This article was originally published on leafly and appears here with permission.
the united states postal service has served the american people for nearly 250 years as one of the oldest and most venerable american institutions. You’ll recognize agency members by those timeless navy shorts and the eagle logo on the side of their trucks. USPS has been delivering for centuries, but many Americans still don’t fully understand the organization’s mail laws. i.e. what is the risk of shipping or mailing marijuana or groceries?
The short answer: Sending flowers, edibles, vaporizers, or any other cannabis product through the mail is federally illegal. Postal inspectors play a key role in helping to wage the nation’s war on drugs, including cannabis. As one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the country, they work to identify and prosecute major drug shippers and intercept the proceeds of illegal drugs that traffickers attempt to mail.
but we know what you’re thinking: how many of those billions of packages shipped each year contain cannabis? do people get away with sending cannabis through the mail? Can I send marijuana by mail and not get caught? Is it worth risking the consequences? the long answer is a bit more complicated and we’re here to break it down.
Possible penalties for sending marijuana by mail
Although states can legalize marijuana possession under local law, possession for any reason outside of limited investigation is technically still a federal crime, as is sending cannabis through the mail. In addition, as a government agency, the United States Postal Service is subject to federal law; any illegal use of its services is a serious crime. In addition, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug.
That means anything under 50 grams can potentially get you up to five years in a federal penitentiary, with the penalties only increasing as the quantity increases. More than 200 federal laws protect the sanctity of the US mail. uu. and the US Postal Inspection Service. uu. enforces them.
We should also keep in mind that even if you did not mail the package and are just the recipient, your knowledge and involvement in planning the shipment makes you just as at fault as the person who mailed the package. once a package is seized, the person can be prosecuted in both the state in which it was shipped and the state in which it was delivered. is entirely at the discretion of the prosecutor.
shipping hemp and delta-8 products
With the passage of the 2018 farm bill came the federal legalization of hemp and hemp-derived products, defined as having less than 0.3% THC. hemp products can be mailed legally within the united states by usps, as well as private couriers like fedex and ups, although there are a few exceptions, such as vaporizers, and legality depends on whether the sender or delivery state has laws in force that prohibit it. .
Now you might be thinking that the surge of delta-8 thc, a hemp-derived cannabinoid with intoxicating effects that differs from delta-9, offers a loophole. you can extract it from federally legal hemp plants, so you should be able to ship it anywhere in the country, right? Well, no. the legal status of delta-8 currently exists in a gray area; while the dea included it along with delta-9 thc on its list of scheduled substances, it has not yet been officially scheduled as such.
but some states have passed their own laws against shipping and selling, probably because their products don’t have to be tested and regulated like delta-9 thc. so if you live in a state that allows it, yes, you can ship delta-8 products (minus vapes) via usps.
what about sending marijuana by mail through private couriers like ups or fedex?
In terms of alternative carriers within the United States, there are several private couriers. The big three outside of the USPS are FedEx, UPS, and DHL. A picky cannabis shipper might ask “which service should I choose and is one of these a better and safer option than USPS?” Surely these private companies offer paying customers greater protection against government interference and warrantless searches?
The answer is a resounding no. fedex, ups and dhl specify in their terms of service that they reserve the right to open and inspect any package at their own discretion. all also specify that shipping any form of marijuana remains illegal and “unacceptable.” When you drop off your package at a FedEx or UPS store to be mailed, you are placing property in the possession of a third party, and the Supreme Court has ruled that giving your package to a third party “eliminates any reasonable expectation of privacy.” we should note that none of these messengers’ policies explicitly address delta-8 products.
fedex
Under its terms and conditions, fedex not only prohibits the shipment of cannabis flowers and products, but also hemp plants, oil and seeds. however, cbd compliant products can now be shipped. Compounding this, in 2014, the US Department of Justice charged FedEx with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for its alleged involvement in the transportation of illegal prescription drugs. while this is not marijuana, it clearly indicates that fedex and other private couriers will be examining packages much more closely for illegal substances.
