High-quality pot from legal states flooding market in Springfield

It was only a few years ago when undercover narcotics officers could set up a dealer on the cheap — only $1,000 for a pound of marijuana.

Today, to bust a drug dealer for that same amount of weight, they expect to pay up to six-times that.

Dan Banasik, a Missouri State Highway Patrol supervising sergeant for narcotics, said the Springfield market has been inundated with high-grade marijuana from Colorado and other states where the drug is legal.

“We’ve seen a large increase in that,” Banasik said. “Since it is legal there, I don’t believe the enforcement is as tough.”

Banasik said the marijuana coming from Colorado is a much higher quality than the Mexican weed that was most common in Springfield a decade ago. He said the product from Colorado has much higher levels of THC — the main active ingredient in marijuana — meaning it takes less of the drug to achieve a stronger high.

Banasik said the more potent marijuana has driven up the price of the drug in Springfield. But while that may be good news for dealers in town, local experts say the recent infusion of potent marijuana could be trouble.

Mark Wood, chemistry professor at Drury University, said marijuana works by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain. He said those neurotransmitters play a role in just about everything — including fear, pleasure, hunger, smell, vision and pain.

Wood said the higher the THC level in marijuana, the bigger the impact the drug has on those neurotransmitters in the brain.

“Anytime you increase the active ingredient in something, you are going to get a bigger effect,” Wood said. “If there is an addictive effect or a negative effect, it is going to be bigger.”

Marijuana is now legal for medical purposes in close to half the states in the country. Wood said, among other benefits, the drug is proven to help cancer patients deal with pain and nausea.

Wood said, however, there are also some proven negative side effects of marijuana consumption. He said there is no comprehensive research yet on how this higher-grade marijuana affects people over a long period of time, but he can see potential dangers as it becomes more prevalent in the Springfield area.

“I think we are going to see more of it, and not less,” Wood said. “The trouble is, every indication we have is that once you mess with the brain for a long period of time and mess with these neurotransmitters, it starts to mess with the way you think.”

Rikki Barton with the Community Partnership of the Ozarks works to keep young people away from drugs. Barton said studies show marijuana use increases the risk of mental health issues and anxiety disorders.

Barton said she is not sure what the effects might be from this infusion of highly potent marijuana. One thing that she said is encouraging, however, is a recent survey that indicates youth marijuana use in the area might be declining.

In a 2014 survey of 12th-grade students in Greene County, 32 percent reported they had tried marijuana at least once. Barton said that number is down from 40 percent in 2012.

While teen use may be going down locally, Sgt. Shawn Griggs with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s division of drug and crime control said authorities are seizing more weed being transported across Missouri roadways.

Griggs said in 2013, the highway patrol seized about 1,071 pounds of marijuana, and that number rose to about 1,700 pounds in 2014. Through the first half of this year, Griggs said, the highway patrol has already seized more than 1,000 pounds of weed.

Griggs could not say how much of that marijuana came from Colorado.

Griggs did say, however, that the highway patrol has seen an exponential increase over the last two years in the seizures of marijuana-infused food products known as edibles. Many shops in legalized states specialize in these types of drug-laced treats.

A government report says that 5 million edibles were sold in Colorado shops in 2014.

Local authorities have filed charges in at least five cases since January 2014 of people transporting marijuana into Springfield from either Colorado or California.

In one of those cases, the marijuana was allegedly being mailed from Colorado to Springfield. In the other four cases, the suspects are accused of driving in the drugs. Probable cause statements indicate that these cases resulted in more than 900 pounds of weed being seized.

In one of those cases, two Springfield men are accused of collecting marijuana legally in Colorado and selling it illegally in southwest Missouri.

Banasik, the drug investigator, said in general, however, the marijuana coming from Colorado to Springfield is not being purchased out in the open like that.

“You are limited to buying personal amounts,” Banasik said. “What we’re seizing is being sold on the black market... Colorado is not getting their tax dollars like they think they are.”

The website PriceofWeed.com tracks marijuana prices across the United States by soliciting people to anonymously post where they live and how much they pay for marijuana. PriceofWeed.com data indicates that marijuana is slightly more expensive in Missouri than the national average, with users paying just under $350 an ounce for high-quality marijuana.

Authorities say rising costs could be evidence that ultra high-grade marijuana from Colorado is making inroads two states east.

Marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. In those states — and Washington, D.C. — weed is regulated like alcohol.

Medical marijuana is legal in almost half the states in the country, but not Missouri.

Banasik said some marijuana is still grown in southwest Missouri, but not enough to meet the demand. So weed is brought in from states where the plant is grown in much higher quantities like Colorado and California — either by vehicle or through the mail.

Banasik said for the most part, the marijuana is being driven into Springfield so that it can be transported in larger quantities.

Banasik said highway patrol investigators have their eye on some of the bigger distribution rings in the area, but for the most part their resources go toward slowing down the spread of drugs like meth and heroin.

“Marijuana, in a whole category, is in our lower focus,” Banasik said of his highway patrol investigative team. “The larger marijuana distributors are the only ones we would focus our energies and resources on.

“Our efforts are more on the powder drugs and prescription drugs.”

Springfield police declined to comment for this report.