What Does Weed Look Like In An Airport Scanner? (With examples)

The way airport scanners detect weed is quite peculiar. The color of the items is often grouped into a class representation of three. Curious of What Does Weed Look Like In An Airport Scanner? Read further to get all information below. 

Weed looks like orange color in an airport scanner. The first thing an airport scanner does is to provide detailed images of all the contents of your luggage. Once this is provided, it is at the discretion of the security officers to fully scrutinize the contents of your luggage more closely. 

The energy that passes through an airport scanner will determine if the images of the items in your traveling bag will come out in the colors blue, orange, or green. 

These colors stand for the classification of items under the airport guide.  

1. Non-organic materials: are usually represented in the scanner by the color green.  
2. Organic materials: come up in the airport scanner as the color orange.  
3. Metals and Hard Plastic materials: represented by Blue/black in the airport scanner. 

Thus, since weed is a biological material, which is organic, weed looks like the color orange in an airport scanner. 

But does knowing what weed looks like in an airport scanner entitle you to carry it freely when you travel?

What Happens If Caught With Weed in Airport? 

You must have guessed ‘what happens if caught with weed in an airport?’ Since some states in the US have legalized weed, then you must have assumed that you can travel with weed and nothing will happen. For example, in LAX, it is legal to carry up to 28.5 grams of weed in the airport. While in a state like Texas, it is illegal to be found in the possession of weed, either outside of the airport or inside the airport. 

Although some states have legalized weed, you cannot just travel stocking your luggage with loads of weed. 

As a fact, the TSA will confiscate weed found on you at the airport. And you are liable to be reported to local authorities for further action. If you are caught in a state like California, local authorities might decide not to prosecute you since their laws make possession of weed legal.

Though the TSA is not interested in looking for weed, they are more concerned with finding dangerous materials such as weapons.

Hence, when caught with weed in the airport, the TSA will seize the weed and hand you over to the local authorities to take necessary actions against you. The penalties that will follow will depend on the particular state you were caught. Punishment may range from fines or in other cases imprisonment or both. You could also be denied certain privileges for having weed. 

On the question do TSA agents even care about weed? They have the following to say as posted on Instagram. “TSA officers DO NOT search for marijuana or other illegal drugs. Our screening procedures are focused on security and detecting potential threats. But in the event a substance appears to be marijuana or a cannabis-infused product, we’re required by federal law to notify law enforcement. This includes items that are used for medicinal purposes.” 

This is not harsh. Under Federal laws, weed is still illegal. And proper discretion is exercised by the TSA, and they hand you over to local authorities for legal action. It is now left for you to come under the luck of being in a state where weed is legal. Because that is the only way you can escape being prosecuted. 

Can Airport Scanners Detect Edibles? 

Airport scanners are not designed to specifically detect edibles. But they can detect food items. Therefore, whether your food items are edibles does not concern the airport scanner. The edibles will show up in the scanner like every other Organic material, with the color orange. 

The only giveaway to identifying your food items as edible at the airport is if there is a strong odor that gives your food items away. Another would be if the TSA are just inclined to check through your luggage after the airport scanner has scanned your luggage, so they can have a closer look at what the scanner had identified. 

You are thus advised to try as much as you can to keep your edibles locked properly in a container to avoid the odor giving you away.  

In addition, there is a limit to the number of food items a passenger is allowed to carry into the airport and onto a plane. Carrying a large package of edibles would give you away. And if the Airport personnel decided to check, your edibles can be confiscated. 

What Do Cigarettes Look Like in an Airport Scanner? 

Just like its counterpart; the weed, a cigarette is an organic material and can be detected by an airport scanner. 

When an airport scanner scrutinizes your luggage, cigarettes will be represented by the color orange, which is the color that organic materials show under an airport scanner. 

Can I Carry a Pack of Cigarettes on a Plane? 

There was a time when carrying cigarettes on a plane was prohibited. But this has changed in recent times.  

You are allowed to carry cigarettes on a plane. They can be carried in your checked luggage as well as carry-on bags. 

Kindly check with your airlines to know the quantities of cigarettes you are allowed to carry on a trip.  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection places a limit on the number of cigarettes you can bring from most foreign countries to 200 cigarettes or two cartons. While from the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, Guam, you are allowed to bring close to 1,000 cigarettes, or five cartons into the United States. 

Although, you are still not permitted to smoke on a plane. If you try to light a cigarette just because you are permitted to carry it on the plane, you will land yourself into a serious mess. And you don’t want to experience it. Hence, you are advised to act civil and keep lighting your cigarette till you touch down at your destination. 

E-Cigarettes Restrictions 

New TSA rules have emerged in recent times due to the popularity of vaping devices and electronic cigarettes. These devices are now allowed in the aircraft basin only. They are not to be found in your checked luggage, because of the reason that they contain lithium batteries that can overheat and be a danger to the airplane during flight. 

What is the best way of hiding weed from airport scanners? 

The discussion before now has indicated that you can carry weed in certain states where weed is legal, but the only way that would not be a problem is if the TSA do not accost you.  

If you are looking for ways to hide weed from airport officials, you can do so in the following ways; 

• Hide them in body cavities or amidst edibles. This is one of the best ways to hide weed from airport scanners. Because airport scanners rarely detect items inside the human body, it will take an emergency for airport security to conduct a body search on you. A thorough body search only takes place when there is a bomb scare or if you are suspected to own a weapon. Edibles on the other hand are also hard to detect except if their odor gives you away, or you are carrying them in large quantities. 
• Placing small amounts of weed inside shampoo or moisturizer bottles. This can sound fanciful but you have to count on ‘Dear Hope’ that an airport officer is not on your case. Otherwise, you might be asked to reveal all the contents of your shampoo or moisturizer bottles. 

To sum up, this article has concisely addressed the question of what does weed look like on tsa scanner, which is the color orange. The same color that the cigarette will reveal under the airport scanner. It went further to discuss what will happen to you if caught with weed in an airport and some other important details that you should know when you plan to travel with any of these prohibited items. It is recommended that you always check in with your airlines and take the best step at protecting yourself from avoidable harassment when you travel.