A boat containing 740 pounds of marijuana was discovered on Monday, at approximately 6 a.m., but so far nobody has come to claim the haul, leaving experts guessing that it was most likely a Mexican cartel smuggling operation gone awry.
The first clue: The boat was heading north whenever its occupants ditched the craft and the weed, the OC Register reported. The second, authorities say, is that it is a “panga” style boat. According to Wikipedia, a panga is a Central American or Mexican skiff.
The final clue: Border Patrol agent Jerry Conlin estimated the value of the weed at $444,000.
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That's a dead giveaway that this mota is pura mexicana. If this were high-quality California bud, the number would be much higher. The going rate for medical cannabis nowadays is $60 per eighth of an ounce. Do the math and 740 pounds of the stuff would be valued at $5,683,200. Based on the Border Patrol's math, this Mexican weed is worth $600 per pound or just $37.50 per ounce.
Experts consulted by the Weekly who wish to remain anonymous say that the Mexican cartels know their cheap weed can't really compete with medical marijuana in terms of quality, so the stuff on the captured boat was likely destined for distribution by street gangs. Either that, or turned into marijuana byproducts like hash, kief, tinctures or edibles which are now available at many marijuana dispensaries. One cannabis club owner even says this Mexican grass is often marketed by unscrupulous clubs as “Train Wreck.”
That's just one person talking, of course. Who knows, maybe they should rename the strain “Shipwreck”?
Award-winning investigative journalist Nick Schou is Editor of OC Weekly. He is the author of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nation Books 2006), which provided the basis for the 2014 Focus Features release starring Jeremy Renner and the L.A. Times-bestseller Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love’s Quest to bring Peace, Love and Acid to the World, (Thomas Dunne 2009). He is also the author of The Weed Runners (2013) and Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood (2016).