postal mail. that’s what we call it now, but there was a time when it wasn’t. going back, long before even the rotary phone that hung on my grandmother’s kitchen wall. In fact, the origins of the United States Postal Service date back to 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first Postmaster during the Second Continental Congress. We doubt old Ben Franklin cared about people sending wax in the mail in those days, but oh how times have changed!
mail wax: usps policy when it comes to delivering marijuana
The United States Postal Service Policy for delivering dabs, wax, or any form of marijuana can best be described in two words. You can’t. The U.S. government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic. That puts it in the same category as heroin, LSD, and psychedelic mushrooms.
the interception of illegal mail brings us back to ben franklin once again. shortly after his appointment as the first u.s. Postmaster created the United States Postal Inspection Service. Known as one of the first law enforcement agencies in the United States, the USPIs works closely with postal employees. together they seize thousands of suspicious packages each year.
The inspection service employs federal agents who track down the senders and recipients of illegal mail. they also serve thousands of arrest warrants each year that lead to prosecution. we’re not just talking about weed here. people send dangerous goods through the mail and the inspection service works hard to prevent it. they are, in every way, an honorable and esteemed agency. unfortunately, they will take your weed and file federal charges against you if they can.
the allure of mailing wax and the smallest, odorless touches
We know the direction in which some thoughts are headed. dabs end up being about a tenth the size of the nuggets they came from and don’t stink like skunk bud does. wouldn’t that make it easier when it comes to shipping wax?
The Postal Service does provide information on the number of marijuana laden packages seized each year. They don’t report how many of those seizures were wax related. Common sense says that mailing wax would be easier to get away with. This might be true if inspectors concentrated only on size and smell.
Currently, the postal service passes packages through high-tech scanners. shipping wax or any type of marijuana is not as easy as you might think. the number of marijuana seizures is very large annually, ranging from 34,000 pounds to 47,000 pounds. Those are the numbers from 2012 to 2015. Interestingly, seizures have been on a downward trend, although there is no evidence that the legalization movement is the cause.
there is one thing we can assure you. It won’t matter that postal wax is easier on those who get caught. To make matters worse, the DEA recently added wax, CBD oil, hashish, and all forms of marijuana to the Schedule I classification. so what happens if one is caught? well, let’s get into that.
the ramifications of the post wax & get arrested
getting caught by the feds shipping wax is definitely no walk in the park. penalties can be as severe as 5 years in a federal penitentiary. that’s for less than 50 grams. mail more than that and the better part of a human life could be spent behind bars. So why are people willing to risk jail time by sending wax through the mail?
why do people risk sending wax through the mail?
The answer sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at the volume of mail handled by the US Postal Service. uu. in 2014 they handled 155.4 billion mail packages. To put that in perspective, they seized 7,990 packages containing marijuana. do you think some passed?
usps business has not been good. people rarely send letters and the invention of electronic invoicing had to hurt. Mail volume has been steadily declining for years, while the cost of doing business continues to rise. The addition of competition like fedex and ups also hurt business, not to mention other delivery services popping up all over the place like dart or zipments.
no doubt the usps would like to inspect and scan each and every package. the truth is that it is not possible for them to do this. that’s why so much marijuana ends up in the mail. the risk seems worth it for many people. they probably tell a different story when handcuffed in the back of a black federal vehicle.
another reason people ship dabs via usps
Anyone who considers mailing wax has surely looked into other services besides the USPS. They don’t find any breaks there. In fact services like UPS and FedEx make it harder to mail marijuana. Here’s what sets them apart.
the usps is guaranteed to all citizens of the united states within the constitution. Packages mailed using the USPS carry with them the power of the 4th Amendment. By law, agents cannot open any package without showing probable cause and obtaining a search warrant.
Delivery services such as UPS and FedEx are not subject to 4th Amendment rights. its terms state that all packages may be inspected and searched for any reason at its discretion. customers must agree to those terms before business occurs. Not to mention these other delivery services also work with law enforcement.
what about shipping wax related products/paraphernalia?
There is nothing illegal about sending vape pens, vaporizers, bongs or glass pipes through the mail, as long as they have not been used. once traces of marijuana appear on these products, they become paraphernalia and therefore subject to federal law. add a cartridge filled with cbd oil along with a pen and take your chances, but just send the clean pen and you’ll be fine.
now we have companies appearing like ipuff claiming to sell and ship low legal hemp oils. It sounds like they can mail these things, but does that mean you should? It sure seems like a lot of risk for a product that is nowhere near the real thing. perhaps there is an appeal for people who want the taste and not the effect. it is best to avoid receiving this product in the mail.
think twice before mailing wax
hey, we got it. we all have friends and family that eventually break up. many intentions when it comes to mail wax turn out to be pure. Perhaps you have a sick family member who resides in a prohibited state and you just want to ease their pain. take a trip and go visit them. maybe love makes it worth the risk. We can’t answer that for anyone, but you could end up locked up.
On the other hand, even with the likely continued decriminalization of marijuana, there are people who abuse the system. they send marijuana through the mail for no other purpose than to make illegal profits by charging much more in states where marijuana is hard to come by. they are not helping in the fight to change the federal perception of marijuana that will eventually lead to its acceptance as valid and useful medicine.