Chicago airports get cannabis ‘amnesty boxes’

Posted on 14 January 2020

Airports in the city of Chicago, Illinois are the latest to join other US airports in introducing cannabis ‘amnesty boxes’.

These boxes allow travellers who smoke marijuana, which is legal in Illinois, to dispose of any of the substance they may still have in their possession before passing through security checkpoints and boarding.

Of the 52 US states, 33 have legalised the use of marijuana in some form, but only 11 states and Washington DC have legalised the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Across the country, certain airports in ‘green states’ have introduced similar facilities for travellers to get rid of their weed.

Travellers who partake in the ‘wacky tobaccy’ in Chicago, or any other city and airport where recreational use is permitted, may not be able to do so in another state or country, or be in possession of the substances up in the air.

The bright blue boxes are clearly marked and bear the city’s coat of arms. The Chicago police have access to them and will be responsible for monitoring and emptying the cannabis amnesty boxes, which were installed at security checkpoints throughout Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare international airports on 1 January 2020. These substances are meant to be disposed of thereafter, as is the protocol with confiscated narcotics.

 

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‘Although the sale of recreational marijuana is allowed in certain US states […] cannabis is still an illegal drug according to federal law…’ says flight comparison site Alternative Airlines. ‘This means that flying with marijuana is illegal, even between legalised states.’ The only exceptions to these laws would be related to CBD products prescribed for medical reasons.

The 11 US states that have legalised recreational use of marijuana are Washington State, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine.

Image: by @this_is_emma via Twitter

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