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It may be time to let our friends and family know why. 

Travel shouldn’t feel like a legal obstacle course for people using doctor-recommended medicine—but in the U.S., it still does. At Americans for Safe Access (ASA), we are fighting for the day when medical cannabis patients can travel freely, confidently, and without fear.

Until that day comes, we’re making sure patients have the information they need right now.  Watch ASA New Travel Outreach Video: 

The Medical Cannabis Patient’s Guide for U.S. Travel is Updated for Another Holiday Season

The Medical Cannabis Patient’s Guide for U.S. Travel—available in English and Spanish—has been fully updated to reflect new policies, enforcement shifts, and critical safety considerations.

Every patient traveling this season needs to plan ahead. That means knowing:

• Which states recognize out-of-state patients (reciprocity rules vary widely).

• Possession limits & consumption restrictions at your destination.

• Federal prohibitions on transporting cannabis across state lines and using cannabis in national parks or on any federal land.

• Policies from TSA, airlines, Uber/Lyft, Greyhound, Amtrak, and rental car companies, all of which are inconsistent and frequently updated.

Critical Updates Since Last Thanksgiving: 

TSA: No Vaping Devices in Checked Luggage

All electronic smoking devices—including vape pens and batteries—must be in carry-on bags only. TSA has issued special handling instructions that every patient should review before packing.

DOJ Warning: Federal Land Crackdown

On September 30, 2025, the Department of Justice directed U.S. Attorneys to rigorously prosecute marijuana offenses on federal land—including national parks, monuments, recreation areas, and other federal jurisdictions.

Download the Guide Before You Travel or Share it with a Traveling Patient. 

Get your free copy of the Medical Cannabis Patient’s Guide for U.S. Travel: www.SafeAccessNow.org/Travel

It’s the most comprehensive, patient-focused travel resource available—and you’ll be glad you packed it.

Shedding Light on the Battlefield: Patients Navigate Every Day

Travel is only one of the many obstacles medical cannabis patients face. Federal prohibition shapes nearly every part of a patient’s life—often in ways friends, coworkers, and even close family never see. The real struggles aren’t loud or dramatic. There are no DEA raids on the evening news anymore, no galvanizing moment forcing the nation to look. Today’s battles are quieter, but just as damaging—and far more isolating.

Federal restrictions still influence where we can live, because federal housing programs don’t recognize our medicine. They affect where we can work, because employers can legally punish or fire patients who follow state law. And incredibly, they even restrict where we can spend our final days, as many hospice and long-term care facilities still follow federal rules that forbid medical cannabis.

Medical cannabis policy is not abstract. It hits home—your home. These are daily obstacles—deeply personal, often painful—forced on patients because the federal government still refuses to recognize our medicine.

This Thanksgiving may be the moment to bring this hidden battlefield into the light. Share what this reality actually looks like. Tell your friends and family that we need their help. The path is clear: we need federal change, and there is room for everyone in this movement. Show them the Travel Guide or the outreach video as examples of what patients still need to navigate. Ask them to sign up for ASA alerts—or start by simply sending them this article. Get medical cannabis back on their radar.

As an advocate, you already know this: your family dinner table is the America we need to mobilize.

Fighting for the Day Patients Can Travel Without Fear

ASA is committed to building a future where medical cannabis is fully integrated into U.S. healthcare—and where traveling with your medicine is as ordinary as packing an inhaler.

But until federal law catches up, patients need protection, information, and advocacy.

We can only continue this work with your support.
Your donation ensures patients have the tools they need today and the protections they deserve tomorrow.

Donate today and help us keep patients safe on every mile of their journey.