People are offering mixed reviews after Bellevue Police Department confiscated what appears to be enough marijuana for a Cheech and Chong movie.
A post on the Bellevue Police Department Facebook page shows two medium-sized bags full of marijuana. Bellevue Police officers were so shocked by the amount collected on one call on Tuesday, they posted the picture on social media daring the owner to come and pick it up.
“If you accidentally misplaced your box of marijuana we have it secured at the police department if you would like to come claim it,” the post states.
The post has received hundreds of reactions ranging from celebratory to sarcastic.
One commenter said it was enough to “get you locked up longer than Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday for crimes related to child sex trafficking and other offenses related to aiding the deceased convicted sex offender Jefferey Epstein.
The jab highlights a topic that the Commonwealth has been pushing for years.
Although possession or sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in the state, lawmakers introduced two bills in the 2022 legislative session to legalize marijuana for recreational use and for medicinal use.
Neither bill passed.
Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) was responsible for a bill promoting recreational use and the expungement of all marijuana-related criminal convictions, noting Kentucky could be profiting from the revenue.
Gov. Andy Beshear recently launched the Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee, a group aimed at providing access to medical marijuana for chronic pain and serious conditions. Beshear has repeatedly referenced polling that suggests 90% of Kentuckians support the legalization of marijuana to different degrees.
A 2020 Kentucky Health Issues poll shows 59% of Kentuckians support it in all circumstances and 49% support it for recreational use.
Until then, possession or sale of the product continues to be a criminal offense, and sentences vary based on the amount and prior history.
In the case of what appears to be pounds of the stuff at the Bellevue Police Department, perhaps the only thing more surprising than the amount would be if its owner came to pick it up.
Plenty of comments on the post claim the box as their own, while others wept that would sit in evidence rather than be put to use.