German Authorities Burn Seized Marijuana to Produce Electricity
Usually, when government agencies declare war on marijuana, the confiscated product ends up being burned. This is not just about disposing of contraband, but also about demonstrating to citizens that the authorities are in control and maintaining a strict criminalization regime for psychoactive substances.
Interestingly, German authorities have come up with a practical use for these public burnings. Specifically, Munich police have decided to stop burning marijuana in empty lots behind their stations and instead use confiscated drugs as a source of cheap electricity by incinerating them at a specialized power plant.
Turning Contraband into Power
According to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, earlier this month Munich police seized a shipment containing about 544 kilograms of Albanian marijuana. Experts estimated the street value of the haul at 6 million euros, claiming that this amount would be enough to roll more than 3.8 million joints.
Faced with such a large quantity, the police realized that using “traditional disposal methods” would take officers several days to burn the entire load. For this reason, they contacted a local power plant that generates energy from biomass and food waste, offering the staff the opportunity to convert the contraband into steam for electricity turbines.
As a result, more than 500 kilograms of marijuana, with an average THC concentration of 16%, were incinerated in the plant’s industrial furnace at temperatures of 900–1000 degrees Celsius. In other words, the entire shipment was almost instantly burned to ashes. After the procedure, not even traces of plant resin remained in the furnace.
From Contraband to Clean Energy
Although this huge stash won’t be warming the hearts of Germans during the New Year holidays, it’s worth noting that, at least this time, it didn’t go to waste but became a source of cheap electricity.
“In fact, the disposal of the plants produced enough energy to light and heat the city for several weeks,” said Thomas König, the power plant manager, in an interview with journalists.
Legalization and the Black Market
It’s worth remembering that at the end of last year, German authorities decided to legalize medical marijuana nationwide. As a result, medical strains are now sold in pharmacies across the country with a doctor’s prescription. Although recreational marijuana use is still banned, authorities in many regions are generally lenient toward individual users, viewing marijuana use as a medical and social issue rather than a serious breach of public order.
While many citizens feel comfortable under these conditions, it’s important to note that decriminalization does little to combat the black market. In other words, this reform not only allows ordinary users to avoid jail for possession or smoking a joint, but it also encourages the growth of the black market by refusing to move psychoactive substances into a legal and regulated market. In fact, shortly after disposing of this large shipment, Bavarian authorities seized another major load of marijuana in a truck from Serbia. In other words, until cannabis cultivation becomes a fully legal business, police will continue their futile fight against the ever-regenerating hydra of the black market.