Slow driver on I-70 leads to discovery of $340,000 worth of marijuana

[KellyinAvon]

First off: props to to the Major from the Putnum County Sheriff's Dept and Bo the K-9.

Second, $340K for 85 pounds (1360 ounces) of weed is an even $250/oz.

Is this what weed sells for now? How did they know it was "high grade"? You never hear the PAO saying, "Yeah is 85 pounds of some real ragweed. I think somebody smoked a doobie in the vehicle recently or there's NO WAY the K-9 would've alerted. I'd call it ditch-weed but that would be insulting to ditch-weed."

Just wondering! Again, props to the local LEOs.

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – A slow driver on I-70 led to the discovery of $340,000 worth of marijuana on Wednesday.


The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says the 85 pounds of pot was found in a rental van that Major Dwight Simmons pulled over near mile marker 47 at about 1 p.m.


Simmons reports the van was going under the posted speed limit, blocking numerous vehicles and impeding traffic flow.


When Simmons spoke with the driver from Columbus, Ohio and a passenger from Eureka, California, the officer became suspicious of their travel itinerary.

Aft
er both occupants gave consent to search the van, a K-9 named Bo indicated the presence of narcotics. A subsequent search of the van yielded two large duffle bags of “high grade marijuana.”

https://fox59.com/2019/01/24/slow-driver-on-i-70-leads-to-discovery-of-340000-worth-of-marijuana/

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Like I always say, don't attract the attention of The Man if you are riding dirty.

 

[WebSnyper]

So, just curious, since it says they gave consent to search. If they had not, what would have been the next step? Seems a little crazy to give consent for a search in that situation to me.

 

[Jt22453]

Reverse psychology? If I go ahead and say it’s okay to search it, maybe they won’t. Maybe the 2 large duffel bags were well hidden. LMAO

So, just curious, since it says they gave consent to search. If they had not, what would have been the next step? Seems a little crazy to give consent for a search in that situation to me.

 

[Injess]

Thank God they got all that evil weed off the streets. I hate seeing young mothers passed out in the driver seat of their parked car with a joint stuck in their arm as their kid cries in the backseat.

 

[MCgrease08]

$250 per ounce would fall squarely in the lower mid grade range. That works out to less than $32 per eighth which is less than the price for "middies" I remember hearing about in college close to 20 years ago.

Decent stuff (dank) is usually in the range of $60 per eighth or around $425-450 per oz. if you can get a bulk discount. This would be comparable to what you'd find in dispensaries. The real sticky icky. The stuff that smells like a dead skunk.

I'm sure some medical grade stuff goes for much higher. My exposure has generally been to street prices.

Anyway. Sounds pretty dumb to consent to a search regardless. But they must have had it bricked and vacuum packed and thought it was hidden well enough it wouldn't be found. Or maybe they are just idiots.

 

[KellyinAvon]

$250 per ounce would fall squarely in the lower mid grade range. That works out to less than $32 per eighth which is less than the price for "middies" I remember hearing about in college close to 20 years ago.

Decent stuff (dank) is usually in the range of $60 per eighth or around $425-450 per oz. if you can get a bulk discount. This would be comparable to what you'd find in dispensaries. The real sticky icky. The stuff that smells like a dead skunk.

I'm sure some medical grade stuff goes for much higher. My exposure has generally been to street prices.

Anyway. Sounds pretty dumb to consent to a search regardless. But they must have had it bricked and vacuum packed and thought it was hidden well enough it wouldn't be found. Or maybe they are just idiots.

Thanks for the weed update MC. At the Bob Seger concert at Deer Creek/Verizon/Klipsch/Ruoff last year somebody fired up some of that skunk weed when the sun went down. It's out in the country up there, I thought it was a real skunk. Good thing my neighbor who partakes in the herb doesn't smoke that skunk stuff.

 

[rkwhyte2]

So, just curious, since it says they gave consent to search. If they had not, what would have been the next step? Seems a little crazy to give consent for a search in that situation to me.

After many hours watching LivePD I'd say that if they didn't give consent then they would of had the dog run the perimeter of the vehicle. He would of smelled it and that would give them probable cause to search. Or they could just be stupid after all they were transporting 85 lbs of weed.

 

[bacon#1]

Like I always say, don't attract the attention of The Man if you are riding dirty.

9 over, staring at my cell phone, and eating a bowl of fruity pebbles. Check!

 

[woodsie57]

Wow- that's some serious inflation, i recall $300 a Lb / $30-35 an Oz back in the 70's!

 

[cbhausen]

It was $30 per 1/4 ounce when I...

was in college.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Wow- that's some serious inflation, i recall $300 a Lb / $30-35 an Oz back in the 70's!

probably cheaper per milligram THC now though, if you don't factor in inflation

 

[Tactically Fat]

The prices given by LEO in these instances are almost always given in "average street costs per lowest common volume". Meaning they take the average cost for the most commonly sold/distributed volume (1/4 oz? each joint? I have no idea) and then they multiply it by the total volume. There isn't any bulk pricing discount figured in to the "street price" like there would be between grower A and Distributor B. At least that's how it's been explained to me in the past.

 

[BugI02]

Thank God they got all that evil weed off the streets. I hate seeing young mothers passed out in the driver seat of their parked car with a joint stuck in their arm as their kid cries in the backseat.

Would you have felt [STRIKE]more self-righteous[/STRIKE] better if it was meth or heroin? The actions of the perps attracted the attentions of LE, upon searching the vehicle they found contraband. I don't think any opinions they might have involving the scheduling of MJ could have any bearing on how they do their job, nor should it

 

[BugI02]

Wow- that's some serious inflation, i recall $300 a Lb / $30-35 an Oz back in the 70's!

