Robert Mueller and the San Francisco hash bust of 1978
On a spring day in 1974, just across the street from where now stands the
Westfield Mall, cops hauled 1,800 pounds of marijuana and 46 pounds of hashish
from high-security trucks into the San Francisco Mint Building.
More than $450,000 worth of drugs, seized by U.S. Customs over a two-year
period, went up in smoke that afternoon. The flames were snuffed in the Mint's
after-burner, "lest they induce a gigantic high." The story ran in the May 18,
1974 edition of The San Francisco Chronicle
Media: San Francisco Chronicle
Four years later, a young
Robert S. Mueller III touched down in Concord to prosecute a massive hashish bust. Then the Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mueller has become a household name as the special counsel presiding over the FBI's current Russia probe.
Robert S. Mueller III touched down in Concord to prosecute a massive hashish bust. Then the Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mueller has become a household name as the special counsel presiding over the FBI's current Russia probe.
See more photos of massive drug busts in the San Francisco Bay Area –
including a motorcycle cop with a 150-pound sack of pot on his lap – in
the above slideshow.
These obscure vignettes reflect a time that may soon be resigned to Bay Area
history. Californians voted to legalize the recreational use and sale of
cannabis last year. The law goes into effect Monday. However, many of the
photos above are from federal busts, which may still be carried out despite
California's changing laws.
For full coverage of the rollout of legal marijuana in California, check out
the Chronicle's GreenState.com.
Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
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