oops
ups also prohibits the shipment of any cannabis products, but allows raw hemp plants and cbd products that comply with state and federal laws (except vaporizers), as long as they are shipped domestically and do not come from companies who also produce or handle marijuana or its products.
dhl
dhl accepts packages containing hemp plants and derivatives with less than 0.3% thc, but only within the united states. While DHL claims to inspect 100% of their packages, neither they nor other couriers are required to x-ray all shipments.
usps seems like the safest bet
In contrast to these policies, the US Postal Service. uu. It appears to be the carrier of choice for many drug carriers because it offers more stringent 4th Amendment protection. postal inspectors must acquire a search warrant based on probable cause before inspecting mail and packages. according to the usps:
“…first class letters and packages are protected from search and seizure under the fourth amendment to the constitution and, as such, cannot be opened without a search warrant.”
However, although postal inspectors have to obtain a warrant to search a suspicious package, suspicion alone is enough to identify and trace packages. USPS actively encourages workers and the public to get involved in identifying packages containing drugs by offering $50,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a drug trafficker.
When it comes to the illegal transportation of cannabis through the mail, USPS is relatively your safest bet. and we mean relatively. remember, the act is illegal and certainly carries a significant level of risk.
what happens when usps or fedex find weed in packages? are there sanctions?
Doing the numbers, the postal service faces an enormous task in preventing the trafficking of illicit substances. Simply put, the sheer volume of packages handled by the carrier every day offers the potential for contraband packages to be delivered out of control; The United States Postal Inspection Service enforces more than 200 laws with more than 1,200 inspectors. They can put their collective shoulder behind the wheel, but no matter how hard they try, it’s virtually impossible for the USPS to catch every bad guy. In 2015 alone, they seized 34,000 pounds of marijuana from mail-order packages.
For third-party couriers, the burden of responsibility is on them to report illicit packages to authorities, who can obtain warrants and open investigations. Without reported data, it is impossible to estimate how many packages containing marijuana or other scheduled substances have been subpoenaed for investigations.
Sending medications by mail probably seems safer than it should be. The USPS, as well as associated law enforcement agencies, simply don’t have the resources to try to figure out where the drugs are coming from and who is waiting for them.
however, it would be unfair to blame the usps in this matter; they just aren’t equipped to take x-rays and investigate every package, nor is there an official x-ray policy. Not only do packages receive extra protection, as we’ve described, but the agency has also been losing money virtually every year for the last decade due to a drop in mail volume. The organization, with fewer and fewer resources, is facing increasing pressure from the government to downsize.
In 2016, despite making a profit in a financial quarter for the first time in five years, President Obama still proposed the agency cut 12,000 employees in his fiscal 2017 budget. The current Trump-appointed postmaster general, Louis dejoy has made further cuts to plant locations, office hours and mail delivery times.
where do I send the weed affects the risk?
In short, no. Because the USPS operates under federal law, it remains illegal and risky to ship cannabis and cannabis products anywhere in the United States, including outside the country, from state to state, and within a state, even if medical and /o adult use are instead. Like third-party courier services, USPS ships eligible hemp products within the United States if permitted by state law, and most states allow the shipment of Delta-8 products.
what makes a package suspicious?
Postal inspectors have a long list of signs and signals to help them determine if a package might contain marijuana or other illicit substances. In fact, in 2016, the USPS founded the No Mail Administrative Protocol (ANP) program, which “does not require postal inspectors to obtain search warrants to open detained packages.” in fact, if a package is put on hold and they don’t hear back from the sender or receiver within 21 days, the package is considered abandoned and they can open it anyway. Suspicious factors with packages include:
- outdated, handwritten or missing return addresses
- odd shapes
- overly taped up
- excessive postage
- leakage of unidentifiable substances
- excessive odor
what about shipping groceries, cartridges and concentrates?
