Las Vegas airport installs marijuana disposal boxes

Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport has installed "marijuana amnesty boxes" on the grounds for passengers who forgot to ditch their legal bud.

Nevada legalized recreational marijuana last summer, but Clark County banned possession of cannabis at McCarran in order to comply with federal laws.

The airport said the first 13 of a planned 20 "marijuana amnesty boxes" have been installed in locations including parking and car rental areas.

"The drawer pulls out; you drop your stuff in and you close it. You can't really get your hand in there," McCarran spokeswoman Christine Crews told the Las Vegas Sun. "If you start tampering with them, you'd be detected pretty quickly."

Crews said the bins can also be used to dispose of prescription drugs and other prohibited items.

"We've had a variety of other things disposed of in the bins," Crews told CNN. "For example, I was sent a picture of one of the bins containing pills, vape pens, rolled tobacco-looking products, prescription bottles and marijuana-infused drinks."

She said the boxes are emptied frequently by a company on contract with the county.