A Texas woman has been banned for life from Carnival Cruise
Line ships after she packed CBD
gummies in a carry-on bag.
The event happened in August 2023 on a cruise departing from
Miami. While the gummies are conditionally legal in the state of Florida, all
major cruise lines prohibit such items; in fact, this is clearly stated on
Carnival’s prohibited items list.
Melinda Van Veldhuizen, who was a member of the line’s Very
Important Fun Person program—and received priority boarding as a perk for her
many sailings with Carnival—will never again set sail with the company.
Van Veldhuizen claims to use the gummies as an occasional
sleep aid. They were in her backpack, and cruise security spotted them and took
her to a secure area at Port Miami for further questioning.
The passenger said the gummies were legally purchased
online, but Carnival Cruise Line bans all CBD products, regardless of the
regulations, laws, or restrictions from homeports in different states.
“Any illegal narcotics/drugs including synthetic, designer
drugs, Cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana [are prohibited],” Carnival’s
list says. “While certain CBD products used for medicinal purposes may be legal
in the U.S., they are not legal in all the ports we visit and therefore are
also considered prohibited items.”
Van Veldhuizen was notified of the lifetime ban via a letter
from the cruise line. The letter did not specify whether the ban includes other
cruise lines in the Carnival Corporation family, such as Princess Cruises or
Holland America Line.
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