NEWS
Missouri Cops Raided a Backwoods Hemp Farm After Mistaking It for a $100,000 Cannabis Grow Op
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The Jasper, MO police department deleted their Facebook page entirely in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid further embarrassment after photos of the “drug bust” went viral.
Published on September 26, 2017

Marijuana and hemp are both derived from the cannabis plant, and while you might find both in Woody Harrelson’s closet, there are very distinct differences between the two - mainly the fact that one is used for smoking and the other for producing clothing, rope and paper products. However, it would appear that green is green for cops is Jasper, Missouri, as when officers found a backwoods farm with almost 300 leafy stalks, they immediately got to chopping, snapping pics to post on the department’s Facebook page, and reveling in their presumed drug bust.

Almost as soon as the department posted their haul on social media, Facebook smokers caught wind of the photo and immediately pointed out that the bumbling cops had torn down the wrong type of weed. And with the boasting Facebook post claiming the industrial hemp was worth “about $100,000 street value once harvested and prepared for the street,” it didn’t take long for the comment section to turn into a giant roast session. 

Of course, the police department removed the post and deleted their page entirely in an effort to avoid further public lambasting. Thankfully, the Internet age has captured ample screenshots, and the original photos and post will live on forever as a result.

Even with the original post gone, comments are still pouring in, with every local news story about the mistaken bust causing a similar firestorm of finger pointing towards the ditch weed deputies, like these from the Kansas City Star.

To be fair, industrial hemp is only legal to produce in Missouri by two licensed growers, neither of which took credit for the backwoods plot. But while the farm was technically against the law, it certainly wasn’t going to be getting anyone high. 

After all the of mockery, Jasper police chief Chad Karr spoke up, and told St. Louis’ Riverfront Times that the bust was not intended to be a brag about their cannabis eradication, but instead a direct message to one local meth dealer, who police were guessing was the owner of the plants - a law enforcement tactic that might be even stranger than bragging about spending an entire day chopping down non-psychoactive trees.

No matter what Karr says, though, we’re still sensing some serious bravado in the Facebook post that claimed “one of the largest marijuana grow seizures in the area.” 

To date, Jasper police have yet to mention whether the hemp bust led to the arrest of their original meth dealer target.

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Zach Harris
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Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia whose work has appeared on Noisey, First We Feast, and Jenkem Magazine. You can find him on Twitter @10000youtubes complaining about NBA referees.
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