{"id":4210,"date":"2026-03-08T22:25:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T05:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7566129\/bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T22:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T05:25:50","slug":"bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/news\/4210\/bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop\/","title":{"rendered":"Bag containing weed and cash accidentally donated to a New Zealand charity shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 Two teenagers mistakenly left a knapsack containing marijuana and cash at a donation area outside a New Zealand<\/a> charity shop then returned in a panic to retrieve the bag, police said Monday.<\/p>\n

A volunteer at the store noticed a pungent aroma before opening the knapsack and finding plastic bags of marijuana amounting to 43.2 grams (1.5 ounces) and 3,700 New Zealand dollars ($2,200) in banknotes, New Zealand Police said in a statement. <\/p>\n

Using marijuana recreationally and selling the drug are illegal in New Zealand. Some medical use is allowed with a doctor\u2019s prescription.<\/p>\n

Police said the episode happened Feb. 18 in the Southland region of the South Island. A spokesperson wouldn\u2019t give more details of the shop\u2019s location to protect staff.<\/p>\n

The boy and girl had left the knapsack outside the shop as they waited for their vehicle to be serviced at a nearby workshop, the police statement said. Officers were called after the agitated teens returned to the store.<\/p>\n

Police found an air pistol \u2014 which those under 18 can\u2019t possess without a license and adult supervision \u2014 a police scanner and more cash in the teens’ car. It’s not illegal to have a police scanner in New Zealand, but distributing or acting on information heard is a crime. <\/p>\n

Police didn\u2019t divulge details about any charges the arrested teens faced or if they had appeared in a court.<\/p>\n

New Zealand has strict rules about what can be reported from cases before the Youth Court, where cases of alleged offenders younger than 17 are usually heard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 Two teenagers mistakenly left a knapsack containing marijuana and cash at a donation area outside a New Zealand charity shop then returned in a panic to retrieve the bag, police said Monday. A volunteer at the store noticed a pungent aroma before opening the knapsack and finding plastic bags of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":4211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"194739ca-36b8-4de9-aa41-ad8b01e39cff","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Charlotte Graham-mclay","published":"2026-03-08 22:25:50","updated":"2026-03-08 22:25:50","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"3","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[728,567],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-4210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/news\/4210\/bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Bag containing weed and cash accidentally donated to a New Zealand charity shop","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/news\/4210\/bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/news\/4210\/bag-containing-weed-and-cash-accidentally-donated-to-a-new-zealand-charity-shop\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/in420-52e30d7e50a4486ded0d09b8fe3c93b1459c1a57c14baa10f5c5b504a9cb0cb1.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/in420\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/in420-52e30d7e50a4486ded0d09b8fe3c93b1459c1a57c14baa10f5c5b504a9cb0cb1.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iN420","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-03-09T05:25:50Z","datePublished":"2026-03-09T05:25:50Z","dateModified":"2026-03-09T05:25:50Z"},"rendered":"