United States Admiralty law

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paranoia9x

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I live in the United States of America. I am planning on going on a cruise that is leaving from the USA. The United States flag is going to be waving on this boat. Once out of US waters, does the federal controlled substances act still apply?
 
Under the nationality principle, the law of the flag applies to crimes committed on board. I don't know how these types of situations work, in practice, but federal law is very clear...

"It is unlawful for any person on board a vessel of the United States, or on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States...to possess with intent to manufacture or distribute...a controlled substance." Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. 46 U.S.C. app. § 1903

Also -- under the Federal Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, it is unlawful for any person to possess a scheduled substance on a boat or airplane.

The courts have approved of these laws, saying that international law can only be raised as a defense if it is invoked by that foreign nation to protect a foreign ship (of same nation). (So if you were sailing and arrested on a Colombian ship, for example, the govenment of Colombia would have to object to U.S. jurisdiction.)

Also remember that U.S. customs officials may conduct border search without violating Fourth Amendment. Again, I don't know how these laws operate in practice. Most of the published opinions involve big time offenses. I've never been on a cruise. I've never talked to anyone who's been busted on a cruise. But there is probably a typical course of action for these guys.

Still, it's pretty exciting to see an admiralty question in this forum. :)
 
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The ocean presents an excellent place to deposit, items which may present legal problems. Just toss it overboard, and all is well(unless your tossing huge bricks of coke, then someone might bother to fish it out).
 
^
that might not help either, since there are plenty of cases where the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act was applied to foreign ships in international waters. the countries where these ships were registerd did not object to Coast Guard seizure and the like. see U.S. v. EDILSON BUSTOS-USECHE
 
so the law of the country the vessel was registered in is what applies on board? even if there is no flag waving?
 
yeah, there are actually more important bases for jurisdiction than just a flag. the flag thing is just an easy way to describe it. registration, situs, relationship with a country are more important.
 
lol, if the vessel is flagged/registered in the US then US law applies to the occupants.
I'm sorry I didn't see you had mentioned that it was flagged US in the first post. I know
you don't want to hear this but transporting drugs aboard a cruise ship is not a good idea.
Be safe :)
 
what about transporting unscheduled plant material that contains a controlled substance out of the country to a country where the substance it contains is legal with the intention of making the brew/extraction there?
 
I recently went on a cruise and they wouldn't even allow you to have hard alcohol. They sold it on the ship but couldn't pick it up until the day the cruise ended. You could get beer and wine though and hard alcohol in the bars only. So, my answer is that if they wern't even allowing hard alcohol to leave the bars they must have some concern for drugs on board.

That said though.. I was brewing opium tea in my cabin with the coffee pot and smoking weed in the bathroom (they have insane air circulation to prevent sea-borne illness).
 
paranoia9x said:
what about transporting unscheduled plant material that contains a controlled substance out of the country to a country where the substance it contains is legal with the intention of making the brew/extraction there?
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like coca with cocaine alkaloid or khat with cathinone alkaloid? khat is Schedule I and coca is Schedule II, meaning they are both illegal (unless you have a docmented medical need). some other "plant materials" seem to be in a legal grey area, though, so unless you can be more specific i'm not sure of the legal status. if it's illegal in the United States and you are on a U.S. vessel, then it will be illegal there too. for more information on the legality of substances check the write ups at www.erowid.org.
 
khat is unscheduled, but coca is scheduled along with the controlled substance it contains. the plant material im using for this in theory situation is not specifically scheduled, but it does contain a controlled substance.
 
Banquo said:
Under the nationality principle, the law of the flag applies to crimes committed on board.
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Sort of. The nationality principle refers to the ability of the U.S. to exercise prescriptive jurisdiction over its nationals abroad. The nationality principle is person-centric rather than place-centric.
 
not all plant materials that contain controlled substances are enforced unless the specific plant material is scheduled. you can buy san pedro at home depot for example.

wouldn't it be legal to posses these plant materials without the intention to consume them, at least not within the USA?
 
paranoia9x said:
not all plant materials that contain controlled substances are enforced unless the specific plant material is scheduled. you can buy san pedro at home depot for example.

wouldn't it be legal to posses these plant materials without the intention to consume them, at least not within the USA?
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No. Just because the law is not enforced does not mean it is legal.

If you intentionally possess the cactus, knowing that it contains a scheduled substance, that's illegal regardless of whether you intend to consume it.
 
Bringing or using recreational drugs on a cruise ship is a bad idea. Cruiselines are often very strict about it and may kick you off the cruise (at the next port) on the first offense leaving you to pay your own way home.

If you are caught trying to bring it aboard at a US port, you might be turned over to Customs officials by cruiseline security.
 
paranoia9x said:
khat is unscheduled, but coca is scheduled along with the controlled substance it contains. the plant material im using for this in theory situation is not specifically scheduled, but it does contain a controlled substance.
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The 1993 DEA rule putting cathinone in Schedule I effectively banned khat:

Cathinone is the major psychoactive component of the plant Catha edulis (khat). The young leaves of khat are chewed for a stimulant effect. Enactment of this rule results in the placement of any material which contains cathinone into Schedule I.

Drug Enforcement Administration
21 CFR Part 1308
Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Cathinone and
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine Into Schedule I
AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Final rule.

http://www.erowid.org/freedom/law/federal_register/58.FR.4316.shtml


The DEA has also been involved in busting up khat shipments.
 
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