HIGH LIFE

Pot Smuggling Jumps by 166% at LAX Since California Marijuana Legalization

Trafficking arrests have skyrocketed at the Los Angeles airport since California legalized marijuana.

A year after California legalized recreational cannabis, smuggling rates out of Los Angeles International Airport have increased by 166 percent, according to the Los Angeles Times. The paper reviewed recent arrest warrants at the airport and cite officials who say that those who sold pot when it was illegal are now expanding out of the state. “Since pot’s been legalized in California, there’s no money to be made because everyone got involved in it,” defense attorney Bill Kroger Jr. told the paper. “The money is outside of California.” Marijuana use is legal in California, but it is still a federal offense, which makes transporting it across state lines is illegal. The Times also reports an increase in pot smuggling by car, which is harder to catch due to a lack of controls across state borders.