World’s most awesome drug smugglers fire weed into U.S. with a cannon

[bemildred]

Some super-creative drug smugglers came up with a sure-fire way to get their pot over the Mexican-American border without all the stuffing it into car-radiators and the underground tunnels and child labor and generally indecorous practices that make life unpleasant for everyone: launch it over the border in a big-ass cannon.

There was one critical flaw to the plan, though: They either A) Didn’t have anyone on the U.S. side to pick it up, or B) As can happen with cannons, they didn’t know exactly where the stuff was going to land.

U.S. border troops in Colorado found 33 cans of weed in a field near the Mexican border by the Colorado River, apparently getting to the pot before whoever was intended to pick it up. Agents were able to conclude by a carbon dioxide tank found nearby that the cans were shot across the border in a cannon. They instructed their counterparts on the Mexican side to be on the lookout for more weed and cannon parts.

The cans contained 85 pounds of weed—$42,500 total—which as far as these things go isn’t a huge amount of weed. But hey, when you’re testing a new technology you’ve gotta start small

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/192203/worlds-most-awesome-drug-smugglers-fire-weed-into-u-s-with-a-cannon/

[Uncle Joe]

1. I didn't think Colorado shared a border with Mexico

nor was close enough for cannon fire to reach it?

Thanks for the thread, bemildred.

[Panasonic]

2. I was wondering EXACTLY the same thing.

See, I live in the state of Colorado, and I'm trying to figure it out.

Either the drug smugglers bought a huge fucking cannon that has the capability of going over the entire state of New Mexico, or some editor got some bad weed and made it interesting.

When it refers to Colorado River, it makes better sense.....

[Aerows]

5. They must have meant border patrol

by the Colorado River. I couldn't figure that one out, either. Poor editing.

[coalition_unwilling]

21. Or maybe the 1848 border, since we basically stole everything south

of the Colorado River from Mexico anyway, IIRC.

[bemildred]

6. I will hazard a guess they meant California, because of Colorado River. nt

[Uncle Joe]

7. That sounds logical. n/t

[hootinholler]

13. It's either a *REALLY* big cannon

or the name of an area in NM, Az, or Tx?

[Aerows]

3. Border troops in Colorado

found weed in a field near the Mexican border? Uh, isn't New Mexico in the way?

[Coyotl]

4. Gotta love how the cannon reached all the way from Mexico over New Mexico and hits Colorado.

Either that, or someone is a bit embarrassed about not taking Geography in grade school

[TlalocW]

8. Either that or there was a guy in Chihuahua who said something like

"Hooookay, Miguel. I think we need to dial it back on this next shot. I can't even see where that last one landed."

TlalocW

[coalition_unwilling]

25. LMFAO. Worthy of Cheech and Chong, methinks! :) - n/t

[Coyotl]

30. "Si Pepe. We're not giving this shit away."

[BlueStreak]

38. I think the author was sampling some of the goods

The Colorado river is the border between CA and AZ. I assume the story started by border guards finding the cannisters near the Mexican border close to the Colorado river, then this nitwit got the story all mixed up.

[Mel Content]

9. in that title, marijuana should be changed to 'shwag'...

85 pounds for $42.5K...?

shitty mexican ditchweed.

[bemildred]

11. That is cheap, $500/lb., but you know where they got that nice round number. nt

[-..__...]

10. Cannons are loud!

They should have used a trebuchet...

[Viking12]

20. I knew those 'pumkin chunkin' guys were up to no good...

http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/punkin-chunkin/videos/punkin-chunkin-its-punkin-chunkin-time-again.htm

[-..__...]

31. I think it started with the bowling ball cartel...

looking for a way to smuggle their wares across the border...



http://www.issmc.com/mortars/videos/2005/bbmc_markh_take1.mpg

http://www.issmc.com/mortars/index.htm

[Livluvgrow]

12. Launching them

500 yards. That is no longer a hail mary it is now a hail maryjane

[coalition_unwilling]

22. Hah! Pretty good for a newbie. Welcome to DU! - n/t

[KharmaTrain]

14. Meanwhile...

...on the interstate they probably were passed by several vans and trucks that had loaded up in Humboldt County.

Good stuff for newspapers or "reality" teevee...an overall waste of resources on all sides...

[bluedigger]

15. Allow me to defend the skill of artillerymen here as well.

Cannons usually know exactly where they are going to hit within a few meters, although it is an admittedly long shot from the Mexican border into Colorado, so a little inaccuracy would be understandable.

[bemildred]

17. An insult to real artillerymen, I noticed that too. nt

[coalition_unwilling]

24. Plus, you've got to factor in a bit of 'sampling of the wares' and

any minor inaccuracies become understandable.

[Buns_of_Fire]

16. INCOMING!

If this catches on, I wonder how many people will be injured on this side of the border trying to catch the cans? "I got it! I got it!"

Cheech and Chong would be proud.

[Robb]

18. Arizona. Link:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/12/15858236-unique-smuggling-attempt-42500-worth-of-marijuana-shot-into-ariz-by-cannon

Awesome indeed.

[bemildred]

19. Thanks.

I'm disappointed more people don't appreciate the entrepreneurial drive and spirit shown here, like you do.

[Robb]

29. For the first time, ever, I'm envious of drug smugglers.

How does "hold my beer and watch this" translate into Spanish?

[coalition_unwilling]

23. Clearly, we need an ABM system deployed along the border. Or would that

be an AMM system?

[morningfog]

26. Build a 20 foot wall, a 21 foot ladder will follow...or a canon.

[coalition_unwilling]

27. ROTFLMAO - Oh, would that George Carlin or Sam Kinnison were

still alive, the fun they would have. (Also Gilda Radner's Emily Litell might have a field day with this.)

[L0oniX]

28. Circus cannons that launch humans ...good for other things obviously.

[sofa king]

32. They're going to need a bombardment worthy of Zhukov...

... to compete with next year's American-grown bumper crop.

If one million out of the five million Coloradans grow six plants at a time in four 90-day crops, that nicely equates to one home-grown plant per regular potsmoker per year in the United States (20-24 million, according to drugscience.org). It is my understanding that there are now a few strains that can be harvested in six weeks, which would double the estimate above.

I think that Colorado and Washington alone can meet the entire demand for marijuana in the United States, under a shroud of partial and dubious legality. Voters in those states may have inadvertently shut down an entire theater of the drug war... and opened up another!

[Adsos Letter]

34. You've just added a new question to the Math portion of the GRE.

"If one million out of the five million Coloradans grow six plants at a time in four 90-day crops..."

LOL!

[sofa king]

36. Ha!

And the answer, of course, is, "dude, let's go to the 7-11."

[Adsos Letter]

33. Wow! Maybe my experience as an artillery Forward Observer does have a use in civilian life!

40 years on and all that stuff about military service being an excellent foundation for life comes to pass...

[Historic NY]

35. Potato gun become pot gun...

[Arugula Latte]

37. Cannibus Cannon

Good band name, maybe.

[In_The_Wind]

39. Hand over the cannon fodder.

[img][/img]

[kentauros]

40. Does Roundup kill marijuana?

Because if it doesn't, I can think of at least one prank using seeds, Estes rockets, and corporate farms