Sounds like either a boat sank or the customer never showed to pick up the product. I would guess the former since you would think they would just take it back south with them instead of dumping it if it was the latter. The third possibility would be that they thought they were being tracked and dumped the evidence, but the USCG apparently as not tracking them.

I wonder if the guy that reported it took any samples :-)

This happened a few months ago if I remember right. There was an article on MSNBC about it.

Let the weed jokes begin.

They are not called "Bales" in the Caribbean waters. They are called "Square Groupers".

it's an absolute shame to let that much pot go to authorities... why don't they just legalize it and be done with it...

And the best joke I saw so far, "Could have been a Hi Tide eh?"

**********************************************************************************************************************************

On the PBS Special FRONTLINE: DRUG WARS, US Agents were astonished when they speculated that the drug cartels could afford to lose 90% of their supply of drugs and still make a profit. What other business could do that?

**********************************************************************************************************************************

With a pipe and a lighter I could survive on that island.

smokey,

Don't forget the beer, doritos, beef jerky, slim jims, and what ever other stuff for the munchies.

Just wait until the hi tide theories/jokes are tied to the tsunami in Japan. It is a long distance delivery.

I've heard of this stuff...It's called SEA WEED!

3.6 million here/ 17.8 mill there - just legalize it and imagine what this revenue would do for our deficit, let alone crime

Maybe they had a small submarine!!!

That much weed they could afford one. The cops just got it before them

Burn it in the Valley. The haze will sit there forever.

Then instead of calling it 'smog season,' it could be called 'baking season.'

Nautically speaking, is that "Flotsam or Jetsum"?

Maybe it is some more reminents from the Japan Earth Quake and tsunami. If so keep sending it.

If I stumbled unto such I find I would probably fish out a few bales and kept on sailing into the sunset... I think maritime salvage law allows taking that stuff... you just can't sail it into a 'pot unfriendly' port.

It was David Letterman's game of Will It Float.

Another use for weed - Sailing Sailing, over the Reef(er) we go.

What happened to Arizona Tumbleweed - not like him to miss an opportunity to slam weed - hope the old codger is okay. I still think he was a smoker in denial.

I once dropped a full pack of cigs in Puget Sound - tried to dry them out - you do not want to smoke anything that has been in salt water... YUK!

Insane to just burn what they confiscate - find an industrial use for it, morons.

UH OHH! The pick up contact somewhere is probably going to be 6 feet under by tonight.

I told you the south side, the south side, not the north!

Damn, I picked a bad day to quit sailing.

Thousands of pounds of pot worth $3.6 million found floating off Calif. coast

Well the Feds did close down all the medical-mj places, so were else do you think they are suppose to dispose it.

Maybe the marine life needz a buz to get a jump start on how to party the way we can't.

Why go after medical-mj, when you are legally selling opiates (morphine) and other drugs on the market.

All due respect to Lloyd Bridges for #1.20

Nature's first green is gold. Ahhh.. to be floating with the finest pipe weed in the southfarthing..Old Toby

High tide...

Sea Weed....

LOL

For me, it is all about my favorite food: baked salmon :)

When you think of all the weed authorities have found floating in the Ca. waters it makes you think of all the private citizens that have found these bundles floating along:)

That would be a great ground score!!

Funny the title says almost 8000 pounds and then the article lost almost 1000 pounds. Who got the extra almost 800 pounds that was missing in the article?

I'll be right there. We wouldn't want this pot getting in the wrong hands.

If they would legalize boats or any floating vessels made out of marijuana, this wouldn't be a problem

10,000 lbs claimes lost by the Cartels

7,263 lbs recovered on the scene, according to the Police

4,000 lbs documented as evidence

1,000 lbs makes it to the evidence locker

200 lbs is available in the court proceedings for those responsible

2 lbs are burned

Every single one of these 'cops' who are in the various drug squads are crooked....it's exactly as what_the_81 said. I wouldn't trust these guys to say the truth if my life depended on it....each and every single one of these guys has that secret little account where the profits for the drugs skimmed are sent. How do you think none of these guys ever end up on the streets after their 20-25 yrs are done....because they've been padding their nests ever since day one!

