Answers and Explanations

And the answer to the Quiz...

Yes! The answer is...Dope!

Or as Tammie put it... Square Grouper.
(Showing her deep knowledge of 80's Keys slang terms.)

And to answer Constant Reader Luc's (and no doubt several other Enquiring Minds) question:
"Pardon this winter-dazed Québecois ignorance here but what's a square grouper?"

As quoted in the Urban Dictionary,
"Nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes. Origin is reportedly from members of the US Coast Guard in the area of Southern Florida."

In this particular case, a bale of Cannabis floated into the harbor at Garden Key.
Sometimes they are well-sealed and in pristine condition... this one...not so much.
Some seawater had gotten into the bale and the dope had become "sea-weed"...
A term given to salt-water-damaged-but-still-sellable reefer.
In this case, it smelled awful, as Tammie mentioned in the previous comment.

(Referenced in Shel Silverstein's poem "The Smoke Off" -
"Maui Wowie, Panama Red and Acapulco Gold.
Kif from East Afghanistan and rare Alaskan Cold.
Sticks from Thailand, Ganja from the Islands, and Bangkok's Bloomin' Best.
And some of that wet imported shit that capsized off Key West.")

It was called into the DEA in Miami who said, after finding it was less then 50 lbs:
"Y'all just get rid of it... It's not enough for us to fly out and pick it up."

They kinda left it up to us as to the "how" of disposal...


Dry Tortugas Law Enforcement Ranger dumping the 45lb bale of Marijuana in the drink.
(What did you think we'd do with it? Put it on the burn pile?)


Floating dope. I guess we need to make sure it sinks.


Ranger shredding dope chunks.


And just for good measure, let's run over it a few times to chop it into little pieces.

Good times... Good times...