Denver airport bans marijuana possession

Nancy Trejos | USA TODAY

Marijuana sales will become legal in Colorado on Jan. 1, but travelers won't be able to carry it at Denver International Airport.

The airport will become the first city facility to prohibit marijuana possession on all its property in order to combat illegal interstate trafficking, the Denver Post reports.

The policy will go into effect in early January.

Recent city ordinances have banned the display and transfer, but not the possession, of marijuana on city-owned property such as parks, the paper reports.

"We didn't want to impact other airports and other agencies, and we didn't want to facilitate transporting marijuana across state lines," airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman told the Post.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Denver Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell told the Post that the airport can set its own rules under state law and city charter.

Pot possession is prohibited by the Transportation Security Administration, Stegman told the Post.

The TSA says the state's legalization of marijuana will have no impact on its policies or how it handles security at the airport.