Colorado Airport Gives Travelers A Chance To Legally Ditch Marijuana Before Boarding Flights

Colorado Springs Airport has installed two “amnesty boxes” around their facility today to allow users to legally leave behind their (presumably) legally bought marijuana before boarding their flights.

Airport officials say the boxes give travelers who didn’t realize it was illegal to have marijuana at the airport a chance to avoid federal penalties. All marijuana dropped in the amnesty boxes will be destroyed.

On Jan. 1, Colorado became the first U.S. state to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana. The laws allows travelers to leave pot in their vehicles at the airport parking lot. Once in the airport, however, marijuana is an illegal controlled substance under federal law. That applies to both recreational and medical marijuana.

Travelers who do decide to bring their marijuana onto a plane can face up to $2,500 in fines and possible jail time, KKTV reports. The Colorado Springs police chief warned that Transport Security Administration (TSA) agents will call the local police if they find marijuana during their screenings.

Denver Airport will not install the boxes, but instead will encourage travelers to throw their weed in the garbage. Greg Phillips of Eagle County Airport near Vail, Colo., says the airport may install the boxes, because leaving pot in the garbage could encourage others to dig through the trash to find it.