Traveler stashes pot inside her diaper — and sets off TSA checkpoint alarm, feds say

A woman wore a diaper hiding marijuana inside while passing through an airport security checkpoint — and set off an alarm, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA’s checkpoint scanner “alarmed on the woman’s groin” at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein wrote Oct. 27 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A subsequent pat-down led TSA officers to find pot inside the diaper, with the substance contained in what appeared to be a plastic bag, according to Farbstein, who shared a photo of the discovery.

The woman, who was traveling with her mother, explained she wanted to hide the marijuana from her mom, Farbstein said.

“Bad strategy,” Farbstein added.

While recreational marijuana use is legal for adults over 21 in New York, the plant, along with some products infused with cannabis, is still illegal under federal law, according to the TSA’s website. Medical marijuana, however, is allowed in carry-on and checked bags with certain instructions.

Ultimately, the TSA doesn’t search passengers “for marijuana or illegal drugs,” the TSA said online.

However, if the substances are found at a security checkpoint, the TSA will alert police, the agency says.

As for the woman caught with weed in her diaper, police let her through security but made her throw out the marijuana, Farbstein said in a second X post.

Then she caught her flight, according to Farbstein.

This story was originally published October 27, 2023 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Traveler stashes pot inside her diaper — and sets off TSA checkpoint alarm, feds say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.