Indonesian Police Get an Entire Neighbourhood High After Burning Tons of Marijuana

The actions of police in Palmerah, a sub-district of Jakarta, in the east of Indonesia, meant that many of the residents were affected by the psychoactive components of marijuana after a large bonfire was burnt last weekend with almost three tons of seized product in order to get rid of it. However, they managed to do exactly what they were aiming to avoid. 

Although the cannabis was burned in a countryside area, the smoke reached nearby residences. Some residents began to feel sick and have headaches, however the police in charge of the operation were unaware of this, and they wore masks at all times. 

A spokesperson from the National Drugs Agency in Indonesia has tried to calm people down by explaining the situation and highlighting the fact that the inhaled smoke would not lead to any health problems. It is both paradoxical and encouraging that they have admitted this.

It appears that the cannabis had been seized in successive raids along with thousands of ecstasy and methamphetamine tablets discovered at customs in different airports. The latter products were also destroyed (although at the moment it appears that their destruction did not affect anybody). A total of 13 people have been arrested since January in various anti-drug operations. It is not clear what will happen to these people, however Indonesia has tough anti-drug laws that can sometimes even incur the death penalty.