"Every single one of these 'cops' who are in the various drug squads are crooked ..." Son-Of-Anubis

That's a fallacy of logic let alone just being an opinion without factual evidence ... "Some" is the proper way of thinking and isnt a fallacy in symbolic logic, just sayin ...

I am sure that "ALL" of those involved in this cash cow float, are pretty angry, bc there went the illegal efforts down "river" literally! lol

Good, the DEA needs to crack down on all of this marijuana growing. Get rid of all of it.

laurel-3298807

Good, the DEA needs to crack down on all of this marijuana growing. Get rid of all of it.

Yeah, after 40 years of fighting this herb and failing, let's keep trying!!

Good, the DEA needs to crack down on all of this marijuana growing. Get rid of all of it.

Weed is not your enemy..............The GOP IS!!!

forget the whales save the bales

Darn it! All I need is 1/4 of a bale and I'm all set for the rest of my life. Why can't I ever freaking find them when I go for a walk at the beach?!!!

Someone said you couldn't smoke this stuff since it was in salt water... WRONG!.. Years ago, we had some float up on Dauphin Island. The deal was, the word spread to all the smokers before they told the law. They got some of it, but much more went to the locals. They called it "seaweed", like stated in a previous post. It tasted like regular dirt weed, but had a good kick to it. You couldn't tell it was in salt water. Must be how tight they wrap the bales.

That was an early '80s party movie called Beach Girls I once caught on Skinemax as a preteen. A bunch of garbage bags full of weed wash up on shore and they have a party and give everyone a fat bag at the door. Hilarity ensues. I bet this stuff is dirt. Massive brick shipments floating off the coast of SoCal probably came from South of the border, not Humboldt.

If they want to win the drug war the worst damage you could possibly do to drug cartels is legalize. It would cripple them, save thousands of lives, and that would be the end of it. But, the truth is they don't want to win the drug war because there is no money in a victory. That is the truth and everybody with a full skull knows it.

Shame on the individual that saw all of that weed and says to himself, "uh oh, I better call the cops". Fkn square. Thanks. Now not only did you turn over free pot but you did the cops job for them and let them take the credit for "keeping the public safe". Waste waste waste!

I clicked on the article and the number of Posts were 420- it's a sign from the Gods. ;)

"The incident was out of the ordinary", Jimenez told the Register..... No, Really???

This boater found pay day and turned it in.

No, but this is clear evidence that the world is going to pot.

HAHAHA That's a good one!!

It came in from Japan, on the tsunami flotsam.

Not a; just shoes with feet in them make it that far.

This happens in the Gulf off Florida all the time when the Coast Guard gets too close and the runners dump the load. We fisherman call this square grouper, fine catch indeed!

@ Stonefeather

Good idea, a bale-watching tour boat.

SAVE THE BALES !

LMAO

@ Seven2Seven

If you fish the gulf then you know one of the best places to catch dolpin fish is near floating debris. Gives new meaning to " Dolpin in the Weeds" a popular menu item in Florida, which is dolpin served on a bed of spinach. I'm hungry....

Smoke on the Water?

zuksam,

That's a good one!!! LMFAO

mftx22,

Or toke on the water

@whipslash, Yep, when your running out and you spot a big weed line it time to stop and throw a few crank casts in there. You will know after 3 times. Oh my do I likey my Mahi Mahi............

Save the Bales. Collect the whole set!

Whipsplash, That was really funny. Touche my friend.

A new David Hasselhof series?

Right, the subs are for coke. They don't have subs large enough to haul this much pot, yet.

Next thing they'll be using drones.

That is great thank you got a good chuckle!

Actually, they're saying it's worth 495 a pound. Cheap.

Must be mexican crap weed.

@Dangrs1 - You slipped a decimal point - $30.98 and ounce. They are definitely talking wholesale prices.

Yeah, your looking upwards of $160/$170 an ounce...

uop to 450.00 depending on the grade..

Sorry, I was doing the calculation as I was running late for work. My error must have been caused my the brain damage the government claims happened to me from the pot I smoked thirty years ago.

Cheap Mexican dirt weed, not worth the packaging it's wrapped in, absolutely worthless. But hey, it's still 3.6 mil worth.

