Mark Wood: Irony of police helping pot owners

Many years ago (1977, I think), I remember reading in this newspaper about a joint task force of drug enforcement agencies that arrested a dozen or more people and confiscated several pounds of marijuana, thousands in cash and other illegal drugs in Lewiston. How pleased everyone was.

But, just the other day (Jan. 2), this same newspaper printed an appeal for the public’s help catching a thief, or thieves, who stole $15,000 of marijuana plants from a now-licensed and legal distributor of marijuana. The headline read, “Public asked to help identify marijuana thieves in Turner.”

Drug dealers have always had to protect their stash from drug interdiction, poachers and thieves, but I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the irony of our law enforcement agencies spending overtime dollars trying to catch these thieves and returning this pot to its rightful owner. Who says America is no longer the land of opportunity when you can get the cops to find and return your pot so you can make a living?

Unfortunately, any taxes to the state collected on the sale of this pot will be more than consumed by the pursuit, prosecution and incarceration of these thieves when they’re caught, and taxpayers will probably also have to pay for a public defender for them.

Mark Wood, Poland