Cops use grocery store scale to weigh marijuana

Court officials were stunned on Monday when a detective admitted during cross-examination that he had weighed several kilograms of marijuana held as evidence at a local all-night grocery store because the police station didn’t have a scale big enough to handle the job.

Police at the Lev Dizengoff station revealed they often resort to using the nearby AM:PM convenience store’s electronic weighing device, Ynet reported.

The unusual practice came to light during a trial at Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court when the detective told the defense how he had weighed seven kilograms of marijuana seized from the suspect during a drug bust.

When asked why he had taken the evidence to the store, the detective explained that the police station’s own scale had a maximum limit of one kilogram (2.2 pounds).

Police procedures for documenting evidence in drug-related cases require that any illegal substances be carefully weighed if they are to be submitted in evidence.

Challenged by the defense attorney challenged as to how he could be sure the grocery store scale — usually used for weighing produce of a more legal nature — was accurate, the detective explained that he took a one-kilogram weight with him to calibrate the device.

The report did not say if the trial ended with a conviction.

Last week, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that police had burned 1.6 tons of marijuana before it had been examined by defense attorneys, leading defense attorneys to question the police report on the amount of drugs seized.