You should always be mindful of what possessions you choose to travel with when flying. Some items that are used in your daily life may not be allowed to be taken on the flight with you, as they may be illegal or potentially dangerous.
Although a grinder may be considered drug paraphernalia, you are allowed to bring a grinder on a plane. A new or thoroughly cleaned grinder cannot be connected to marijuana. Because it has other possible uses, it is therefore allowed as a carry-on or in checked-in bags.
Can You Fly With A Grinder?
You shouldn’t have an issue when taking your grinder with you on a flight, so long as the grinder is either new and unused or the grinder is completely clean, and there is no longer any marijuana or residue inside of it.
Suppose your grinder is completely unused or doesn’t have any marijuana or residue on it. In that case, it is legal to take it on the plane as checked-in or carry-on luggage.
Despite being considered drug paraphernalia, if your grinder doesn’t have any marijuana or residue on it, it cannot be connected to the drug at all and therefore is legal because it has other uses, such as grinding various spices.
Can You Take Your Grinder Through Airport Security?
Suppose your grinder has any marijuana residue. In that case, you may not be able to take it on your flight. The TSA may report you to authorities and have the grinder confiscated by the TSA, depending on how much residue or marijuana is inside the grinder.
Why Aren’t You Allowed Marijuana In Your Grinder?
You cannot take marijuana on most flights in the U.S. due to marijuana being federally illegal in the United States.
Additionally, traveling with a grinder with any marijuana or residue in it might cause you to run into issues with airport security or the TSA when trying to take it with you on the flight.
To ensure that you don’t run into any issues with the TSA or airport security, you should always ensure that there is no marijuana or residue inside your grinder and that it is properly clean before deciding to take it on a flight.
Can You Travel With A Used Grinder On A Plane?
It is recommended that you should only travel with a completely new and unused grinder to ensure that there isn’t a risk of running into any issues when attempting to take it with you on your flight.
However, this isn’t possible if the grinder has been used before, so you will need to ensure that your grinder is efficiently clean and that no marijuana residue or odor is coming from it.
To ensure that you can clean your grinder effectively, you will need access to isopropyl alcohol, a toothbrush, a toothpick, hot water, and a freezer. Access to all these items will ensure that you can clean your grinder effectively so that there is no residue or odor of marijuana that can be linked to it.
Steps On How To Clean Your Grinder For A Flight
The first step when cleaning a grinder involves disassembling the grinder into pieces. Once dismantled, you must place all the grinder pieces in the freezer for about thirty minutes. After time has passed, the marijuana residue will have hardened, and you should tap the parts of their grinder against a table to make the residue fall off.
The next step is to scrub all the grinder pieces with a toothbrush, ensuring to brush away any powdery residue still on the grinder after you have finished tapping it against the table. You will then use a toothpick to dislodge the hard residue around the edges of the grinder.
After doing your best to remove all the residue from the grinder pieces, you must place all the grinder parts into a bowl filled with isopropyl alcohol and then scrub the grinder parts with a toothbrush.
After ensuring that you have removed absolutely all remaining marijuana residue from the grinder, you must shake off any excess alcohol and allow the pieces of the grinder to dry by placing it in a sunny spot and leaving it to dry off naturally over time.
Can You Fly With A Grinder That Has Keef Inside?
Keef is the tiny crystals of THC that fall through the bottom of one’s grinder and collect for later smoke.
Should you have a grinder with multiple stages or compartments, it is more than likely that you will have started to build up a collection of keefs in the bottom chamber should you have been using the grinder to grind up marijuana.
Due to keef containing THC and its origin being marijuana, it is illegal for you to fly with it. Furthermore, should one be searched by TSA personnel who come across keef in your grinder, the TSA will report you to authorities and confiscate the grinder for having possession of illegal substances.
Can You Bring A Grinder Through The TSA?
Taking a grinder with some marijuana or residue on a plane is illegal. Suppose a TSA officer or airport security finds your grinder with marijuana or residue inside it. In that case, they are legally obligated to confiscate and report you.
The reality is, however, that TSA officers are not looking to criminalize people who are taking their grinder with them for personal use. Likewise, the TSA is adamant that they are not looking to bust people carrying small amounts of marijuana.
The TSA is instead focusing its energy on trying to find people who may pose a threat to other passengers or those trying to transport larger quantities of weed or other illegal drugs with the intention of smuggling and selling drugs.
How Likely Are You To Get Searched For Having A Grinder?
If the TSA personnel find something else in your luggage that they may consider suspicious or dangerous, it may warrant the TSA personnel to search your belongings.
On the other hand, a TSA agent is not likely to search your belongings for simply having a grinder and will most likely not even check inside of it if they are not otherwise suspicious.
Although this may be the case, you must remember that the final decision regarding what items you are allowed to take with you on the plane rests with the TSA agent on duty, and their decision is final. Therefore, it is best to travel without a grinder to avoid unnecessary complications or confiscation of your grinder.
What Are Your Alternatives To Taking A Grinder On A Flight?
Should you not want to risk losing your grinder, or should you want to avoid the hassle of possibly getting searched and getting into trouble with the TSA, it is recommended that you rather leave your grinder at home.
Should you need to use a grinder at your destination, it is recommended to purchase a plastic grinder in a store and dispose of it before flying back home. Alternatively, you can grind marijuana or herbs using scissors and a glass.
