pontifex
Lifer
Several pot stories here
Story 1
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (AP) ? Wildflowers may not be the only thing sprouting up along a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 35 in Ellis County this spring.
Seeds of an illegal plant were inadvertently sown after a police officer stopped a car with no license plate light early Friday morning and smelled a strong odor of marijuana. When the officer returned to his car and called for backup, the driver drove away, Milford Police Chief Carlos Phoenix said.
As several law enforcement agencies joined the chase, the fleeing driver tore open and threw 17 to 19 bags out of his window.
"There was marijuana flying everywhere," Phoenix told the Waxahachie Daily Light.
After driving over a second set of spikes set out by authorities, the suspect finally stopped and was taken into custody, and he was "literally covered in marijuana," Phoenix said.
Officers picked up two duffel bags, a backpack and three or four gallon-size freezer bags from the interstate, but the wind blew much of the substance and seeds, Phoenix said.
Also, some people with police scanners heard that a man was throwing marijuana out of his car window and drove to the scene to try to retrieve it, Phoenix said.
Story 2
SASABE, Ariz. (AP) ? It's green, leafy and in a can. But it's not spinach.
Federal authorities seized 34 pounds of marijuana that had been stuffed inside cans of jalapenos and tomatoes bound for America from Mexico.
Customs and Border Protection officers said they decided to open one of the cans because it looked and felt unusual. They found a package of marijuana inside and began to open the other cans.
"For a while, that can is going to take the cake," said Brian Levin, an agency spokesman. "This was one of the more elaborate attempts ? it required creativity."
The 18-year-old driver of the haul was arrested.
Smugglers have come up with many tricks to hide their drugs over the years, Levin said. Officers have found marijuana mixed in with cucumbers, drugs hidden in baby diapers and hidden in car tires, gas tanks or inside dashboards.
Story 3
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) ? If you can't beat 'em ... joint 'em? The City of Amsterdam has begun selling recently introduced "no toking" signs to prevent the official ones from being stolen as collector's items, a spokesman said Friday.
The signs were created as part of an experimental ban on smoking marijuana on the street in "De Baarsjes," one of the city's poorer neighborhoods. The measure, which went into effect Feb. 1, was intended to reduce loitering and petty crime.
"On Wednesday we placed the first sign, and it was gone the next morning," said Wim de Graaf. "We put up a new one Thursday, and it was taken the same night as well. That's when the idea came to us to just sell them."
The signs show two fingers holding a cone-shaped cigarette, with small white marijuana leaves on a black background ? all enclosed within a red circle.
The city is selling them for about $110 each, and plans to donate the proceeds to charity.
"We're selling them at not much more than they cost, so we expect profits will be modest," De Graaf said. But he added that the city has already had many requests for the signs, some from outside the city.
Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police don't bother prosecuting possession of small amounts. It is openly sold in designated cafes known euphemistically as "coffee shops." But people who smoke marijuana outside in De Baarsjes risk a $60 fine.
De Graaf said the signs can be ordered via De Baarsje's Web site.
"Now everyone can have his own 'no toking' sign simply by ordering them through the city," the site says in a tongue-in-cheek advertisement.
Story 1
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (AP) ? Wildflowers may not be the only thing sprouting up along a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 35 in Ellis County this spring.
Seeds of an illegal plant were inadvertently sown after a police officer stopped a car with no license plate light early Friday morning and smelled a strong odor of marijuana. When the officer returned to his car and called for backup, the driver drove away, Milford Police Chief Carlos Phoenix said.
As several law enforcement agencies joined the chase, the fleeing driver tore open and threw 17 to 19 bags out of his window.
"There was marijuana flying everywhere," Phoenix told the Waxahachie Daily Light.
After driving over a second set of spikes set out by authorities, the suspect finally stopped and was taken into custody, and he was "literally covered in marijuana," Phoenix said.
Officers picked up two duffel bags, a backpack and three or four gallon-size freezer bags from the interstate, but the wind blew much of the substance and seeds, Phoenix said.
Also, some people with police scanners heard that a man was throwing marijuana out of his car window and drove to the scene to try to retrieve it, Phoenix said.
Story 2
SASABE, Ariz. (AP) ? It's green, leafy and in a can. But it's not spinach.
Federal authorities seized 34 pounds of marijuana that had been stuffed inside cans of jalapenos and tomatoes bound for America from Mexico.
Customs and Border Protection officers said they decided to open one of the cans because it looked and felt unusual. They found a package of marijuana inside and began to open the other cans.
"For a while, that can is going to take the cake," said Brian Levin, an agency spokesman. "This was one of the more elaborate attempts ? it required creativity."
The 18-year-old driver of the haul was arrested.
Smugglers have come up with many tricks to hide their drugs over the years, Levin said. Officers have found marijuana mixed in with cucumbers, drugs hidden in baby diapers and hidden in car tires, gas tanks or inside dashboards.
Story 3
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) ? If you can't beat 'em ... joint 'em? The City of Amsterdam has begun selling recently introduced "no toking" signs to prevent the official ones from being stolen as collector's items, a spokesman said Friday.
The signs were created as part of an experimental ban on smoking marijuana on the street in "De Baarsjes," one of the city's poorer neighborhoods. The measure, which went into effect Feb. 1, was intended to reduce loitering and petty crime.
"On Wednesday we placed the first sign, and it was gone the next morning," said Wim de Graaf. "We put up a new one Thursday, and it was taken the same night as well. That's when the idea came to us to just sell them."
The signs show two fingers holding a cone-shaped cigarette, with small white marijuana leaves on a black background ? all enclosed within a red circle.
The city is selling them for about $110 each, and plans to donate the proceeds to charity.
"We're selling them at not much more than they cost, so we expect profits will be modest," De Graaf said. But he added that the city has already had many requests for the signs, some from outside the city.
Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police don't bother prosecuting possession of small amounts. It is openly sold in designated cafes known euphemistically as "coffee shops." But people who smoke marijuana outside in De Baarsjes risk a $60 fine.
De Graaf said the signs can be ordered via De Baarsje's Web site.
"Now everyone can have his own 'no toking' sign simply by ordering them through the city," the site says in a tongue-in-cheek advertisement.
