MADAWASKA, Maine — “If you’ve lost a baggie of marijuana at the Rite Aid store, please give us a call. We would like to speak with you.”
That brief statement, which the Madawaska Police Department posted on its Facebook page Sunday, has not led to any individual coming forward as of Wednesday; but it had been viewed some 100,000 times, generated 694 shares, and triggered scores of comments ranging from comedic to serious.
“Funny stuff right here!! (sic) I’m laughing all the way from Augusta,” one commenter wrote.
With no other evidence, the discovery has not led to any further police investigation, according to Officer Jamie Pelletier, who was on duty at the time.
Pelletier said that when employees opened the Madawaska Rite Aid store on Sunday, March 20, the small bag was near the cash register and entryway, as though it may have dropped out of someone’s pocket. He said the “baggie” contained a couple of marijuana buds.
The department posted the information to raise awareness, but also to shed some police humor on the situation, asking the person who dropped it to give the department a call.
While it has not led to any charges, the Facebook post has stirred up various discussion threads that touch on drug use, parenting, legal growing and medical use, current federal laws and community drug awareness.
“It’s nice to connect with our law enforcement with a little laughter on the side! Y’all are human just like us,” reads one person’s comment.
Another commenter said, “Ha, marijuana is the least of Maine’s problems. Look at all the bath salt heads and heroin addicts marijuana is ment (sic) to medicate and cure.”
Even if no charges arise from the incident, Madawaska Police Chief Carroll Theriault said, it is still good that people are discussing drug use in the community.