Las Vegas airport may ban mobile marijuana advertisements

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How far can local and federal governments go in banning marijuana-related advertisements at airports?

That question has taken center stage in Nevada, where Clark County commissioners are debating whether taxis bearing marijuana advertising should be allowed to ferry passengers to and from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is part of Clark County.

Commissioners agree marijuana advertisements shouldn’t be allowed at the airport because it’s property of the federal government, which views marijuana as illegal, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

However, the commissioners are discussing a proposed ordinance that would make the advertisement and possession of marijuana illegal at all properties owned by the airport, the newspaper reported.

Rosemary Vassiliadis, who oversees McCarran, said the ordinance was meant for “the airport environment” but “not the transient vehicles that come through the airport,” according to the Sun.

County lawyers argue the ordinance doesn’t offer exceptions to the ban, meaning it could be applied to taxis, mobile billboards and even commercial vehicles owned by marijuana businesses with the company’s name or logo painted on the surface.

The airport’s legal staff could write clarifications into the ordinance, but several commissioners said they liked the harsher interpretation.

Commissioners have ordered the district attorney’s office and Aviation Department to write a revised draft ordinance they can review later, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.