Tourists leaving Las Vegas can now dispose of their leftover, legally-purchased marijuana at specially designated bins outside the McCarran International Airport, rather than hastily smoking it before the flight, or just donating it to a chill bro on the way out of town.
The green receptacles — of which there are 13 so far — have been bolted to the ground in “high-traffic” areas outside the airport and its car rental area, The Las Vegas Sun is reporting. The Department of Aviation moved to install the bins, or amnesty boxes, after Clark County instituted a ban on marijuana possession and advertising at McCarran back in September.
“The amnesty boxes are offered as a way to help people comply with this ordinance,” airport spokesperson Christine Crews told the Associated Press.
The sale of recreational marijuana has been legal in Nevada since July 2017. Possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, or up to 1/8 ounce of concentrated marijuana, was legalized the previous January, according to the Sun.
In 2017, tourists who neglected to dispose of their leftover marijuana before arriving at McCarran would have to deal with the Las Vegas Metro Police, who would ultimately determine if the tourist was carrying a felony amount. However, Officer Aden Ocampo-Gomez of the Las Vegas police force said no citations have been issued stemming from the airport’s new ordinances on marijuana possession and advertising, passed in September.
Airport spokesperson Christina Crews added that the amnesty boxes will be monitored to prevent tampering.
“The drawer pulls out; you drop your stuff in and you close it. You can’t really get your hand in there. If you start tampering with them, you’d be detected pretty quickly,” she told the Sun.
A contractor has also been hired to collect and dispose of the receptacles’ contents multiple times per week.
The county aviation department said it plans to install at least seven additional amnesty boxes at McCarran and nearby airports, but possibly more.