Carnival Bans Woman for Life After Finding CBD Gummies

Source: Carnival Cruise Line
A woman is facing a lifetime ban on any future Carnival cruises after security found a pack of CBD gummies in her suitcase.
According to the Washington Post, Melinda Van Veldhuizen, a 42-year-old nurse practitioner and chiropractor from Dallas, was stopped by security before a trip on the Carnival Horizon because an X-ray scan detected metal nail clippers in her suitcase. During a bag search, security workers found a pack of CBD gummies advertised to help with sleep troubles.
The Washington Postreports Carnival’s guidelines say that CBD products are prohibited at sea because they are “not legal in all the ports we visit,” regardless of whether they are available for “medicinal purposes” across parts of the United States.
Van Veldhuizen was eventually told she would not be allowed to board the cruise and was later sent a letter telling her she would be banned from all of the carrier’s ships.
According to the Washington Post, Van Veldhuizen has hired an attorney to get reimbursed for her family’s cruise fare and try to get the ban lifted.
“I was … freaking out, because I don’t even have a parking ticket. I follow the rules,” she told the Washington Post.
“This has been emotionally grueling and embarrassing for my client, and we just want Carnival to do the right thing,” Daren Stabinski, her South Florida-based attorney, said in a statement.
“We are not here to ascertain where our guests purchase CBD or what they intend to use it for once on board,” Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson Matt Lupoli wrote in an email to the Washington Post. “Our responsibility is to follow federal guidelines and stop prohibited items from being brought on board our ships.”