrey Bridges says the first things to check before hitting the road with cannabis are that the driver is sober and the cannabis was bought at a state-licensed dispensary.
Those two are fairly obvious, but from here things get a bit more tricky.
While transporting your personal cannabis in a vehicle it must be kept outside of the passenger compartment.
"In the trunk would be ideal. If it's a pickup truck, maybe you have a secured case in the back in your pickup truck's bed," Bridges says. "But every vehicle is a little bit different, so do the best you can within the means of your vehicle."
Areas inside the passenger compartment, like the center console or glove compartment, are not considered secure.
"Ensure the product remains factory sealed or in its factory container," Bridges says. "Do not open it and do not have it open in your car because that would fall under the category of being an open container."
Bring only as much cannabis as you will consume at the location you're traveling to in order to avoid returning with an open container.
From there, know where you're going and how you're getting there.
The federal government owns 28.6% of the land in Washington. This means possession is still illegal on those lands, including in National Parks and on Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service land.
What about roads that pass through those federal lands, like Interstate 90 between Spokane and Seattle?
"For personal use quantities you would be fine driving from Point A to Point B utilizing our Interstate system," Bridges says.
If you're getting off the highways and cruising around on Forest Service roads though, Bridges says that possession there would fall outside of any "reasonable method of travel."
Finally, if you're planning to cross state lines, you can't bring your cannabis with you. Even if you're heading into another legal state, such as Oregon.
"Know your limit," Bridges says. "Have an enjoyable weekend, but have a safe and enjoyable weekend so you can have future enjoyable weekends down the road."
