An elderly couple was arrested after claiming the 60 pounds of pot in their car was for “Christmas presents”
Most of us don’t expect the gift of “green” in our stockings, but one California couple allegedly thought it’d make the perfect present this holiday season. After being stopped for a moving traffic violation in York, Nebraska, an elderly couple told cops the 60 pounds of marijuana found in their car was intended for Christmas presents, and here’s what we know.
According to the York News-Times, 80-year-old Patrick Jiron and 83-year-old Barbara Jiron, of Clearlake Oaks, California, were driving cross-country for the holidays this week when they were stopped by York police for crossing the center line on Interstate 80. Deputies then noticed a “strong odor of raw marijuana” coming from the coupe’s Toyota Tacoma, and the county’s canine unit was alerted to the presence of a controlled substance in the car. Deputies searched the vehicle and reportedly discovered 60 pounds of pot, stored in boxes.
They estimated the street value of the marijuana at a staggering $336,000.
The couple were taken into custody and explained that they were headed to Vermont and intended to give the marijuana as “Christmas gifts.” They’re currently being held on charges of “possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and no drug tax stamp.”
Elderly couple claims marijuana was for Christmas presents https://t.co/aCNGKuhJE0 pic.twitter.com/HyrTJfHcvz
— York News-Times (@yorknewstimes) December 20, 2017
The couple was arrested due to the fact that both charges are technically felonies in the state of Nebraska. However, in their home state of California, recreational marijuana will become legal on January 1st, 2018, and in Vermont, where the couple claims they were traveling, medical marijuana is currently legal, but recreational pot use is not. Basically, it’s a confusing and evolving situation.
There continues to be controversy surrounding marijuana use — both medicinal and otherwise — with lawmakers and citizens having mixed opinions across the board about the safety of decriminalizing the substance. And as marijuana laws continue to change and evolve state-by-state, we have a feeling the debate won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