Nice I was thinking the same thing lol 3 mill? I think not when it goes for less then a grand a pound on the streets

It appears that the people working the calculators weren't good at math. My best guess is that 165 bales were collected, and someone rounded the number down to 160. Another guess is that each bale holds about 20.0 kg of MJ, and they used 2.20 lbs/kg as the conversion factor (vs. 2.20462234):

165 bales * (20.0 kg/bale) * (2.20 lbs/kg) = 7260 lbs

At $500./lbs, that is $3.63M worth of jetsam or flotsam. The "missing" 5 bales are worth $110,000.

BTW, $500./lbs = $31.25/oz (avoidupois), or about $1.10/g (metric).

Sorry, but the official exact conversion constant is 0.45359237 kg = 1 lbs, so 1 kg is about 2.20462262 lbs. (Not that the DEA agents were that accurate in their measurements.)

7260 lbs is 3.30 tonnes or metric tons, which is almost 3.25 long tons or 520 stones (British Imperial).

The "You can tax it" argument is just not going anywhere with legalization. I'm all for legalization, but the money that could come in from taxes is the argument I'd put lowest on the list of reasons. Here's why: if pot became legal, the first thing that would happen is the growers all over the US would start growing it outside. It would cause neighbors and friends to start gardening, and the result would be a huge decrease in price. Even for the good stuff. Taxing that would be difficult, as it's been underground for so long that very few people would buy it from a store since so many people would know someone who knows someone who has a garden.

The reasons to legalize it are that Americans use it whether it's legal or not, the harm reduction to our civil liberties and to the Mexican people (and those elsewhere as well) by the War on (Some) Drugs, farmers and our environment would be well served by commercial hemp production, we spend ridiculous amounts of money for prisons and law enforcement over something that could easily be called "recreational", and it's not as if any progress has been made. But what of the children? I would rather they smoke dope and find it boring on their own, as millions of adults in this country have done, than have them arrested for it.

Actually Karki, you are only partly right. Yes, some would grow their own, but the majority would buy from stores. One only has to look at the humble tomato. Many people grow their own, but is the tomato industry suffering? Truth is, most people don't have the time, skills, space, etc. to do it themselves. Many would try, but give up due to the amount of work involved, or be dissatisfied with the results.
But I do agree, a better reason for total legalization would be the impact is has on the cartels. It would totally wipe out their profitability, the taxation issue is secondary. But there is no real reason why pot can't be legalized, regulated, and taxed just like alcohol. The only things standing in the way are alcohol makers and their lobbyists, and law enforcement. And their only motivation is loss of funds coming their way, not out of any concern toward people. And you DO know why it is illegal now, right?
Discrimination and protecting profits of an industry! It's true, look it up! If you knew the real reasons, it may change your mind!

You are right in saying; people on the whole would rather buy it packaged and sold by a store. The cost of growing your own is labor inntensive, expensive growing equipment, not to mention the utilities for those that are indoors. As a lifetime smoker, Id rather pay the tax and buy it then grow it !

Get smart America... legalize it, package it and sell it to adults only. Look what alcohol does to our communities. Id rather have them high on pot.!

Here's the rub: Every country that has ever legalized pot (that includes Mexico, by the way) has criminalized trafficking it. If the US does legalize it, the odds are VERY good that trafficking will still be illegal. No stores selling the stuff, and lazy people will still be looking to the underground networks to get it.

You can brew your own beer. I know many people who do it. But I don't know a single person who drinks ONLY the beer they brew. They simply do not have enough time to always be making beer for their own consumption. So long as there is demand for easy weed that can be bought and so long as trafficking is illegal, the problem of cartels will not go away. This is low on the list of reasons to legalize it, because odds are it will not be legalized in a smart way.

Many commenters are correct that taxation should be low on the list of reasons to legalize. If everybody consumed 10 times as much as they do now and it were taxed at 5% of the black market price it is now, it would still bring in far less than a billion dollars annually nationwide. We're not going to be fixing any budget problems legalizing it.

High on the list should be the money that is saved by not locking up non-violent criminals, such as the users of weed. That can have a real budgetary impact on local communities and on the nation as a whole.

You can brew your own beer too, yet the government still rakes in tons of cash off selling six packs.

Those that are good at growing will be getting in at ground level on a start up industry that could be worth millions. Those pot heads will become the next RJ Reynolds of the new cannibis industry.

