Fairbanks men face charges for attempted smuggling
Published Saturday, November 8, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Two Fairbanks men are accused of trying to smuggle more than $20,000 worth of marijuana from the Interior to Wasilla.
John A. Lopez, 21, and Philip N. Rogers, 24, have each been charged with one count of felony drugs misconduct.
In late January, Alaska State Troopers received a tip that Lopez would be taking as much as 20 pounds of marijuana to Wasilla on Jan. 31.
Troopers on the lookout for a suspicious vehicle that day stopped the two men on the Parks Highway near Talkeetna. The men said they were going to the University of Anchorage, but troopers impounded the vehicle and obtained a search warrant. The next day, they found 5 pounds of marijuana in five 1 pound packages.
Lopez and Rogers were taken to a nearby gas station and released.
The drugs have an estimated street value of $21,500 in Anchorage.
Community Discussion
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Just curious. Why are some alleged criminal conduct articles allowed comment, while others are not?
I mean, this is a fairly regular occurence now.
Smuggling? From the Inteior to Strip-malls-ville?
Maybe you could exagerate that headline a bit more, perhaps?
Moving? Yes. Distributing? Sounds like it. But smuggling??
Is there a new border between Fairbanks and Wasilla? I mean, not that there might not oughta' be, but c'mon guys.. Sounds a whole lot more like distribution than smuggling in the classic sense of the term.
But hey; it was an excellent effort at sensationalizing some local garden variety laissez faire capitalism in progress.. (puns intended..)
I thought that the drug trade worked the other way, meaning it all gets shipped up here.
Maybe they ordered too much and were trying to get a refund. Like a weed-walmart with an awesome return policy.
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(This comment was removed by the Newsminer.com staff. Please see our User Agreement for further information.)
Lopez sounds south of the border so it's racial profileing, was it Mexican Weed as well?
Why were they released at a nearby gas station?
**"Why were they released at a nearby gas station?"**
___________
Poor lighting on the side of the road, and after losing their truck, they likely needed to call a friend for a ride.
Besides, Sunshine Tesoro has a decent sellection of munchies at all hours of the day.
Lastly, the Sunshine/Talkeetna area has voted in the neighborhood of 75% support for all-out legalization of cannabis in both Prop 5 (2000) and Prop 2 (2004). I'd guess that if they expedited everybody there to jail who was holdiong a couple of lbs. of pot, the poor under-staffed Troopers there would rarely make it home for a timely dinner, or quality time with their spouses.
And maybe over the years the Troopers there have had sufficient first-hand experience to understand that the local horticulturalists and those who smoke some rope AIN'T their #1 public enemy..... Unlike one of the more naive, propagandized, and twisted Chiefs of Police in the Interior that I can think of at the moment.
Oh My! 20# !
Proof farming is Fairbanks as pot-tentual! ??
Oh My God they killed Kenny
News Miner really should learn what words mean. This was not 'smuggling'... it was transportaion. These guys did not cross any geo-political boundries where laws changed. New Miner just wanted to sensationalize by using a word with a significantly worse connotation than 'transporting'... and they used it improperly!
What a confusingly written story. Were the men released? What connotes a "suspicious" looking car? As Dirk pointed out - How could they be "smuggling" without a state or national border? If all this happened in January, did it take the Troopers ten months to charge the guys?
Marijuana arrests have increased dramatically nation wide in the last few years. Nearly 800,000 in 2007. Maybe our new president will be willing to look at how stupid and wasteful the drug war on Americans is and do something about it. Putting people in prison for a bunch of plants that should never have been illegal in the first place is a ridiculous practice, but it sure is a great way for weapons manufacturers to make killing off the taxpayers. They're the only group that benefits from the drug war.
America is losing the drug war and we need to end it. Besides, we need the room in the prisons for senators. :-)
Kenny is dead,,,,, those bastards got him.
Under what circumstances can the troopers impound a person's vehicle when they are not under arrest? They just dumped them at a gas station and said, "Thanks for your car." That sounds like some kind of rights violation.
One way to pay for your education in Alaska.
I'm all for "recreational" use (like alcohol, moderation)
But five pounds divided into individual bags?
It's dumb-asses like those boys who give harmless users a bad name by trying to make a wad of cash with it, I'll bet they wish they had just kept it and not been greedy- they would not have to have spent money on smoke for quite awhile, and they would be free.
Lostalaskan wake and bake huh five 1 lb bags
Smuggling? Nice word. Try absconding for your next catchy-word headline.
These guys were let go? 20 pounds of weed and they were dropped off at the local gas station?
JP_offroader you too
What a WELL written story, sounds like smuggling to me, isn't Anchorage in a different country?
And I really like that they were just released at the Tesoro station AFTER they found the drugs, according to the WELL written story!!!!
