Are You Allowed to Take Weed Into a National Park?

Some look upon the recent wave of legislation making recreational marijuana use legal in dozens of states as finally bringing simplicity and clarity to pot laws in the country. On the other hand, there are those who think that things have never been more confusing. Their concern is based on conflicting laws potentially exposing well-meaning people to criminal charges due to legal inconsistencies between different states, and between states and the federal government. For example: one question we get a lot at our pipe shop in Denver is “Are you allowed to take weed into a National Park?”

Weed and the National Parks System

There is a lot of confusion about whether you are allowed to bring weed into a National Park and it’s easy to understand why. Right here in Colorado, for instance, the recreational use of weed among adults is legal. You can even grow up to 6 cannabis plants right in your own home. However, you can’t take any of that weed into Rocky Mountain National Park just north of Denver, or Mesa Verde National Park in the southwest corner of the state. So what gives?

The Legacy of Schedule I

In 1970, then President Richard Nixon called upon his Attorney General John Mitchell to craft a piece of legislation that would simplify the federal government’s anti-drug efforts. Nixon felt there were too many conflicting and overlapping laws that made drug enforcement nearly impossible. The result was the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

During the drafting of that legislation, many believed the feds should take a light-handed approach toward marijuana. Some of Nixon’s own advisors suggested decriminalizing possession and use. Nixon and Mitchell, however, saw things differently and the final act wound up categorizing marijuana on the federal level as a Schedule I drug, right alongside heroin and cocaine. And that is where it has remained ever since.

National Parks are federally controlled land where federal law applies. Because of that, you have a major dichotomy in place whereby just outside the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park adult Coloradans can possess and smoke weed legally, but once inside the park just yards away, where federal law applies, they can be arrested for doing the exact same thing.

So if the question is “Are you legally allowed to take weed into a National Park?” the answer is “No”. However, if the question is ” Can you fire up weed in your heady glass in a National Park without getting arrested?” things get murkier.

What Happens if You Get Caught With Pot in a National Park?

If you ask the National Parks Service they are obliged to tow the party line when it comes to the law. So of course they’re going to say that if you get caught you could be fined and sentenced to jail or probation. But will they really do that? The answer is, it depends.

In practice, if a Ranger comes across you smoking a joint on a remote trail with nobody else around chances are they aren’t going to bust you. They may confiscate your weed and warn you against any further infractions, but they’re not likely to slap the cuffs on you and haul you off to jail.

At the same time, however, you can’t depend on that type of (relative) benevolence. You could encounter a ranger determined to play things by the book and wind up facing a possession charge that could cost you a $1,000 fine and up to a year in federal prison. If you’re caught selling weed to other park visitors you could face up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Do you really want to risk those types of consequences just to cop a buzz?

So What to Do?

Our advice would be to honor federal law when you’re in a National Park“Can and be patient. Why patient? Because in August of 2023, the DEA kicked off a review of national drug policy and there is a pretty good chance that in the near future weed will be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III. If that happens it will be on par with Tylenol and the days of Park Rangers taking you in for smoking a joint will be over.