Marijuana Mysteriously Washes Up on Florida Beach in "Large Quantity"

A "large quantity" of loose marijuana has washed up on a beach in Florida, causing a headache for police officers who were tasked with cleaning up the leafy green jetsam. Authorities said the unpacked pot washed up on Neptune Beach, about 17 miles east of Jacksonville, on Saturday morning, WPTV reported. Read on to find out where they think it came from and where it ultimately went.

Local police worked with public works officers to clean up the pot, which looked like seaweed that had rolled in with the tide. Authorities urged locals to avoid the area and not "get any clever ideas," WPTV reported. "Before anyone starts thinking about coming out and turning this discovery into your own treasure hunt, we would advise against it," Neptune Beach police said in a statement. "After floating in the ocean for some time, the marijuana has quickly begun to degrade and rot."

Authorities think the marijuana was being transported by water when packages somehow broke open and sent the weed into the water. They don't know where it came from or who it belonged to, but the dispersal may have happened at high tide.  

Zach West was on the beach with his mother when they noticed the suspicious foliage. He took a sniff to make sure. "I did pick it up and smelled it to see what it smelled like," West told News4JAX. "It was weed. So I was like, that's kind of crazy."

Concerned that the pot might be laced with a deadly drug, West and his mother called 911. "There are babies, and they get it. Nowadays, they lace it with fentanyl. So they could've picked it up, and there could've been fentanyl in it, and the baby just dropped dead," said West.  In a TV report, workers were seen gathering up the weed with garden rakes. A backhoe was visible in one area.

One bystander said the driftweed seemed to amount to several pounds. "I don't know from personal experience, but watching shows, if it had been all put together, it probably would've been five or ten pounds," Bryan Crews told the news outlet.  "It's crazy," said another bystander, Suzanna Joseph. "I'm surprised there wasn't a bunch of hippies on the beach picking it up."

Commenters on the Neptune Beach Police Department's Facebook page were highly amused. "High tide will be fun," wrote one. "I bet you'll get a lot of volunteers for clean up with this find," said another.  "Bonfire anyone???" another inquired.