If they really wanted to make sure that everyone didn't just start growing in their garden they could always make it so that you were required to buy a special grow license to cultivate plants. You pay a once a year fee of IDK say $500 to grow. That would pretty much elieminate anyone other than those growing enough to sell. If you were able to buy a pack of Joints for say $20 at the 7-11 why would you risk criminal charges for trying to grow a plant?

Dude, we forgot the boat again!

Pragmatic, it's not only the moneys to incarcerate non-violent offenders but the costs of all the future crimes from these non-violents that are introduced to real criminals and gang members in prison. Not to mention lives lost due to real violent crimes potentially committed by them. All for pot. It's such a waste of money, time, courts, jail systems, law enforcement, and the future potential of citizens who just happen to like to smoke weed.

could be both

My money is on their full of crap. But then again, who are you and I to question the government? They certainly have our best interest in mind and would never lie to the American people.

Does anyone really think they tested the quality of the weed before they puke the price out? We're dumb citizens that are suppose to accept anything we're told.

*If you can't read the sarcasm in this then please reach down an unplug your computer. You don't qualify to operate such a dangerous piece of machinery.

Less than $50!!!?? where exactly do you live? i dont even know medical patients in california that get it that cheap. $450 an oz means it was being sold somewhere where its rare to come by. An oz can range from $200-400 depending where you are or who you know. Also buying in bulk like this makes it alot cheaper, people looking for a pound can get it for around $2000-4000

Just give me one little bale; I promise not to make trouble...

That's what I thought myself... these people must be making up prices. Anyways, if they legalize it then it won't be fun anymore.....

It won't be "fun" anymore?

Oh how wrong you are ! Our government has been experimentally growing for a long time. They have even developed a med called Marinol. Its 100% thc. They can tax it !! They can package it and sell it like cigarrettes. Id gladly run to the store and pay their tax, opposed to paying for materials, utilities and labor.'

The day our government does this... our money issues would be solved. Package it and sell it and for once no one would mind the tax.

Actually they can tax it and created a federal marijuana stamp to do so...The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 (Aug. 2, 1937) was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Act is now commonly referred to using the modern spelling as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
The stamp was created but never issued.Its purpose was to be able to charge a dealer with tax evasion.Shortly after the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act went into effect on October 1, 1937, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Denver City police arrested Moses Baca for possession and Samuel Caldwell for dealing. Baca and Caldwell's arrest made them the first marijuana convictions under U.S. federal law for not paying the marijuana tax.[19] Judge Foster Symes sentenced Baca to 18 months and Caldwell to four years in Leavenworth Penitentiary for violating the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act.

With the tax act of 1937 it was actually illegal to cross state lines with the product. When the grower would bring the crop to get inspected in Washington, they would get busted for tax evasion and crossing state lines with the crop.

Governor Moonbeam would rather take some "samples" (about 100 lbs) and call Linda Ronstadt to come over and help him test it to be certain it is marijuana. You cannot be too sure. The lawmakers in Sacramento are WAAAY past MJ as they have been smoking the hard stuff for years.. which is why California is so f***ed up.

How long has "using drugs been going on" and still a failure!

If you live in America, you are not forced to stay. Forfeit your citizenship and move to Netherlands. Although that have a lot more people dependant on drugs, they are much more leaniant with your precious marijuana.

All will be happy!

Halo: You digress.

This is a great nation because our founding fathers chose to have it a government for the people by the people.

I choose to vote. Why would I forfeit my citizenship? That is a ludicrous statement, to say the least. You sound like an anarchist.

I cannot help but wonder at your views on alcohol and coffee.

But, certainly you have made yourself clear on warmongering.

Halo, You sound stoned. Although that have a lot more people? Leaniant?

disillussioned, if you don't like an employer, do you complain about it or do you find a different employer?

I do not partake in Alcohol or Coffee. Alcohol should banned. Coffee is not in the same category or league as mood/mind altering drugs.

Dear Halo,

You are misinformed.

However; I am not here to educate.

Good luck to you and yours.

See you at the polls.

I'm stoned right now. LOL. What about it ? I"m laughing my ass off reading some of the posts.

Let's see...use hemp to fuel the country....riiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhhttttttttttt. How much land would that take and how much polution would that make???? Go green - that's the stupidest crap I've ever heard! How about going green and using a natural product that we already have???? Its called" C-O-A-L!!!!! Or N-A-T-U-R-A-L G-A-S!!!!

