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This 4/20, adult-use states all across the US held massive celebrations to commemorate America’s unofficial cannabis holiday. But on that very same day, two Mexican citizens were locked behind bars for transporting hundreds of pounds of weed through the prohibition state of Missouri.
In the early morning hours of 4/20, Missouri cops showed up to the scene of a major multi-car traffic accident on Interstate 70, about 100 miles west of St. Louis. Newsweek reports that a semi-truck swerved to avoid an earlier accident and was then rear-ended by a pickup truck. A second semi then plowed into the pickup, totaling it. Surprisingly, no one was killed or even seriously injured in the accident.
And even more surprisingly, cops found hundreds of bags of weed scattered throughout the wreckage. In total, the highway patrol found around 500 pounds of vacuum-sealed dried bud stuffed into garbage bags. Cops believe that the weed came from the pickup truck, which was being driven by two Mexican nationals, Victor Gonzalez Acosta, 32, and David Mora Navarro, 24.
“You don’t see this everyday, but it is 4/20,” the Missouri State Highway Patrol tweeted. “Troopers responded to a crash today on I-70 in Callaway County and found 500 pounds of packaged marijuana scattered around. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured.”
Although Acosta and Navarro escaped the serious accident without any serious injury, they did not escape the long arm of the law. Both men were charged with two counts of Felony 1st Degree Trafficking of Drugs. Cops also charged them with Careless and Imprudent Driving, even though it seems like they were not directly responsible for the accident. A third passenger in the vehicle has not yet been charged with any crimes, though.
At present, it’s unclear where the pot came from, but given the drivers’ nationality, it’s possible that the contraband originated in Mexico. Seizures of weed from Mexican cartels used to be pretty commonplace, but have decreased significantly in the past few years now that adult-use cannabis is totally legal throughout most of the Southwestern US.
Cops haven’t disclosed whether the shipment was intended for sale in Missouri, but since weed is still illegal in the Show-Me State, that is definitely a possibility. Missouri has legalized medical marijuana at least, and even decriminalized minor pot possession, but non-medical sales and use of the plant remain entirely illegal.
Missouri lawmakers recently advanced a bipartisan bill to fully legalize adult-use cannabis, but state Rep. Nick Schroer (R) added an amendment that exclusively blocks trans women from applying for social equity licenses. This “poison pill” amendment may sink the chances of the bill’s passage, but proponents of the legislation are trying to remove the offensive addition before it comes up for a floor vote.
