If you toke long enough, and you happen to reside somewhere where weed is still illegal (you unfortunate souls), you’re eventually going to run into the cops. And that run-in can go one of two ways: Either you catch some charges, or you get lucky after a deus ex machina intervenes to save the day.
For one man in Sweden, that intervention took the form of a seagull who loves weed (or plastic, we’re not sure which, exactly).
Recently, The Leaf Desk reported that a man and woman attending the Gothenburg Cultural Festival were approached by plainclothes police officers. The cops had caught the woman openly blazing a joint, and the man, fearing he was next up for a search, tried to ditch his bag of weed in some bushes to avoid arrest.
In Sweden, possession of even a single joint can mean six months in prison and heavy fines. According to the man, his bag held about 10 grams of primo pot.
Despite his best efforts, the police spotted the man trying to stash his, well, stash. As they walked over to question him and inspect the site where the bag of weed was dropped, a seagull swooped in, grabbed the bag, and flew off.
“The policemen stood and watched the evidence disappear into the sky,” said police spokesperson Stefan Gustafsson.
Gallery — Animals Love Weed, Too:
The man, who formerly had the bag, ducked out shortly after the stash went airborne. After all, if there’s no evidence, there’s no crime, right?
“I’ve heard a lot during the years I’ve worked in the police, but never anything like this,” said Camilla Fogelhamre, another police spokesperson. “We did not spend any major resources on finding the right seagull. It was a little difficult to follow, and we did not deploy a helicopter.”
Birds on weed has not been thoroughly studied, though birds do love eating seeds produced by cannabis flowers.
The woman who was initially spotted by police smoking a joint didn’t skate free, however. She was booked and charged for weed possession and being under the influence of an illegal drug.
Public opinion regarding weed varies by country in the European Union, just as it does by state in the US. Although Sweden has some of the strictest anti-weed laws in the West, other EU members such as the UK (which may not be in the EU much longer), Germany, and Spain have enacted medical marijuana reforms or weed-tolerant policies. Luxembourg is set to become the first EU nation to legalize marijuana for recreational or adult use; Portugal decriminalized weed (and all other drugs) over 18 years ago.
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