Melinda Van Veldhuizen, a 42-year-old nurse practitioner and chiropractor from Dallas, Texas, was planning to celebrate her 21st wedding anniversary and her son’s senior year in high school on Carnival’s Horizon Cruise in August.
Van Veldhuizen, a frequent cruise passenger, had been trying to get through security at the Port of Miami in August when she was stopped by agents after X-rays detected nail clippers in her suitcase, according to The Washington Post. While searching her bag, agents found CBD gummies and pulled her aside.
Van Veldhuizen told The Washington Post and WPLG that the gummies were sealed and that she brought them onboard to help her sleep, which they were advertised as doing.
“I have trouble sleeping, so it was just to make sure I could sleep on the trip,” Van Veldhuizen told WPLG, which first reported the story. ”I’ve always travelled with them, no problem.”
She expressed how she was taken to an area away from her family where she was interrogated by security and police, and had to wait for more than two hours before she was informed that she would not be able to board the cruise.
“The captain asked me several times if I had a marijuana card or if I had a diagnosis, if I needed it. I said, ‘It’s CBD; that doesn’t exist. It’s just not a thing,’ ” she said, adding that her family also opted not to go on the cruise without her.
Soon after, she received a letter from Carnival saying that she was banned from all future cruises with the company. The letter, which she shared with WPLG and The Washington Post, stated: “This decision was based on your actions on the current cruise, which were in violation of ship rules, interfered with the safety and/or enjoyment of other guests on the ship or caused harm to Carnival.”
Daren Stabinski, Van Veldhuizen’s South Florida-based attorney, told the newspaper that she was initially informed by the cruise company that she would be responsible for the cost of the cruise fare for her entire family, which totaled about $5,586. However, Carnival only offered to reimburse her $1,665 cruise fare.
Stabinski said that his client was seeking an end to her ban as well as a refund for the rest of her family’s fares.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound found in marijuana that is not “impairing” and can be derived from hemp or from non-hemp plants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC noted in 2018 that the U.S. Congress passed a law to remove hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act, legalizing CBD if it comes from hemp.
“They should not be treating people like criminals for this,” Stabinski told The Washington Post of his client.
Photo from Carnival Cruise Line (CCL)