And the best part is they are apparently still out wandering around Fairbanks, or probably just caught a flight for a nice vacation down in one of the other foreign countries...
Maybe there was 25 lbs of weed. Maybe someone smoked 5 lbs and forgot to make an arrest. Sounds like we've got some real "Super Troopers." Maybe the officers tripped over the imaginary line across the alleged smuggling border and bumped their heads.
Why did it take 11 months to report the story???
I suppose the quality of clientele frequenting Mos Isley must have diminished. Storm Troopers are gaining on the free-traders.
doris, slow down, step away from the key board, and have a seat. we cannot, we cannont have folks that think in a logical manner post at this website. For g-d sakes go watch some college football or something and stop saying intelligent things.
The Sunshine at Talkeetna has the BEST BREAKFASTS in Alaska. Oh my gosh!
Chewtoy-ROFL!!
Pot should be legal. Ask any health care provider or cop or substance abuse specialist and they will tell you that alcohol accounts for most of their business. This war on drugs has been a failure. Lots of wasted money, lives ruined, no results. If Obama and the libs what my support they will tackle this issue.
I'm still laughing about Kenny's untimely demise. Good one!
I think if the News Miner staff wrote the charge, then it would probably not been for attempted smuggling. Smuggling may be the term on the charge sheet, if so the DNM accurately reported the charges. Our legal system is just as capable of making mistakes as the DNM.
Must be a slow newsday. Funny that it took them until the next day to find 5 one pounders. Doesn't sound to me like they were all that concerned about it to start with. Probably only needed to open the trunk.
Poor misguided youth. Everybody knows the best weed comes OUT of the valley. What were they thinking.
I have said it before Doris and couldn't agree with you more. The "drug war" is just another huge government money grab and should have been stopped years ago. The billions a year spent on a program that doesn't work could have been used for education and rehabilitation. The billions in taxes collected on the legalization of marijuana alone could have paid for whatever feel good "drug war" the gov wanted to attempt on hard drugs. All about the money, all about the greed. Looks like just more of the same coming round the bend with the new blood. Sad, oh so sad
I bet they were just planning on celebrating the end of the "Bong hits for Jesus" case. A lot of celebrating.
AINT IT FUNNY...THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING THE LAW THAT POT IS AGAINST THE LAW....GO HOME AND SWELL WISKEY INTO THEIR GUTS.
What a waste of taxpayer dollars.
And I also want to know why some articles about alleged crimes get comments and other don't. What's up with that???
Gripe all you want. Until YOU get out there and change the laws, the laws are there to be enforced. Unfortunately, few are responsible enough to "use" in moderation. We don't need another mind altering substance abuser operating a vehicle. If everyone was responsible, we wouldn't need police at all...but that will never happen. Drugs are out there because of greed, pure and simple.
twodecades: the only reason they had to wait to find the weed was the need of a search warrant. They can't even pop the trunk until they have one in hand. Do you remember the head in the car truck at Troopers years ago? It was in their garage for a while because they had to wait for the warrant. What a surprise that was.
OH, just a thought on legal weed: Everyone would die sooner because they would become obese from all the junk food. Just can't win here.
Byers Creek , Trapper Creek , Sunshine Creek , Goose Creek , Sheep Creek , Caswell Creek , Willow Creek -all reek some killer chronic grown out there .... Houston , Wasilla , and Sutton areas mainly supplied MTF chronic in the good ol days, so I doubt these two were supplying to distribute in all these areas mentioned .... they probably were bartering that 5 pounds in Anchorage so they can bring back some killer coke or some other products like snowmachines or something...
I dont buy into this story of what was reported, I mean... anyone who is in possession of any amount of illegal substance other than marijuana is a MICS-IV charge minimum and you are detained and booked until you are arraigned...the current law now states that any amount of marijuana possession of 4 ozs or greater is a FEL-O-NY , much less 80 ozs of weed and the two suspects were supposedly released and dropped off at the Sunshine Creek Tesoro (the only nearby gas station) -yeah right- ....
In most cases of an arrest or detainment, Troopers will NOT provide transport (10-86) and say -adios- to someone that has been detained or arrested and then get released - they will tell you that you are released and you cannot remain on this property...
Its hard enough for a victim to even get a ride from any Trooper back to his/her previous location as it is, after filing a report at the post station or at a hospital when they were promised that they would get transported back.
If the accusers were detained and booked as charged, they would be dropped off at Mat-Su Pre Trial or Palmer Correctional Center until a judge has presided the arraignment and set the terms with a bail amount for any release....
I can almost be sure that when the 5 pounds of marijuana was found, the Feds and the Mat-Su ABADE was taking over the case so that there would be a more severe conviction out of this scenario.... easy case for them as supposedly they were tipped off <shakes head> and set up the two alleged accusers of trafficing (and I agree too that this reported case is definately 'NOT SMUGGLING') as it seems that racial profiling was used in that term.
