High tide? Jokes erupt on social media when Florida beach found covered in marijuana

A scuttled drug shipment apparently broke up in the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in waves of marijuana washing up on a North Florida beach.

It happened Saturday, July 22, in Neptune Beach, about 15 miles east of Jacksonville, and photos show pot stretched as far as the eye could see along the high-tide line.

“Earlier this morning, (police) responded to a large amount of marijuana which washed ashore along the shoreline near Florida (Boulevard). It appears a large quantity likely broke open at sea and separated before coming ashore,” Neptune police said in a news release.

“Before anyone starts thinking about coming out and turning this discovery into your own treasure hunt, we would advise against it. After floating in the ocean for some time, the marijuana has quickly begun to degrade and rot.”

Police and Public Works staff teamed up to collect the marijuana. Video shared on Facebook shows one public works employee resorted to raking the sand.

Investigators did not offer an estimate of how much weed was involved, but station WJXT noted it was “enough to cover parts of the shoreline.”

A woman at the beach with her son made the discovery and called 911 out of concern for children playing in the sand, the station reported.

News of the discovery has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments on social media, including a lot of references to “seaweed,” “high tide” and “save the bales.”

“This is the stuff of legends,” Ryan Heffernan posted on Facebook.

“And they’re wondering why orcas are ganging up,” Julius CeaseIt wrote.

“Shark attacks are going to skyrocket because they will all have the munchies,” Andy Wildes said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 3:04 PM with the headline "High tide? Jokes erupt on social media when Florida beach found covered in marijuana."