Was Baldwin County Bust a Trend?

An arrest of three men in Baldwin County used the phrase, "high-grade marijuana." With the advent of legal grows in other states, is this going to be a trend?

The men were caught with thirty pounds of weed and face trafficking charges. The estimated value was $105,000, or only about $200 an ounce. That's half of what they get in California, where weed typically sells by the gram.

Still, the trend is to focus on stronger marijuana at higher prices to make the effort worthwhile. The problem for crooks has always been the bulk nature of marijuana -- unlike other illegal drugs, you have to haul an appreciable quantity by volume to make any real money.

Were these guys making money? Well, along with the drugs, Sheriff deputies also confiscated a $5,000 and a 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharger.

Two of the men arrested were from California and both had bonds set at a million dollars after their arrests. They were pulled over in their Jag on 59 and the drug dog was called in. The mutt nailed them with three pounds in the trunk and the rest was discovered at one of the accused's home.

Police say the weed originated in Northern California. So the questions remains -- is high quality marijuana becoming a key state export for California? It does make sense. After all, if it is legal to grow and to beat Mexican competition you need a better quality product, economics is probably driving the trend.

So now, instead of pictures of illegals carrying bales of marijuana into our border states, think California entrepreneurs driving out of the state with high-grade weed in the trunk of their Jag. If there is one thing we can rely on, it’s American ingenuity out-competing foreign “manufacturers.” Expect to see more like this.