Southwestern Oregon’s Rogue River is one of the best-known rafting rivers in the United States. The area is known for its colorful wildlife and breathtaking scenery, but a few mornings ago, a man walking his dog near the tennis courts in the very active Anna Classick Bicentennial Park, saw something that momentarily stunned him. Shoved inside a portable toilet and so big that it flowed outwards, was a stash of pot so large that it clearly could not have been lost, dropped or misplaced.
Some state laws are fairly liberal about small amounts of pot
Each state has its own penalties and fines, but Oregon is more liberal than most when it comes to small amounts of pot, which by the way, is the short form of the Mexican word for marijuana leaves, potiguaya. Anyone found with one ounce of pot in public receives no penalty at all. In the case of two ounces, the act is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by six months in prison and a fine of 2,500. The ultimate penalty formarijuana possession of 4 ounces or more, which this stash outweighs by many, many pounds, is one year in jail and a fine of $6,250.
Whoever left the marijuana in the toilet is a mystery
The Oregon police have their theories, but no one can say who put these marijuana plants in the portable toilet or why.
Police Chief, Ken Lewis, believes that is it possible (although certainly very odd) that the porta-potty may have been a designated spot for some pot smuggler to retrieve the plants and transport them elsewhere. The only thing they really know for sure is that the plants were not there before 6 am and had to have been placed in the toilet between the hours of 6 and 9 am when they were discovered.
Police have not yet weighed the marijuana plants, which have been hauled away, but it is clear that they represent a record discovery of this illegal and very misunderstood plant. We all know that pot has beneficial aspects and that the use of medical marijuana is sanctioned in many states. But this incredible haul borders more on the ridiculous than the sublime. Go figure.
