It's All About Logistics

You get a feel for the logistics of illegal drug trafficking when you hear about the guy in Wyoming who was stopped on I-80. Troopers stopped the young man, 20 year-old Ian Knoop, and then "became suspicious."

One drug dog later and Mr. Knoop was arrested for having 68 pound of weed in his car. His story was that he was transporting it from San Francisco to Colorado Springs.

The logistics of that are impressive, if foolish. Here's a young man, not even old enough to drink legally, that traveled more than 2,600 miles. Presumably, he didn't do it in one shot -- a trip like that, back and forth from Co. Springs to San Fran is a week's journey.

The "street value" was estimated by police at $405,000. That sounds pretty high compared to similar estimates in other states -- $200 an ounce in Alabama for instance. Maybe it was high-quality marijuana. In any case, even at the lower price, it's a huge amount of money for a 20 year-old. It's also a huge charge -- felony possession with intent to deliver.

The strange thing is there doesn't seem to be any shortage of marijuana in Colorado to merit all the risk and effort. After all, we've had legal medical marijuana for ten years. Why not just grow it locally?

Perhaps this is how we supply dispensaries in the state, a kind of franchise deal out of California. There were no details about anything like this, but you have to wonder if the medical marijuana market is driving, at least a little, the demand for high-quality, exotic strains, here in Colorado.

I feel a little sorry for this young man. The rest of his life is going to be shaped by this event. But to alter a phrase, “Old enough to commit the crime, old enough to do the time.”