Politics
The DEA Wants You To Stop Calling Them About Getting Paid To Burn Marijuana
Stop calling the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ask about getting paid to burn bulk marijuana, the federal agency said on Friday.
Apparently, viral stories about a DEA job posting for a Houston-based contractor to incinerate at least 1,000 pounds of seized cannabis per hour has elicited a lot of interest among private citizens. Plenty of people jokingly volunteered to get the job done on social media, but it seems others actually called the agency and flooded its phone lines.
“Several recent misleading articles alleging [DEA Houston] is looking for Houstonians to burn Marijuana have resulted in an influx of calls from citizens,” the Houston division wrote on Twitter. “This solicitation was targeted for a large scale licensed vendor, not private citizens.”
Several recent misleading articles alleging #DEAHouston is looking for Houstonians to burn Marijuana have resulted in an influx of calls from citizens. This solicitation was targeted for a large scale licensed vendor, not private citizens. https://t.co/GSygqBBWKB
— DEAHouston (@DEAHOUSTONDiv) March 29, 2019
The contractor opening, first reported by Quartz, calls for a vendor to aid in the “incineration of evidence,” including thousands of pounds of marijuana. The vendor must have an incinerator “with the capability of destroying marijuana to a point where there are no detectable levels, as measured by standard analytical methods, of byproduct from the destruction process.”
It’s a task that many people feel they can perform, but the Houston division wants everyone to know that your personal experience incinerating weed doesn’t necessarily mean you qualify for the position.
“Although we appreciate local citizens’ willingness to offer their help, this is a complicated, large-scale government contract we’re required by law to bid every few years, and there are usually only a handful of companies with the necessary facilities and resources to help us dispose of this material,” the DEA said in a statement to KHOU 11.
“While it makes for an interesting headline, the truth is far more prosaic—our agents working across the Houston Division make a huge number of great cases, and as a result, we seize a tremendous amount of illegal drugs,” the agency said. “Arranging for the safe and effective destruction of these drugs is just part of the job.”
Another reason to stop calling about the contract work is that the deadline to respond to the notice was March 25. That said, the weed incineration job isn’t the only position of interest to cannabis connoisseurs that federal agencies have posted recently.
For example, the National Institute On Drug Abuse posted listings for professional joint rollers and bulk marijuana manufacturers last year.
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Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso.
