A Colombian town was engulfed by a marijuana cloud this week as the police burned 1.5 tonnes that was seized by the police.
There were fears that the smoke was coming from a fire nearby. This led many tower blocks to be evacuated.
The mayor of the town then reassured concerned citizens that the smoke was not from a fire.
As the day wore on and the wind blew the smoke even closer residents of the Bello in Medellin then complained of the smell of the marijuana cloud covering the town.
The burning of the cannabis was conducted by the Police, Fire Department as well as the Army.
Daniela Ortega, secretary of security for Bello, said: “This is one more blow that we can give in the municipality of Bello in coordination with the National Police.
“We invite citizens to continue denouncing and to continue believing in the institutions.”
The public were not quite as impressed though as the police burned the Colombian marijuana. One voiced their unhappiness on Twitter with El Espectador highlighting their plight “Complete negligence. So-called controlled burning. Several apartment towers had to be evacuated because of this little joke. Someone needs to answer for this bad decision.”
Police seized the drugs on Tuesday night with a shootout against the owners of the drugs. Police say their aim was to distribute the marijuana throughout the El Mirador neighbourhood.
Cannabis is still illegal in Colombia for commercial sale but is allowed in certain medical cases. Civilians are allowed some personal cultivation and consumption is decriminalised.
