Legal to Mail Tobacco to Myself?

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Zack Miller

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 13, 2020
643
1,949
Fort Worth, Texas
It’s against the law for sellers to ship to some states, but if you are mailing to yourself, it is not a commercial transaction. As such the shipment is via the U.S. post office and should have nothing to do with the state.

According to Washington statutes for example

(1) A person may not:
(a) Ship or transport, or cause to be shipped or transported, any tobacco product ordered or purchased by mail or through the internet to anyone in this state other than a licensed wholesaler or retailer.

While we are at it, I think I see a loophole. It says nothing about telephone orders.
 
Jun 23, 2019
1,855
12,852
I’m not sure if this is the right forum but is it legal to mail myself tobacco?

Thanks

We'll need to know a lot more information before anyone can properly answer that.

But if you're asking whether or not "mailing something to yourself" will circumvent any tobacco import customs or restrictions my guess is probably not.
 
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FurCoat

Lifer
Sep 21, 2020
9,183
83,391
North Carolina
It’s against the law for sellers to ship to some states, but if you are mailing to yourself, it is not a commercial transaction. As such the shipment is via the U.S. post office and should have nothing to do with the state.

According to Washington statutes for example

(1) A person may not:
(a) Ship or transport, or cause to be shipped or transported, any tobacco product ordered or purchased by mail or through the internet to anyone in this state other than a licensed wholesaler or retailer.

While we are at it, I think I see a loophole. It says nothing about telephone orders.
Good catch.
 

BrokenRecord

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 26, 2020
195
666
PNW, US
It’s against the law for sellers to ship to some states, but if you are mailing to yourself, it is not a commercial transaction. As such the shipment is via the U.S. post office and should have nothing to do with the state.

According to Washington statutes for example

(1) A person may not:
(a) Ship or transport, or cause to be shipped or transported, any tobacco product ordered or purchased by mail or through the internet to anyone in this state other than a licensed wholesaler or retailer.

While we are at it, I think I see a loophole. It says nothing about telephone orders.
I do not see a difference between purchasing tobacco by phone or the internet. It still will be sent by mail, which is what the state authorities are investigating. In essence, you are purchasing it by mail. It is also important to note that shipping tobacco into WA is a felony, though they seem to be prosecuting only large purchases at the moment.
 
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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,956
29,906
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I’m not sure if this is the right forum but is it legal to mail myself tobacco?

Thanks
probably not if you're asking. That's the best guess I can make with the scant info available. Though post offices often have long lists of what you can't send period and they're usually pretty clear about the details. Like they'll usually state things like personal use fine commercial not if that's the case. And if by the way when you find the list it's pretty long and includes things that should be obvious (you can't send bombs, or living animals without proper permits and such) instead of searching by yourself copy the whole list put into a word processor and use the find feature for tobacco. And then you should have a good idea what the law says about it.
 

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,261
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and I do not play one on TV.

Since you live in Washington state, I would assume the answer is probably...No, it is not legal. But I don't know for sure.

Why would you mail yourself tobacco? If you are out of state and buy some, just bring it back with you. That sounds like a far easier solution to me, and a legal one.

But here's the rub, only you can ask yourself if you want to mail it to yourself. To you, is the risk of getting caught/fined worth the reward of doing it? Only you can answer that question.
 
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Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,285
23,639
39
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
probably not if you're asking. That's the best guess I can make with the scant info available. Though post offices often have long lists of what you can't send period and they're usually pretty clear about the details. Like they'll usually state things like personal use fine commercial not if that's the case. And if by the way when you find the list it's pretty long and includes things that should be obvious (you can't send bombs, or living animals without proper permits and such) instead of searching by yourself copy the whole list put into a word processor and use the find feature for tobacco. And then you should have a good idea what the law says about it.
No bombs?! Ugh...how then can I get rid of my CAO Cherrybomb?
 
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