And we are outta control because we no longer have a moral compass greater than what people can think up: if it feels good do it!.

The world would be AWESOME if pot was legal and then stories like this wouldn't make the news and make my brain hurt. If pot was legal CA could pay off some debt and the schools would have more money. If there wasn't enough tax money from the pot sales we could at least trade the state to China for a big box of Twinkies or some Ho-Ho's. If there was enough money for the schools, the schools could use the money to buy more pot for the kids. Then the kids would be happy and they would buy more Doritos's and sodas. They would all be fat kids which would make us a more obese country, but no one would notice since everyone would be stoned. Once everyone is stoned even ugly people could get dates. No one would yell at anyone anymore, hippies would start to look smart, all of the medical reasons for smoking marijuana would eliminate the need for all other medications. Cheech and Chong could run for Pres/VP, they couldn't be any worse than our current politicians. Remember that guy in their movie that smoked so much pot he turned into a lizard, that was weird huh. Whoa, I can see the back of my eyelids, awesome! What, what were you saying? I'm so stoned, I just accidentally ate one of my fingers instead of my potato chip. "CHIP" - that word sounds funny, C-H-I-P, sounds like I'm saying "Chirp" without the R or the urp! URP, that's funny.

Shark, it sounds like you and Halo should get together. He pulled his rip cord too late one time to many!

we have over a hundred million acres of cropland that we don't use here in america in which hemp can easily grow in...while not enough to power america completely (maybe half to three quarters of our needs could be met, but that's only my own humble estimate), we can work in partnership with other countries in the world for the remaining hemp needed to power america. (why not? canada already has a thriving hemp agriculture market.) it is indeed possible to power our country from hemp alone...which is a renewable source that can be grown full-term in only 3 months...while coal or natural gas is not renewable...and while growing crops, the crops will take the CO2 out of the atmosphere while converting it to oxygen...which we then use to power our needs, which our crops then cleans out from our atmosphere, which we then harvest from the crops to power our needs, which we then clean pollutants out of our air from our crops...well you see what i'm saying, there'll be a balance between our pollution and clean air needs, which is a hell of a lot more than what you can say about coal and natural gas, which only adds pollution to our atmosphere without any solutions offered, which you also need to mine and the process of mining for both harms both our environment and our healths, while hemp only needs to be planted in the ground and plucked from the ground...sure, it's a pipe dream...riiiight.... hemp can grow in even the most marginal soil, period...

SUMMARY OF ACTIVE AND EXPIRING CRP CROPLAND ACRES BY STATE
CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM - MONTHLY CONTRACTS REPORT:

National Total:

57,540,187.6

https://arcticocean.sc.egov.usda.gov/CRPReport/monthly_report.do?method=selectState&report=ActiveAndExpiredCRPAcresByState&report_month=June-2010

Other Cropland

The remainder of total cropland—that portion not used for crops— was
used for pasture (62 million acres) or was idle (40 million acres) in 2002.

Much of the cropland used for pasture is routinely rotated between crop and pasture use, although the rotation period varies. Part of the acreage, however, is marginal for crop use and may remain in pasture indefinitely... Cropland used for pasture was 68 million acres in 1997, compared with a high of 88 million acres in 1969 and a low of 57 million acres in 1964.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB14/eib14d.pdf

hell, it'll even clean up polluted soil...so not only will it help us be cleaner, it will even heal our earth's soil...:

Water and soil purification

Hemp can be used as a "mop crop" to clear impurities out of wastewater, such as sewage effluent, excessive phosphorus from chicken litter, or other unwanted substances or chemicals. Eco-technologist Dr. Keith Bolton from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, is a leading researcher in this area. Hemp is being used to clean contaminants at Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.

Phytoremediation: Using Plants to Clean Soil

http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/pae/botany/botany_map/articles/article_10.html

Dear Joe,

You did not mention the benefits of the high nitrogenous waste product of the spent fuel: ash, as fertilizer.

I haven't read through all the posts...so pardon me if this question has been already asked:

I'm not a pot aficionado...but can you do anything with wet weed???

And yes, this is a serious question..and don't call me Shirley...

Yes, let it dry out, and then lets Party.