Close, but not quite. In fact, U.S. Code, Title 21, Chapter 13, Subchapter 1, Part A, Sec. 802 rather specifically defines marijuana:
So, for example, hemp (made from mature stalks) and various bird seed formulations (which contain sterilized cannabis seeds) would not get you busted. Still, the definition is broad enough to account for the inflated figures you see in the news.
I figured so, just didn’t want to say so. 
No need to guess – here are pictures.
Direct link to picture of buds
Amazingly, it doesn’t appear to be manicured or dried yet. (I suppose it’s just possible that it’s been dried without manicuring it, but who the hell does that?)
If it’s as wet as it looks, those big bags would start to compost pretty quickly. If it’s not, the lack of manicuring is going to seriously devalue their product.
Either way, it’s the kind of stupidity you expect from morons who ignore traffic laws with large quantities of contraband in their vehicles. :smack:
Q.E.D., I’m not sure about how the USC is interpreted, but as I read it seems as though the exempted constituents are only exempted when they are isolated from the rest of the plant.
Canada’s Controlled Drugs & Substances Act is a little clearer in its intent where it defines cannabis as a Schedule II substance:
So legally, if you have ten pounds of cannabis stalks that you’ve imported to make paper, cloth, or whatever, you’re fine.
If those stalks have have branches on 'em, they are totally equivalent to top buds.
I don’t know about that, unless you consider that for there to be a pot lobby like that, there would have to be a lot more open marijuana use in society. Some people really do think Drugs Are Real Bad and drugs means stuff that’s illegal.
:smack: Which is not to say they’re good, just that I think the badness of marijuana has been accepted uncritically by plenty of people.
After looking at that pick again, it’s pretty obvious the bud is dry. I was going by how dark green it is, and ignoring how red the other bits are.
Very sloppy manicure. Tsk Tsk.
You could be right. I wasn’t entirely sure what it means by “mature” stalks, either. I imagine the language is intentionally vague.
225 lbs/3600 oz/3924 troy oz of gold @ $450/troy ounce = $1 765 800 street value.
225 lbs/3600 oz/3924 troy oz of platinum @ $860/troy ounce = $3 374 640 street value.
I wonder if gold and platinum would be as expensive as Pot if you could grow them in your backyard?
I would be the best driver in the world with 115lbs in my car. They are definitely dumb if they actually did violate basic traffic laws. I have a huge feeling that the police were tipped off though, and pulled them over with the dogs already on site, claiming a violation of traffic laws. But hey, what they were doing is illegal, so they did get busted fair and square (that doesn’t mean the law is right, but that’s another thread). I assume you’re links contain more info on the story, so I’ll check them out later (I assume NWS, so I won’t take the risk).
:rolleyes:
The link I put up has exactly the same text as the Yahoo! page you linked to – so no extra info, apart from the pictures.
I can’t see why it wouldn’t be safe for work, though – it’s a link to Officer.com - The Source For Law Enforcement. 
And does this definition vary by state?
I’m pretty sure that code only applies to Federal marijuana busts.
Well, there are a handful of pro-legalization lobbying organizations, and it’s not hard to find them on your computer.* However, if there were a lobbying group of pot dealers, don’t you think they’d lobby the other way? If pot stays illegal, the dealers continue to make money. If it were decriminalized, anyone with a half-green thumb could grow his own.
*Some might think it imprudent to have a link on this board to a marijuana law reform website, so I didn’t include a link. You can find it if you want to.
Good question. I would assume that the states use the US Code definition, but we all know what assuming does.
I’m having a hard time finding a single state-by-state breakdown of the definitions of “marijuana”, but apparently there is some variation. For example, my own state, Virginia, recently added stems and seeds to their definition. The US Code definition already included those items.
Alright, my calculation of a retail value of:
“Fiddy for an eighth”, which is a pretty standard price for run-of-the-mill chronic around here put the bust at around $1.4 million at retail.
Who understands this bat-shit loonball logic?
You’re right, didn’t catch that. I read that the links went to pictures though, so I wanted to avoid them.
When I was an intern in the Cincinnati area and did major time on the city desk, several of the local law enforcement agencies took great pains to educate me about their procedures. But that’s only because I asked them.
The majority of the reporters I’ve ever known just want to write their 12 inches and go home at night. Just like most anybody, when they’re on the clock they will avoid heavy lifting, if at all possible.
The time I spent in the lab was pretty informative. I remember the lovely, red-haired tech who gave me my first lesson on marijuana, and as I peered through her microscope at a leaf sample, I could see a sparse sprinkling of tiny, translucent mushroom-shaped crystals. “Trichomes are what get you high,” she said. “In this case, the guy that grew it is pretty much doing time for the weight of the skuff. It’s low-grade junk. Mostly water and plant material.”
So I guess this reporter could have dug into the weight of the crystals and made the cops accountable that way too.
But it just isn’t done, and even more so in this particular case. To a police officer, 225 pounds of weed is almost infinite Evil, doled out to little kids in quarter-bag portions of corruption. Ascribing $10 million to this schwag means someone’s going to fry.
Considering the weight, the operation must be pretty large. To give you some perspective, 100 plants on a pool table (Sea of Green method) will produce about 3 pounds of sinsemilla in 2 months’ time *.
And right now, the cops have precisely dick: two anonymous mules who swear they were paid cash by a guy in Detroit to drive two new sedans to some parking lot in Cleveland.
I reckon cresting $10 million will let the authorities take extraordinary measures.
Here in Chicago, the cops weigh not only the marijuana, but whatever “container” it is in. If it’s a ziploc, that’s not much. But a dugout weighs quite a bit. I’ve had several friends do time for the weight of their pipe. (I don’t know if this is actually how the law is written, but it is how it’s enforced - at least some of the time.)
I went to the website of the newschannel (FOX 5 Cleveland) that reported that story. On their feedback page, I submitted this:
Today I received an email from Colleen Seitz of FOX 5 Cleveland. Her response:
Hello, Colleen! Did it not occur to you to question the numbers? How sloppy was this reporting?
Adam
I assume that all such seized drugs are kept as evidence (pending the trial of those accused)? Where do the police keep such vast quantities of “killer” drugs like this?
I recall years ago, reading that the cocaine seized in the “French Connection” drug bust in the 1960’s was kept in the NYCPD vaults. Years later (presumably when it was time to destroy the haul), most of it turned up missing!
