Got High, Now Ready To Take Flight? Airport Says Ditch your Cannabis!

Let us run a scenario past you, and then we can determine if you know what to do in that situation to prevent yourself from getting into trouble. So, you decide to visit Sin City and spend a couple of nights trying your luck in the casinos. You love smoking cannabis, and so you stop off at the best Las Vegas dispensary you can find. You buy some Blue Dream flower and spend the rest of your evening listening to Pink Floyd and chilling out. You then place the cannabis in your pocket and forget about it.

Skip forward a couple of days, and you’re getting out of a taxi with your bags at the airport. You decide that it’s wise to have a quick drink and smoke a cigarette before you venture inside. You reach into your pocket for your packet of smokes and notice something rubbing up against your hand. Oh no! You quickly realize that you didn’t leave the last of your bud at the hotel, and now you’re going to get into lots of trouble by walking into an airport with a pocket full of marijuana. What do you do?

Well, in most places around the world, you panic. The only option usually involves attempting to drop your bud on the floor before you enter the airport or flush it down the toilet once you get inside. Neither of those solutions is ideal because there is still a chance a customs official could search you and discover the incriminating material. Thankfully, anyone who travels to Las Vegas in the future does not need to worry. That is because the airport now recognizes your plight and provides a workable solution that prevents anyone from breaking the law.

So what’s the deal with these cannabis bins?

For the reasons just described, security staff at airports in Sin City are getting sick of detaining and searching people just because they forgot to remove some cannabis from their pockets or baggage. Everyone knows Las Vegas marijuana is some of the best in the world, and so it’s unlikely anyone will make it through an airport without arousing suspicion with the smell. Workers are now counteracting the issue by placing specialist cannabis bins in strategic locations around the establishment. That means that anyone who visits Vegas and forgets to throw their bud in the trash should no longer face prosecution. You just need to realize you have the cannabis on your person before you go through the security checks.

The ten green bins you’ll find around the airport are part of a campaign to prevent potheads from getting arrested after they spend a few days visiting their favorite Las Vegas dispensary. They are called “amnesty boxes,” and anyone is free to use them to dispose of their cannabis. Unfortunately, while the plant is legal in Nevada, it’s still illegal according to federal law. So, there is still a long way to go before you can get on a plane with cannabis in your pocket and not gain the attention of customs staff.

What happens if you get busted with cannabis at an airport?

It’s difficult to give an accurate answer to that question because there are hundreds of variables involved. However, when asking the same question online, a forum poster attracted the attention of a prosecutor who wrote “about 13 years in my experience.” Due to the illegality of Las Vegas marijuana on a national level, there are still some pretty severe charges against anyone who’s suspected of smuggling the material. That is the case, even if you only have a small quantity. So, make sure you take full advantage of the new green amnesty boxes because they could help you to avoid a prison term. Prison is no place for peace-loving potheads such as yourself.

At least now the airport lets you ditch your cannabis; there should be fewer instances in which tourists attract the attention of police and find themselves on the wrong side of the law. With a bit of luck, the situation will improve within the next decade as more state legalize cannabis and airport security staff have to treat the substance in the same way they approach alcohol or cigarettes today. If you need any more information or advice, just ask the staff members at any Las Vegas dispensary you visit during your stay. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Travel Weekly