When I run the numbers, using $1360 a pound in the example in the OP, and using 1976 and $300, the cumulative rate of inflation turns out to be 3.56% for the whole 43 years - not really beyond the pale

 

[femurphy77]

First off: props to to the Major from the Putnum County Sheriff's Dept and Bo the K-9.

Second, $340K for 85 pounds (1360 ounces) of weed is an even $250/oz.

Is this what weed sells for now? How did they know it was "high grade"? You never hear the PAO saying, "Yeah is 85 pounds of some real ragweed. I think somebody smoked a doobie in the vehicle recently or there's NO WAY the K-9 would've alerted. I'd call it ditch-weed but that would be insulting to ditch-weed."

Just wondering! Again, props to the local LEOs.

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – A slow driver on I-70 led to the discovery of $340,000 worth of marijuana on Wednesday.


The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says the 85 pounds of pot was found in a rental van that Major Dwight Simmons pulled over near mile marker 47 at about 1 p.m.


Simmons reports the van was going under the posted speed limit, blocking numerous vehicles and impeding traffic flow.


When Simmons spoke with the driver from Columbus, Ohio and a passenger from Eureka, California, the officer became suspicious of their travel itinerary.

Aft
er both occupants gave consent to search the van, a K-9 named Bo indicated the presence of narcotics. A subsequent search of the van yielded two large duffle bags of “high grade marijuana.”

https://fox59.com/2019/01/24/slow-driver-on-i-70-leads-to-discovery-of-340000-worth-of-marijuana/

Dude!

 

[Timjoebillybob]

$250 per ounce would fall squarely in the lower mid grade range. That works out to less than $32 per eighth which is less than the price for "middies" I remember hearing about in college close to 20 years ago.

Decent stuff (dank) is usually in the range of $60 per eighth or around $425-450 per oz. if you can get a bulk discount. This would be comparable to what you'd find in dispensaries. The real sticky icky. The stuff that smells like a dead skunk.

I'm sure some medical grade stuff goes for much higher. My exposure has generally been to street prices.

Anyway. Sounds pretty dumb to consent to a search regardless. But they must have had it bricked and vacuum packed and thought it was hidden well enough it wouldn't be found. Or maybe they are just idiots.

Prices around me for mid grade varied anywhere from $100 an oz to $20-25 for an 1/8. That was 15 yrs ago or so. Late 80s $25-30 a 1/4 and $50 or so for "skunk" No real idea now, although I've heard $50-75 an 1/8 for really good stuff and I know of someone that sells edibles for $5 apiece that are supposedly quite strong. As in unless you are a regular user eat 1/2 at the most.

 

[Injess]

Would you have felt [STRIKE]more self-righteous[/STRIKE] better if it was meth or heroin? The actions of the perps attracted the attentions of LE, upon searching the vehicle they found contraband. I don't think any opinions they might have involving the scheduling of MJ could have any bearing on how they do their job, nor should it

My sarcastic comment wasn’t intended to denigrate law enforcement or procedures but rather the prohibition of drugs especially marijuana.

Yes, I would have preferred it to have been heroin. I’m tired of seeing people on FB begging for money to bury their sister because she overdosed and died on Christmas Eve in Richmond last year.

I see the the war on drugs as a complete failure especially if we aren’t going to increase border security. My attitude on drugs is the same as Milton Friedman’s and Ron Paul’s, people should be allowed to put whatever they want in their body and obviously they’re going to anyways regardless of legality, as long as they don’t hurt anyone else or neglect a minor.

I see no difference in driving 85 pounds of marijuana compared to the guy who drives the Budweiser truck. If they weren’t under the influence, confiscation and a fine would have been sufficient in my eyes. Now our legal system is going to turn these guys into felons, send them to criminal college (prison) then speak out the other side of their face about how they rehabilitated them.

drug use and simple possession isn’t a crime, it’s a mental health problem that we don’t have the infrastructure to fix.

 

[rosejm]

Not to disrupt the discussion on the price of weed in Indiana...

After many hours watching LivePD I'd say that if they didn't give consent then they would of had the dog run the perimeter of the vehicle. He would of smelled it and that would give them probable cause to search.

And after watching those hours, how many times has the dog NOT "alerted" (even when there's no behavior change)?

Officer Chompy can also be conditioned to alert on searches (usually by the handler, but sometimes by training).
How much praise do you see given by the handler after "alerts" vs. praise after actual alerts/seizures?

While I'm never giving consent, I'm under no illusion that this will produce anything other than delay until a K-9 walk-around, immediately followed by P.C. search.
But sometimes a little inconvenience happens when we exercise our rights.

 

[WebSnyper]

Not to disrupt the discussion on the price of weed in Indiana...



And after watching those hours, how many times has the dog NOT "alerted" (even when there's no behavior change)?

Officer Chompy can also be conditioned to alert on searches (usually by the handler, but sometimes by training).
How much praise do you see given by the handler after "alerts" vs. praise after actual alerts/seizures?

While I'm never giving consent, I'm under no illusion that this will produce anything other than delay until a K-9 walk-around, immediately followed by P.C. search.
But sometimes a little inconvenience happens when we exercise our rights.

I've read similar, and was wondering about this as well, and interested to hear if any one has definite knowledge of this, but seems the dog can be conditioned to "alert" to create PC.

But yeah, not that I am transporting anything, but I just don't see consenting to a search in this situation.