Las Vegas’ Marijuana Laws Mislead: HempCon, Flavor Flav, Wiz Khalifa

Is there a good reason that a marijuana convention, Flavor Flav and Wiz Khalifa have been cited (or near-cited) by police for marijuana — considering these incidents all took place in Las Vegas?

Marijuana has been gaining popularity across the nation, and its acceptance has spread state-by-state at a rapid pace over 2015. Despite this, there are still headlines from one of the states where marijuana was first legal that have recently caused celebrities like Flavor Flav and Wiz Khalifa to feel the blunt end of the Nevada marijuana laws.

In Las Vegas, medical marijuana has been legalized since 2000, and marijuana ingestion outside of medical use is decriminalized. The marijuana business in Nevada has bloomed over the years, and it is no surprise that Las Vegas held a marijuana convention in mid-May.

At HempCon, vendors displayed their goods and advertised a marijuana job fair on the horizon — all within legal bounds. Despite this, FOX 5 Vegas states that at least 10 people were arrested at the recent Las Vegas marijuana education convention.

About the incident, The Star Advertiser states that the Las Vegas Metro Police caught five vendors “selling marijuana to undercover officers… Detectives also caught vendors selling hallucinogenic mushrooms at the convention.”

Furthermore, The Star Advertiser says, “the City of Las Vegas may cite the promoter, who was briefed by police and Las Vegas’ business licensing department on laws governing the event.”

Unfortunately, the main legal issues that may be missed by those from states where marijuana is illegal is that, legally, when and where marijuana is being consumed (or purchased) matters. The stakes get higher if there are other controlled substances found at the scene at the time of police interaction.

For instance, Flavor Flav was arrested for marijuana possession in Las Vegas — and to the casual observer, these headlines may have seemed shocking since Nevada is well-known as a marijuana-lenient state.

However, once clarified, it becomes clear why marijuana mattered in Flavor Flav’s arrest. XXL Magazine states, “[Flavor Flav] was pulled over by Nevada Highway Patrol for speeding in his black 2005 BMW. Flav was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, driving without registration, driving with an open container and possession of marijuana.”

Since Flavor Flav was caught with something besides marijuana and was driving while under the influence, it is likely that having marijuana in his possession might matter in court — according to NORML’s explanation of Nevada’s marijuana laws.

However, what about Wiz Khalifa? Was he out of bounds with his recent marijuana incident in Las Vegas?

https://youtu.be/oXwNgGz3vzQ

Wiz Khalifa (who has stated before that he was arrested 21 times for marijuana) had an incident with smoking marijuana during the Billboard Music Awards in mid-May. While Wiz Khalifa was not officially arrested or given a citation for smoking marijuana in Las Vegas — there was an interaction with police.

According to Billboard Magazine, Wiz Khalifa was dragging on marijuana as the cameras took his picture on the red carpet. A witness said that a Las Vegas cop told Wiz Khalifa about his marijuana smoking “Do not light that in my face again or we will take a ride downtown.”

The witness stated about the incident concerning Wiz Khalifa smoking marijuana in Las Vegas that “It might be legal for medical in Vegas, but the cops don’t have the tolerance they do in L.A.”

In other words, even though America is fond of saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” — that might not be true if tourists are taking home court date for not understanding the 50 shades of gray in Nevada’s marijuana laws.

Sadly, as celebrities have recently proven, Las Vegas has legal marijuana for medical use and decriminalizes smaller amounts — but that can be misleading. As it stands, a person could still get in a great deal of legal trouble for smoking marijuana in Las Vegas — even if they are a top dog or celebrity.

[Feature image via Getty Images.]