This strikes me as being spectacularly bad judgment on so many levels…
In this post:
Air India pilot deported over marijuana possession
An Air India pilot has been deported from the United States after he was allegedly found to be carrying marijuana in his luggage. The pilot was traveling on official business, as he was deadheading, so he wasn’t flying the plane. He was supposed to work a flight out of San Francisco (SFO) two days later to Kolkata (CCU), as the route had been suspended for a number of days, hence the need to reposition pilots.
Given that authorities found marijuana on him, he was sent back to India on the next flight. For what it’s worth, while we had marijuana on him, he hadn’t consumed it, according to sources. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now investigating this incident. A spokesperson for the airline shared the following:
“One of our crew members travelling from Delhi to San Francisco on April 14, for positioning to operate a subsequent flight, was found to be inadmissible as per local laws and has been sent back to India. Air India maintains zero-tolerance towards any violation of the law and upholds the highest standards of safety, compliance, and professional conduct. Appropriate strict disciplinary action will be taken as per laid down company policies. Ensuring safety, as always, remains Air India’s number one priority.”
Of course the irony here is that marijuana is legal in California, including for recreational use. However, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) follows federal laws rather than state laws, which is why this is an issue.
Was this a dumb mistake, or what happened?
Let me say that I think marijuana is stigmatized way too much, and personally I think it’s better than alcohol in just about every way, if you’re looking to wind down, or whatever. A lot of people like to put all “drugs” in one category, but there’s obviously a difference between between possessing a personal amount of marijuana, vs. having a drug mule quantity of cocaine.
That being said, I can’t help but be confused here:
- Pilots are not allowed to consume marijuana at all (which I think is stupid, but that’s besides the point), and they do get drug tested, so a vast majority of pilots do follow regulations, because their careers are on the line
- If he did want to consume marijuana, he could’ve just bought it in California, given that it’s legal there
So was he actually intending to consume it during his layover, or was it somehow accidentally placed in his bag? And if it was an accident, how exactly does that happen? I can’t imagine someone would find that to be a funny joke, so was it done with malicious intent, or…? More than anything else, the big issue here is the poor judgment of traveling with marijuana as a pilot (assuming he knew he had it on him).
Bottom line
An Air India pilot flying to the United States was denied entry at SFO because marijuana was found in his bag. He was deadheading on this sector, as he was supposed to work a flight a couple of days later. However, he ended up being sent back to India on the next flight.
Pilots have to follow strict rules on drugs. But even dumber than that, if he was going to consume marijuana (not that he should, because he would put his career in jeopardy), he could’ve just bought it in California!
What do you make of this Air India pilot marijuaan story?
Achrispetty (ig) who himself got caught for MJ and lives in Colorado explained the total prohibition and why he understands it... many countries where its banned do test for it, and if crew got caught up with local law enforcement and were tested it would come back positive even if the consumption occurred in a jurisdiction where it's legal. This would of course have potentially significant operations impact.
One simply cannot wait for the pot head proletariat to join in this conversation after happy hour and a couple of spiffs …. 100 clicks in the making is this article Ben.
Smoke a little weed. Take a crap on the sidewalk. Welcome to San Francisco.
(Lotta narcs in these comments…)
What's most interesting about this item is that the photo of the Air India jet is from a 2024 review of Singapore Airlines Business Class.
Have to stay away from alcohol and weed, to be sharp enough to manage a collection of airplane images.
Probably needed it to cover the smell from the main cabin.
I think it’s better than alcohol in just about every way.
Except that a one-time consumption of alcohol cannot trigger schizophrenia nor psychosis. Marijuana can.
One time consumption of alcohol can kill.
One time consumption of water in a large enough quantity can kill too.
Being a good Indian with fragile masculinity issues, he will not accept any responsibility and blame US laws.
That was so oddly specific. No one is judging you Endre.......no really.
Americans commenting on fragile masculinity, and accepting responsibility is the most hypocritic statement of the day on this blog.
I thought Marijuana is also legally banned and criminally punishable in India. That guys is in double trouble probably.
Don't know his intentions but the last thing I would want is my pilot toking on a bong in the hotel room before going down to meet the crew van.
That crap needs to be banned. It is disgusting
I find lots of things disgusting, so I choose not to do them. Why would I care what others do?
Others fine, however it’s the smell of marijuana that’s a problem. Many people don’t want to breath it as they pass someone who chooses to smoke it. Nor do I want to arrive home and find the corridor of my building is filled with the pungent smell as a neighbour decides to light a joint. This added to vaping.
Dumb yes. And for the why? Because using drugs leads to making poor choices.
@ Maryland -- Sure, consuming alcohol also leads to poor choices. But at least marijuana also has a medical use, unlike alcohol.
Alcohol and recreational drug use will not anyone smarter. I have observed this ; )
Ben, diamorphine also has a medical use, and that doesn't mean recreational use is ok.
Weed also happens to be legal in New York, albeit lower quality then Cali bud. Assuming he did this intentionally, he literally could have bought some either in NY or SF without any issues lol
Imagine bringing sand to a desert
Maybe, hear me out, we should both decriminalize and legalize this particular substance, which has valid medical and recreational uses, within reason. Now, obviously, a crew member should not use this or any substance, especially those that impair, like THC or alcohol.
Absolutely not. It freaking stinks. It is disgusting. It reeks to high heaven and makes me want to vomit.
I wish they would ban it.
And most people smoking it are not doing it for medical reasons.
One hundred percent agreed about smoking it, should not be legal in public, not in multi person housing. Pot-heads tend to be narcissists and just don't care about others. I feel the same about cigarettes being banned everywhere too, BTW.
Do you smoke reefer, Ben? And do you support airlines to allow crew to use the substance with similar time to duty limits as are in place for alcohol?
I agree with 1990 on this. Legalize it and tax it. I'm all about that. I don't partake myself (I'm also subject to DOT random testing) and on a flight would rather sit next to a chain smoker wearing the sweater they always smoke in versus someone smelling of weed, but if you wanna do it, go for it. I just don't want to pay for it.
I do agree with not allowing it...
I agree with 1990 on this. Legalize it and tax it. I'm all about that. I don't partake myself (I'm also subject to DOT random testing) and on a flight would rather sit next to a chain smoker wearing the sweater they always smoke in versus someone smelling of weed, but if you wanna do it, go for it. I just don't want to pay for it.
I do agree with not allowing it to come in from overseas. Because if we legalize it, it would be inspected and held to some standards (Towlie can't be everywhere at once though). Plus, again, who needs to bring substandard Indian weed to California? Buy American!