Carnival Cruise Line banned a Texas mother from its fleet for life after she tried to board one of the company’s ships with a packet of CBD sleep aid gum in Miami.
Melinda Van Veldhuizen, a 42-year-old mother of two, said she was treated “like a criminal” by cruise workers and police when they found a bag of CBD “sleep tight” chewing gum while searching her backpack at PortMiami over the summer. , ABC News Miami affiliate WPLG reported.
The Dallas-based nurse practitioner told the news station she packed the gum to help her sleep better on the August trip she planned to take with her family to celebrate her 21st wedding anniversary with her husband and her son’s senior year of high school. .
Van Veldhuizen was taken to a separate area after cruise staff found CBD chewing gum in his bag.
He was then questioned by Carnival security and police for two and a half hours, he told WPLG.
Melinda Van Veldhuizen has been banned from all Carnival cruise ships for life after taking CBD chewing gum with her. WPLG
The mother – who stated that she had never received a parking ticket – was barred from boarding the ship, and her husband and son did not want to go on cruises to Aruba, Curaçao and the Dominican Republic without her.
The family had spent about $5,586 on their planned vacation, Van Veldhuizen’s attorney Daren Stabinski told the Washington Post.
CBD, a compound usually derived from hemp that doesn’t cause damage or a “high,” differs from marijuana, which contains THC — a mind-altering substance, according to the CDC.
Melinda Van Veldhuizen said she was treated “like a criminal” when police found a “sleepy” CBD candy in her backpack.
CBD is legal in most states after Congress removed hemp — defined as any part of the cannabis sativa plant with no more than 0.3% THC — from its list of controlled substances.
Van Veldhuizen’s gummies contain less than 0.01% THC, according to WPLG.
Hemp products, however, are prohibited by Carnival Cruise Lines.
Start your day with everything you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
“While certain CBD products used for medicinal purposes may be legal in the US, they are not legal in all the ports we visited and are therefore also considered contraband,” its website says.
Shortly after Van Veldhuizen was barred from the cruise he paid for, he received a letter from Carnival informing him he was banned from all Carnival ships for life, WPLG reported.
A letter signed by Captain Rocco Lubrano states that he “will not be allowed to sail on any Carnival Cruise Lines ship in the future.”
“This decision is based on your actions on the current cruise, which are in violation of the ship’s rules, interfere with the safety and/or enjoyment of other guests on board or cause harm to Carnival,” Lubrano wrote.
Van Veldhuizen said he has taken more than a dozen Carnival cruises over the years and was surprised by the letter and the whole experience.
“I think it’s one of those situations where you’re like, ‘Oh shoot, I left a bottle of water in my backpack; you have to throw it away,’ that kind of thing happens at TSA,” Van Veldhuizen told a local news station.
A letter signed by Captain Rocco Lubrano states that he “will not be allowed to sail on any Carnival Cruise Lines ship in the future.” WPLG CBD, derived from hemp which does not cause damage, is banned by Carnival Cruise Lines. WPLG
He is pursuing an internal claim with Carnival but has threatened to sue if the situation is not resolved “appropriately” and hired Stabinski to help him, the Washington Post reported.
“Of all the cases I’ve taken, this one is particularly extreme,” Stabinski told WPLG.
Carnival did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