Unfortunately, if you have any THC above 0.3%, any cannabis-derived edible, cartridge, concentrate, and even topical can be seized and even used as evidence of a drug crime. even cbd and delta-8 vaporizers are prohibited, although cbd and delta-8 edibles and concentrates that comply with federal and state regulations are allowed.
drug trafficking is an existing problem
Since the closure of the infamous Silk Road and the media furore that surrounded it, people are now aware of the existence and nefarious inclinations of particular groups within the dark web. Most Americans can access illegal substances with a simple click thanks to internet access, darknet marketplaces, and social media like instagram. Still, these hidden online drug dealers don’t have access to some secret clandestine delivery method that we mere mortals don’t know about; they just use the postal service.
according to former attorney general eric holder, the problem is endemic:
“the postal service, the post office, is being used to facilitate drug trafficking…it is shocking to see the amount of drugs reaching communities across the country through our postal system, and we have to deal with that. ”
leafly previously contacted the postal service in hopes of learning more about their policies regarding illicit substances, particularly cannabis, being transported through the mail. the usps were quick to respond and also provided some useful information:
“the us The Postal Inspection Service is committed to eradicating illegal drugs and their profits from the United States. uu. mail. We go after traffickers of all forms of illegal narcotics, including marijuana, which remains illegal under federal controlled substance law and therefore cannot be sent through the mail. our prohibited narcotics program focuses on the disruption of organized narcotics trafficking operations, to help protect employees and customers from violence related to drug trafficking, and to inhibit the spread of illegal or unauthorized substances. they can mail to neighborhoods across America.”
On average, postal inspectors arrest 1,000 suspects each year for trafficking drugs and laundering drug money through the us mail. uu. in 2019, more than 2,500. in addition to seizing cash obtained through criminal activity, postal inspectors have used federal forfeiture laws to seize homes, vehicles, boats, artwork, and other high-value items purchased with money of drug trafficking.
statistical trends: shipment of marijuana and other drugs
Despite these great risks, and the fact that more than half the country has legal access to medical or adult use programs, some cannabis users continue to dismiss the ordinary drive-thru delivery system and continue to sending your product by mail. In 2019, USPS processed nearly 55,000 packages suspected of containing marijuana.
The black market, even in adult-use states, continues to thrive, so many may find shipping marijuana through the mail a lucrative endeavor. Although marijuana seizures continue to decline year-over-year, it is unclear if this trend will be reflected in packages of marijuana sent through the mail.
We previously reported that while the number and total weight of marijuana bundle seizures have been declining for years, there was an increase in 2016; Since then, however, the numbers seem to be going down, but no one really knows how much marijuana successfully passes through the postal service without being discovered. however, is it just a coincidence that the level of detected cannabis has decreased as more states legalize it outright?
prohibition has been seen in the past to promote and encourage the black market. perhaps, as cannabis becomes more widespread and more regulated, the lure of the black market will fade through easier access and the realization that shipping the drug is no longer worth the risk of harsh federal charges. /p>
why do people risk getting caught sending cannabis through the mail?
Is it really that bad to put a few eighths in the mail? Why are so many people willing to take a chance on something like sending cannabis through the mail? in fact, the data shows that it is likely to happen less and less.
increasingly favorable legislation in the united states, along with the federal legalization of canada and the recent decriminalization of mexico, means more legal avenues for cannabis-related careers and, by extension, a decrease in related crimes . the most recent data shows that while officers reached the pinnacle of seizures in 2009, seizing around 4 million pounds of cannabis, they only seized around 1.5 million pounds last year. In 2021, the DEA made fewer than 1,000 marijuana trafficking charges.
But let’s face it, the USPS has been in financial trouble for the better part of a decade. in the last 10 years, the total volume has decreased by more than 56 billion pieces (or 26%), the volume of first class mail has decreased by 34.5 billion pieces and the first class mail of a single piece (mainly letters with postage stamps) has decreased by 24.4 billion pieces. This translates to $47 billion in operating losses since 1971. Ultimately, can beggars choose? paraphrasing gertrude stein, traffic, is traffic, is traffic.
This post was originally published on July 26, 2016. It was last updated on May 18, 2022.