While sorting through the monthly contributions to their charitable clothing drive, volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks found something very out of the ordinary. It was a large, cellophane-wrapped package containing tightly packed cannabis. In other words, a brick of weed Springfield, Missouri police estimate has a street value of $3,000. But despite the fact that someone put a $3,000 brick of weed in a children’s charity bin, the organization wasn’t able to use it to help the charity. And that’s a shame, considering the $3,000 brick of weed is to date the most expensive item ever donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
$3,000 Brick of Weed Is the Most Expensive Item Ever Donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks
Volunteers working with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks discovered the large weed bundle in a donation bin back in May 2018. But the organization only shared the news of its one-of-a-kind find in February.
Police have so far made no arrests in connection with the weed donation incident. They also have no leads and no suspects. Across Springfield, Big Brothers Big Sisters has 56 charity donation bins. And there’s just no way to tell which bin the $3,000 brick of weed came from.
The children’s charity collects clothing donations in those bins. And after sorting through the contributions, it sells usable items to secondhand clothing partners. That money then helps fund Big Brothers Big Sisters’ youth mentoring programs. Unusable items end up recycled. Or in this case, inside a police evidence locker.
Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers are no strangers to odd items turning up in donation bins. They say they’ve found laptops, cell phones and other electronics wrapped up in clothes bundles. Then, there are the pranksters. Apparently, some folks like to drop BB guns, pornos and adult novelty items into the bins.
Is there a Message Behind the $3,000 Brick of Weed Donation?
“Weird stuff happens,” said Tyler Moles, president of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Think Big Foundation. But apparently, generous stuff doesn’t often happen. In fact, Moles says the $3,000 brick of weed “was
the most expensive thing ever put in a bin, and we weren’t able to use it to help the charity.”
At this point, there’s no way to tell who put the weed in the bin or why. Some speculate that someone running from police stashed the marijuana in the bin. Others suggest someone simply forgot the weed was buried in a pile of old clothes.
But perhaps there’s another message to the $3,000 brick of weed donation. Missouri isn’t a total prohibition state. Medical is legal and the state has reduced penalties for simple possession. So maybe the medium was the message. Weed can make a valuable contribution to people’s lives, but only if you can make use of it. Only, that is, if it’s legal.
Whatever point was behind the brick of weed donation, Big Brothers Big Sisters is trying to at least put the story to good use, since it can’t do anything with the weed. The organization published a story about the $3,000 brick of weed donation in its February bulletin.
Moles hopes the story will impress upon people the organization’s need for usable donations that match the generosity of a $3,000 weed bundle. He hopes publicity around the incident will help remind people of those in need and those Big Brothers Big Sisters help support. “If they think it’s funny, maybe they’ll put the right thing in the bin,” Moles said.
