KTLA

City Councilman Mitch Englander Calls for Marijuana ‘Amnesty Boxes’ at LAX

A Los Angeles City Council member wants to give travelers flying out of Los Angeles International Airport with marijuana in their possession the option to dump the legal drug in a so-called “amnesty box” before going through security.

The 100-foot LAX Gateway pylons at Los Angeles International Airport are lit green on March 23, 2013. (Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

The effort by Councilman Mitch Englander touches on a sort of gray area for the drug, whose possession is legal in California.

The federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule 1, thus illegal, drug and if a Transportation Security Administration officer finds a substance that may violate federal law — such as marijuana — they let local law enforcement to handle the issue.

But at LAX, if an adult traveler is found to have a legal amount of pot — less than an ounce — in their possession, Airport Police officers will let them go through security regardless of their destination, said Los Angeles Airport Police spokesman Rob Pedregon.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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