And by the way, the Sunshine Restaurant does have excellent food there, but I like the Sunrise Grille and Pancake House (next to Moose's Tooth) and Gwennies Restaurant in Anchorage, the breakfasts are better to me I think.
Make Pot legal? Well, what would be the consequences of that? Oh, Barack might have gained another 10 million votes. Sure, make it legal...
We gotta ride tonite my little homey kenny just died tonite. I have friends that have been smoking the old mary jane for about thirty years and they enjoy it so much they cant get out of thier moms houses and off thier video games and their minds dont operate that well anymore but yeah lets legilize it why not we could use some more dumbass people in this world
Freedom is freedom. Limit another persons rights today and then complain tomorrow when your rights are restricted.
Doug, I'll bet you would oppose prohibiting a real killer like alcohol, be honest....
...how many Pot-related deaths do you know of?
Wow , reading some other comments makes me think there is another scenario to this.....
It just might be possible that the 5 pounds of weed was delivered from Southcentral or the Anchorage area and that the two accusers were to 'get their refund' cuz it was non quality catpiss smellin hay (weed) and while they threatened their distributor to settle the score, the Troopers had gotten an anonymous tip....
Then they got released at the Sunshine Tesoro after narcing out their supplier(s), which in turn finally being charged 10 months later after the incident...
Of course this is only speculation as all us readers were not there as to what really happened, however according to what was reported in this article - the story would make more sense by this scenario I pointed out.
LostAlaskan,
I don't use pot (have never even "not enhaled") but I don't believe it should be a criminal offense either. I do recall reading about a train derailment a few years ago where it was suspected that the engineer was "using" prior to the derailment (but he was dead as a result).
To answer your question, I don't know how many deaths could be attributed to pot. I suspect there are few if any homocides because, from what I've read, marijuana has a tendancy to make one "mellow" whereas my Dad was an Alcoholic (and a mean one at that). But I do think that if criminal penalties for use of marijuana are lifted, the penalties for using within a 18 to 24 hour period prior to operating vehicles or heavy machinery should remain in place.
More casualties from cell phone use
Contrary to the feds' claims re. cannabis impairment, the average effect lasts 2-6 hours for fairly potent cannabis. Few persons report a long lasting effect or serious 'hang-over.'
The Amtrak event during the Reagan years that served as a catalyst for massive urine analysis, making the likes of Bill Weimar a LOT of money, was largely a result of that. The reality was that the engineer in the caboose, & others, who had reportedly been smoking pot, were watching a football game. You've likely entered a room where folks are fixated on a football game and noted the lack of awareness of other goings on in that room; sports/tv fixation..
The more recent event I believe you're referring to involved an engineeer who was allegedly 'text messaging' two younger boys; another activity that takes one's focus away from what they're doing, also in violation of company policy. The presence of cannabinoids, even in blood samples, is not necessarily evidence of current impairment, based on how cannabinoids are metabolized.
An accurate assessment of the actual effects of driving impaired under the influence of cannabis can be found in a couple of studies entitled, 'Marijuana and Actual Driving Performance,' and 'Alcohol, Marijuana and Actual Driving Performance.' Both studies come in a US DOT NHTSB cover, though they were conducted by a professor named Robbe in the Netherlands, on a US DOT grant. Both cast serious doubts upon gov. assertions re. cannabis impairment and driving. Unlike most studies used by the feds, these, to the best of my knowledge, have not been dismissed by courts as non-credible.
Re. folks not being able to employ moderation, again, I point to a wide variety of science, including Prof. Earlywine's research in Cal., wherein persons tend to 'self-titrate.' In other words, unlike those consuming alc. who continue to drink more and more, the evidence suggests that persons ingesting cannabis tend to cease doing so at a specific level of comfort.
Lastly, research into the AMA's data reveals that alcohol withdrawl can literally be lethal for persons. There is no such physical withdrawl for cannabis, (*See the 'Merck Manual') though 1 in 10 reports some degree of psychoogical addiction. I personally regard the concept of psychological addiction as a form of subjective hocus pocus implemented by the various self-serving 'helping professions.' I'm psychologically addicted to raspberry milk shakes.
I've worked professionally with persons who suffered late-stage alcohol-induced dimentia. The long-term picture for such cases makes the inhalation of volatile solvents look mild; incoherence, rotted intestines and organs, non-functioning areas of the brain, incontinence, internal bleeding, etc. It defies accurate description. It's truly morbid.
I also grew up with a drunk for a parent, and could tell humiliating stories of physical violence, public nudity, screaming, and more. I won't reveal further for now. While I wouldn't seek to repeal others' (adult) right to consume alcohol (or what ever), it is likely the worst drug of choice available, in terms of both immediate and long-term effects. I've never seen anything remotely comparable with cannabis users.
