TSA busts Montel Williams with pot pipe at airport

Open medical marijuana user Montel Williams was busted at a Milwaukee airport for possession of a pipe used for smoking marijuana, although no pot residue was found in the pipe.

54-year-old former talk show host Williams has been advocating the use of medical marijuana for years, as he relies on it to treat his multiple sclerosis. (New York, where Williams lives, does not however legally allow the medicinal use of marijuana.) The incident was reportedly fairly straightforward, and Williams was not arrested:

The sheriff’s department said Transportation Security agents found the pipe at a security checkpoint. Williams paid a $484 forfeiture for possessing drug paraphernalia, and he was allowed to resume his travel.

Of the incident, his rep said:

“He has prescriptions for many different medications for MS. One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana.”

Williams was diagnosed with the debilitating illness back in 1999, and has been advocating for its legal availability to patients with similar ailments since he was caught with marijuana paraphernalia at a Detroit airport in 2003.