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After being arrested in Russia for illegal drug smuggling, WNBA star Brittney Griner’s new business venture is ensuring no other traveler has the same harrowing experience.
Nearly four years after WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained at a Russian airport after authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, the basketball star’s newest venture aims to ensure travelers feel safer when carrying medications abroad.
Griner has launched Zennjet, a new travel membership company designed to help people who rely on prescription medications feel safer and better informed during international travel.
The arrest that changed everything
On February 17, 2022, Griner was apprehended at Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) in Moscow, Russia, when customs officials found vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage. Griner was returning to Russia to play basketball with UMMC Ekaterinburg, a professional women’s team she began playing for in 2014.
Griner had been prescribed medicinal cannabis in Arizona for pain management. However, cannabis is illegal in Russia. The Olympic champion was later found guilty of illegal drug smuggling and sentenced to nine years in prison. She spent nearly 10 months in Russian custody before being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer.
Griner has repeatedly described her experience as terrifying, saying it pushed her toward advocacy in hopes that no one else would have to endure a similar ordeal.
“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 USA Today in a December 2025 interview announcing the launch of Zennjet. “I want people to be able to be aware, informed and to know where they’re going, where they’re traveling.”
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What is Zennjet?
As co-founder, Griner helps provide travelers with destination-specific laws and risks related to their medications so they can remain safe, compliant, and confident while traveling internationally.
Zennjet describes itself as an “insured travel membership” that supports those traveling 150 miles or more from home, with a particular focus on individuals carrying prescription medications, including tightly regulated drugs such as medical cannabis.
Membership pricing is based on several factors, including trip length, the number of borders crossed, and the level of coverage selected, as well as whether the plan is for a single traveler or multiple travelers.
What this means for travelers
Once enrolled, members receive legal support, including access to vetted local counsel if needed, along with translation and repatriation services. Zennjet also offers medical assistance, such as help refilling prescriptions overseas, and maintains a 24/7 global emergency contact number for travelers.
Members also receive a “Destination Risk Report,” which outlines what travelers need to know about their medications and any related restrictions or sanctions in their destination country.
The importance of this report was emphasized by Christopher Macolini, Zennjet’s chief intelligence officer.
“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,” he told USA Today. “That can be an issue as well.”
Griner and Macolini also offered practical advice for individuals traveling with medication, including thoroughly checking all bags and pockets, ensuring prescriptions are up to date, and determining whether it may be safer or more feasible to have a prescription—or an alternative—filled locally.
Ultimately, Griner stressed that education is key. “Taking that bit of time can save you a lot of heartache, a lot of money, a lot of time.”
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