Don't Use Illegal Weed for Craigslist Purchases

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on December 22, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Colorado legalized it, to a degree. It might be legal to consume marijuana and even grow a little of your own. Trading four pounds of "homegrown black market" weed for a sheriff's SUV on Craigslist?

Not so much.

"I Started Giggling"

"I was really surprised and I thought at first, 'Maybe this is a joke,'" Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told The Gazette. Mikesell had listed his SUV for sale on Craigslist, and was approached by a potential buyer who offered to pay for it in weed. "You want to know the truth? I saw that text, and I started giggling."

Mikesell did take the text (with accompanying proud photos of the product) seriously enough to show detectives and undercover officers from the Teller County Sheriff's Office and Metro Vice Narcotics Unit, who decided to turn the sale into a sting. When the man behind the text, Shawn Langley, and Jane Cravens showed up for the exchange with four pounds of marijuana in their car, both were arrested.

"A Very Sobering Side"

According to the Gazette, Langley and Cravens are facing multiple charges for possession with intent to sell: one misdemeanor count for a small quantity, and a felony count for a larger amount. But wait, you're thinking, isn't recreational marijuana legal in Colorado? Yes, but consumers are still limited to one ounce in possession and six plants in the home. And carting around four pounds of the stuff would indicate that Langley Cravens' pot possession was not just for personal consumption. And Colorado requires special licensing and restrictions on marijuana sales.

Still, the bust does raise the question of how often some sticky icky green is replacing cold hard cash in Colorado commerce. "There was a very sobering side of that," Mikesell told the Gazette, "as law enforcement."

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