Marijuana replaces scarce shabu supply

By Maricar M. Calubiran

The recently seized three kilos of dried marijuana leaves will replace the shortage of shabu supply here. The city will be flooded with marijuana sticks had it not been confiscated in a recent buy-bust operation in Barangay Bonifacio Tanza, City Proper.

Iloilo City Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Norlito Bautista said the drug users will use marijuana instead of shabu because of the scarcity of the latter's supply. He attributed the limited supply of shabu in the city to the massive busting operation of shabu laboratories in Luzon and other parts of the country.

Bautista estimated that the confiscated marijuana could be converted to some 6,000 marijuana sticks. At least thee sticks of marijuana could be made in every gram of the cannabis sativa. The marijuana is supposed to cover the needs of the drug users in the city and province of Iloilo.

He added that each stick of marijuana only cost from P5-10. It is cheaper than shabu and easier to dispose. A small sachet of shabu is sold from P200 to P500. Drug dependents who are using marijuana are those who could not afford the selling price of shabu.

Bautista theorized that the marijuana leaves came from the Cordillera region. It is shipped through the roll on and roll off port. Security inspection is lax in roro compared in the airport and seaport.

The three kilos of dried marijuana leaves were recovered from the possession of Rodrigo Escultero, a murder parolee. The seized stuff amounted to P30,000. The dried marijuana were in brick form is considered as high grade quality because of its strong smell. Each brick weighs a kilo. The police operatives also recovered the P16,000 mark money from the suspect.

Escultero tried to elude arrest but was outnumbered by the joint elements of the Intelligence Section of the Iloilo City Police Office and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). He has been a subject of two-week surveillance prior to the buy-bust operation last Wednesday.

Escultero denied having any knowledge on the dried cannabis sativa recovered from his possession. The suspect claimed the stuff was brought to him by a certain Toto. He refused to give other details on the dried marijuana leaves. The dried marijuana bricks were carefully wrapped and packed with a packing tape to prevent its smell from coming out of the package.

The city director said Escultero's case is non- bailable under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Regardless of the quantity, a suspect could not post bail since the illegal stuff was confiscated during a buy-bust operation.