Correction, a study referenced above, the second study compiled/conducted by Robbe, should've been entitled, 'Marijuana, Alcohol, & Actual Driving Performance,' not 'Alcohol, Marijuana & Actual Driving Performance.'
Also note that the original longer versions of these studies in their entireties, available in the past from the NHTSB for anywhere from 'free' to $28.00 per copy, depending, do these two studies much greater justice than the more biased shorter abstracts that have been available on the internet.
Wasilla, where the Republican Palin lives, smuggles drugs. DNM holds onto this story for 10 months, and now it is newsworthy.
Now I'm just a dumb old Alaskan hillbilly conservative, but even I know that the marijuana pipeline goes the other way. The "product" in the Mat-Su valley is world famous, and desired. Why would anyone in Wasilla import Mexican weed? Did I say Wasilla? Isn't that where Sarah Palin is from?
I swear, I will never forgive the DNM for their recent political potshots.
Hey Dirk - I like your brains, wanna get married?
I don't think that the article said that there was Mexican pot involved. I think that was speculation by another poster, based on a tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the young men being named 'Lopez.'
In re. to the assertions re. 'direction of flow,' black markets in general don't necessarily have a uni-directional flow pattern. They are more often based on 'who knows who,' as much as they are based on 'what comes from where.'
I believe that some folks still import Mexican cannabis of a wide variety of qualities. But it's not at all unfathomable that someone in Wasilla or Anchorage with few associates might buy cannabis from someone in the Interior, or that someone in the Interior might move it outside, etc., etc.. Pot is pot.
The days of the Mat-Su Valley's notoriety re. high potency/quality cannabis goes back to the days when there was no aggregate weight limit in Alaska; pre-March 1983. At that time it wasn't uncommon to see large out-door greenhouse operations, and the natural environment played a much larger role. Mat-Su had a seasonal environment friendly to that sort of farming.
Since the passage of that period, many persons have reportedly moved their 'efforts' indoors, and, assuming that the individual grower's skill and stock of seed are of high calibre, then the same product grown in the Mat-Su can literally be grown indoors -anywhere-.
What -is- common within the Mat-Su Valley now, in part due to the pre-1983 history, is a marginal level of tolerance for cannabis in general, though certainly not across the board.
Bear in mind that the only reason that much pot MIGHT be worth that much cash is due to the fact that it's currently a black-market commodity.
The gov. is arresting nearly a million persons per year just for possession, and it's not going away. Assuming that they're getting one in 25 consumers, which is WAY generous, a person can extrapolate a rough estimate of how prevalent the consumption of cannabis is in the U.S.
Made in Alaska,
I'm flattered at the proposal, but feel compelled to inform you that I'm already wed to one of the most amazing, forgiving, kind, creative, and tolerant Zen-like women on the planet, I have three kids covering a wide swath of ages, a 125 lb. malamute with hellacious skin problems, my back hurts more days than not, I've forfeited my 25-yr.-old wood-dweller physique for a sub-urban profile LONG ago, I'm often grumpy each day I get out of bed, I sometimes clear my nose in the old farm-hand manner, my table manners are sometimes suspect, I've avoided most groups of people long enough to be uncomfortable in almost ANY social situation, and each day that passes I have fewer friends due to my own eccentricism, stubbornness, verbosity, and perspective.
That said, mere communication is often too little to base a relationship on, even if I weren't already attached. (Just food for thought...)
But thanks again; the older I get, I tend to take each compliment as though it might be my last.... Who knows? ;^>)
glaceries said-
"I swear, I will never forgive the DNM for their recent political potshots."
lol, I'm sure they're full of regret from reading that post, anyway, blame Palin because without her- they would never have had a story, or sold as many papers.
Sarah Palin made her OWN bed to lay in, along with Stevens and that guy who just got arrested for doing coke behind the Big Int.- also a republican (Former Alaska state Rep. Nick Stepovich)......
I just reviewed the altered portion of this story on ADN and the editors and columnists from the Associated Press took the advice from the bloggers here .... the headline is titled :
-Troopers believe duo planned to transport marijuana to Wasilla-
It sure doesnt state any 'smuggling' involved.
http://www.adn.com/crime/story/583461.ht...
Wow Corinne , you are absolutely right and posted your comment just a few hours before the next big story was published ..... 'Just curious. Why are some alleged criminal conduct articles allowed comment, while others are not?
I mean, this is a fairly regular occurence now'.
The Stepovich article doesnt provide any 'post a comment' feature to it at all -
I bet Hap is rollin in his grave viewing from heaven on what went down at his old place , and no one can even post a comment on it.
The alleged incident took place less than 200 footsteps away from the newspaper headquarters too.
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