Traveling with meds? Brittney Griner shares the risks she learned

WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for 10 months after vape cartridges with cannabis oil were found in her luggage.Griner has since co-founded a company to help educate travelers about the risks of bringing prescription medications abroad.Experts advise researching a destination’s laws on specific medications before traveling, as regulations vary by country.

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Brittney Griner is perhaps the most famous person to encounter an issue traveling with prescription medicine in recent memory. 

The WNBA star was arrested in Russia in 2022 on drug possession charges after border agents found vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis in her luggage. Griner was ultimately sentenced to prison in Russia and served 10 months before becoming part of a prisoner exchange deal. 

Griner acknowledged that she had been prescribed medical cannabis for off-season pain management, but said it was never her intention to bring banned substances into Russia. 

Since then, she’s become active in advocating for better education around traveling with regulated prescriptions, and recently co-founded Zennjet, a company that offers legal assistance and travel insurance for medical cannabis users.  

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“I never want anybody to go through what I went through. I’m aware that I’m very blessed and very lucky to have an agency team, my wife and everybody behind me,” Griner told me in a recent interview. “I want people to be able to be aware, informed and to know where they’re going, where they’re traveling.” 

What happened to Brittney Griner? 

Griner said that her situation was an extreme worst-case scenario for travelers who inadvertently bring a regulated or banned substance into another country. 

She was traveling to Russia to play in a professional basketball league there during the WNBA offseason.  

“They take you, detain you, they literally will strip you of everything you have and all communication is gone. So, for me it was. It was a very scary moment,” she said. “They’re talking to me in Russian. I don’t speak Russian. There’s no translator. They go grab this lady from the duty-free store to … translate for me, who is not a translator. She works at the duty-free store.”  

Griner said officials were urging her to sign documents in Russian, and she was eventually able to get in touch with her agent and her wife, who is a lawyer. 

She served 10 months in a Russian prison after pleading guilty before being released as part of a prisoner exchange. 

Griner returned to the United States after her release and plays for the Atlanta Dream WNBA franchise. 

“Being a political pawn is definitely different than what a lot of people will experience,” Griner said. “I hope no one else experiences what I experienced.”  

What are the risks of traveling with prescription medications? 

Griner and others at Zennjet acknowledge that no matter how careful you are, there are still risks when traveling internationally with prescription medication. 

“They can be stopped at the border or at the airport when coming in, and a lot of times they’ll find prescription medication that’s not allowed in a country, or it could be prescription medication that they’ve taken out of the original container,” Christopher Macolini, Zennjet’s chief intelligence officer, told me. “That can be an issue as well.” 

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Every country has its own regulations about prescription medication and controlled substances, so it’s important to do your research into exactly what’s allowed before you travel to avoid any possible complications at the border. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends checking with embassies in the countries you’re planning to visit. 

Macolini and Griner both acknowledged that travelers rarely get arrested for bringing in banned or regulated prescriptions, but the medicine could be confiscated by customs authorities abroad, which poses its own complications for travelers who rely on their prescriptions to stay healthy. 

Tips for making traveling with prescriptions easier 

Griner said she has different bags for at-home use and travel use now, to avoid inadvertently leaving anything she’s not supposed to have in her luggage, and does a careful inspection before every trip. 

“Going through our bags, checking every pocket,” she said. “If I’m moving around with certain medications, making sure that I don’t use a bag that I would use for traveling, so there’s just no cross-contamination.” 

Griner added that doing your research on exactly what is and isn’t allowed in advance can help make your trip smoother. 

“Educate yourself before you’re going, even if it’s somewhere that you’ve traveled and all your friends travel to a lot,” she said. “I tell people: look it up, look up their laws, look up what can I bring.” 

Macolini agreed that kind of research is crucial before every trip, as well as bringing the right documents with you. 

“The biggest thing is to become aware, prior to traveling, of what’s allowed and not allowed,” he said. “Always travel with a copy of the prescription. Make sure any prescription medication is carried in an original container with your name on it.” 

Zennjet members can register their trips with the company and receive detailed information about drug and prescription regulations for their destinations. 

“We did extensive research on all of the countries. Every country has a breakdown of the drugs that are allowed and not allowed,” Macolini said. 

What can you do if your prescription is banned in a country you’re traveling to? 

If it turns out you’re not permitted to bring some of the medicine you depend on in another country, you may not automatically have to call off your trip. 

“If you know in advance that they don’t accept them there, you can reach out to a local doctor in a country where you’re going, see if you can set up to meet a doctor when you arrive,” Macolini said. “Set up to have that prescription filled locally.” 

Some countries have stricter laws about medication importation than they do about distribution within the country. 

He added that you can also consult with your doctor to see if there are alternative, permitted medicines you can take temporarily to stay in compliance with regulations abroad. 

Griner agreed that research and advanced planning are crucial if you need to travel with prescriptions. 

“Education is key,” she said. “Taking that bit of time can save you a lot of heartache, a lot of money, a lot of time.”  

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.