Recreational marijuana may be legal in half of the states in the U.S., but that doesn't matter at cruise lines who want to keep their ships cannabis free.
Cruise lines are increasingly clamping down on passengers who bring weed, and even edibles, onto their ships, warning passengers beforehand and identifying people who break the rules while on the boat.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line quietly phases out a cruise ship staple
The businesses say that they are simply following federal law.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -), in particular, has gone as far as to start using drug-sniffing dogs and sending out correspondence reminding passengers of their anti-drug policy before the ship sets sail.
Carnival says that its ships are drug free zones and that under federal law "all cruise terminals in the U.S. are federal facilities." Passengers found with cannabis on Carnival ships are subject to fines, arrest, and the denial of boarding without refund or compensation. "This is beyond Carnival's control," the company says.
There are horror stories of people who have been kicked off ships in foreign ports or placed on blacklists for violating the cannabis rules, according to the Wall Street Journal, and some told the Journal that they are scared and confused about the crackdown.
Inconsistent consequences was identified as one of the biggest issues passengers are having with the increased interest in keeping cannabis off of cruise lines.
One Texas woman received a lifetime ban for bringing CBD gummies on her Carnival cruise after the illicit substance was found in her carry-on luggage during a pre-cruise security screening.
A 25-year old TikTok influencer says that he was told to disembark in Jamaica midway through a seven-day Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) cruise after he was caught on surveillance camera smoking weed on an upper deck of the ship.
He and his mother left the ship in Jamaica, but Royal Caribbean did not provide refunds or any assistance in booking their trip back home.
“I learned my lesson. I had to pay a lot of money just to exit a boat that we already paid a lot of money to be on,” the TikToker told the Journal.
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