Heading To Burning Man? Be Careful With Your Weed Even Though It's Legal In Nevada - Here's Why

Burning Man 2024, the famed week-long experiment in community, art and lots of self-expression in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert is underway. While traditionally known as a festival above societal norms, smoking weed is frowned upon by law enforcement this year.

What’s Up? While cannabis is legal in Nevada, it’s banned at Burning Man because it takes place on federal land. Still, the event, praised by one of its attendees Tesla's CEO Elon Musk as unique, it remains a haven for lots of psychedelics and cannabis consumption among its 70,000 attendees each year.

Despite that, many have been fined and even ejected from the festival for smoking pot, according to Jacob Smith, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada and a volunteer for the Burning Man Legal Observer Program.

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"Although Burning Man can be a nurturing and safe space, there's still real-world dangers and potentially real world over-enforcement of marijuana laws," Smith said, reported SFGATE.

Read Also: Nevada Awards Cannabis Lounge Licenses, Less Than Half Of The Social Equity Licenses In Nevada Are Operational & More Cannabis Updates

During the event, say lawyers and organizers, undercover cops have been handing out tickets to those caught consuming cannabis.

"For simple cannabis possession, they often let you plead down to non-drug offenses and just pay a fine, but you still have to get a lawyer and deal with that," according to Mitchell Gomez, the executive director of DanceSafe, a harm reduction organization.

"You should not walk around with a joint at the playa, it's a bad idea," Gomez said. "That provides probable cause for searching you. They can go through your pockets. They'll often say you have to get your ID and take you back to your camp and then search your entire camp."

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