Greyhound Bus Confiscates Traveler’s Medical Marijuana

Let’s face it, the Greyhound bus is an institution, whether we like it or not. The bus company has been around since 1914 and currently transports people to and from 3,800 destinations all over North America. But since when did our favorite bus company start confiscating weed from medical marijuana patients?

Greyhound Bus Controversy

Grace McKenzie, a licensed MMJ patient, had her meds confiscated by a Greyhound employee after she innocently told the person, in the event of a search, that she was carrying legally-approved medical marijuana.

“I talked to the security guard and he told me I wasn’t allowed to take it because I didn’t have a medical card,” said McKenzie. She was carrying her MMJ in the original container with her patient information on it, along with a photo ID.

This is all a patient needs to carry legally in Canada, where MMJ has been legal since 2000. The government intends to implement full legalization of recreational weed by July 2018.

McKenzie, who suffers from anxiety, depression and chronic back pain, thought she was doing the right thing by approaching security before the boarding process started.

“I told them I don’t need a medical card because the licensed producer I’m with doesn’t give medical cards,” said McKenzie. “They told me when I got my medical license that my license was my container and that as long as it was in my container with my prescription on the side of it and a matching ID then I was OK to board with it.”

But it turned out not to be OK to board with it. The officious Greyhound employee took McKenzie’s medicine away from her. The confiscation was not legal and was certainly uncalled for.

McKenzie said she called the police but they couldn’t help with the situation. In a statement, Greyhound said they are looking into why McKenzie’s marijuana was taken away.

“If a customer has the proper Health Canada documentation, we will allow them to travel with medical marijuana. We’re currently looking into what happened and why the customer’s medical marijuana was confiscated,” the company said in a statement.

Patient Wants Her Medicine Back

McKenzie said she’s trying to get her medication back from Greyhound. But in the meantime, she wishes people would get with the program and learn the rules.

“I just really want them to be educated so people with their licenses can freely travel with it,” she said. “We’re not illegal smugglers or anything. We’re just trying to travel with our medicine and we should have the right to do that.”