As International Drug Laws Change, CDC Warns Travelers To Check Legal Status Of Marijuana, CBD And Other Substances

In light of evolving drug laws in the U.S. and abroad, new guidance for international travelers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers updated advice around traveling with controlled substances such as marijuana and cannabinoids.

It warns, for example, that while cannabis-based medications are legal in a growing number of jurisdictions, mere possession of those substances in other areas can lead to travel delays, denial of entry and even arrest and prosecution.

The new guidance, published online last week, appears in the 2026 edition of the CDC Yellow Book, which contains health information for international travel. Two chapters—around substance use and traveling with restricted medications—urge healthcare professionals to “educate international travelers” about “local laws that restrict medications and ensure they have necessary documentation.”

Even traveling within the U.S., notes the chapter on substance use, flying with marijuana products remains illegal, regardless of whether the products are for medical use.

“It is illegal to take marijuana (defined as cannabis products with more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight) on a domestic flight,” the agency says. “However, in the United States as of early 2024, a traveler can take products with less than this amount of THC that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration in a carry-on or checked bag.”

It advises travelers to check ahead of time when it comes to other modes of transport, such as cruise ships, which may or may not allow low-THC products aboard.

“Similarly, reviewing the legal status of marijuana and cannabis products with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC in a destination country is important prior to departure,” the guidance says.

The other Yellow Book chapter, on travel with restricted medications, says that if a traveler’s medicine “is on the Drug Enforcement Administration controlled substances schedule in the United States, a traveler or their healthcare professional should determine whether it is prohibited or restricted at an international destination.”

It adds, however, that “even if a medication is not controlled in the United States, it still may be prohibited in another country.”

That could be the case with CBD, which is no longer a scheduled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) but is still regulated in some jurisdictions.

“Although U.S. and international policies have become more lenient concerning the use of cannabidiol (CBD), a compound found in the cannabis plant, international travelers should be aware of local laws when packing CBD-containing products,” the chapter says, “including but not limited to gummies, lotions, oil, and vape cartridges. Often classified as an herbal supplement, CBD itself is not psychoactive but is still controlled in some countries.”

CDC also points out that CBD products sometimes contain THC—whether intentionally or through contamination—which, even at trace amounts, can make them illegal.

“Even if CBD is legal in a country, a CBD-containing product may be illegal if it also contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another compound found in the cannabis plant and the main psychoactive component of marijuana,” the advisory says.

It adds that some countries, like the U.S., determine whether a CBD product is legal based on its concentration of THC.

Unfortunately, CDC acknowledges that “No single resource exists where an international traveler or travel medicine specialist can access information to determine whether a medication is prohibited or restricted at a destination.”

It advises travelers and their healthcare providers check multiple sources, including the International Narcotics Control Board website, U.S. Embassy websites in destination countries, a State Department website and others.

“If a traveler’s question is not addressed by the aforementioned websites, the Inter­national Pharmaceutical Federation ([email protected]), a Netherlands-based organization with a database of senior pharmacists, can sometimes facilitate communication by forwarding an inquiry from a traveler to the appropriate point of contact in the destination country’s government,” CDC says.

Separately, a CDC report published earlier this month evaluated federal data on cannabis use among thousands of U.S. adults, finding that while smoking marijuana remains the most common way to consume it, methods such as eating, vaping and dabbing are growing in popularity.

Overall in 2022, 15.3 percent of adults reported current marijuana use, while 7.9 percent reported daily use. Among users, most (79.4 percent) reported smoking, followed by eating (41.6 percent), vaping (30.3 percent) and dabbing (14.6 percent).

About half of all adults who used marijuana (46.7 percent) reported multiple methods of use—most typically smoking and eating or smoking and vaping.

A separate CDC report last year found a decline in teen use over the past decade, as dozens of states moved to legalize cannabis.

As of 2023, for example, 17 percent of high-school students reported using marijuana within the past month. In 2013, that figure was 23 percent.

Though youth use rates ticked up and down by a few percentage points from survey to survey over the 10-year timespan covered by that CDC report, the overall trend was that past-month use among high-school students declined since 2013.

Notably, male students showed a more marked drop in marijuana use over the past decade, with rates falling from 25 percent in 2013 to 15 percent in 2023. Among female students over the same time period, rates decreased from 22 percent to 19 percent.

Another earlier analysis from CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop amid the legalization movement.

Another recent federal report, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found that consumption among minors—defined as people 12 to 20 years of age—had fallen slightly in the past year. Despite methodological changes that make comparisons over time difficult, it also suggests that youth use has fallen significantly in the past decade.

Meanwhile at the international level, an ongoing review by the World Health Organization could eventually lead to the rescheduling of coca leaves, the raw ingredient for cocaine.

And last year a handful of countries—primarily in Europe—began embracing medical and adult-use marijuana programs.

Among them, countries such as Ukraine and Slovenia took steps to expand access to medical marijuana. German and Polish officials, meanwhile, moved toward broader, nonmedical access to cannabis among adults.

Meanwhile, a United Nations (UN) report published in June acknowledged that marijuana legalization in the U.S. and Canada may have helped to shrink the size of illicit markets.

Dozens of United Nations (UN) human rights also last year urged member nations to focus less on punishment and criminalization and more on harm reduction and public health while specifically calling for “decriminalisation of drug use and related activities, and the responsible regulation of all drugs to eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence.”

“The ‘war on drugs’ has resulted in a range of serious human rights violations, as documented by a number of UN human rights experts over the years,” said the statement from UN special rapporteurs, experts and working groups. “We collectively urge Member States and all UN entities to put evidence and communities at the centre of drug policies, by shifting from punishment towards support, and invest in the full array of evidence-based health interventions for people who use drugs, ranging from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and aftercare, emphasizing the need for a voluntary basis and in full respect of human rights norms and standards.”

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