Chicago police unveiled the biggest marijuana bust in the city in 20 years the day after the City Council approved marijuana decriminalization for 15 grams or less.

Citing safety reasons for officers involved in the investigation, police say they had to wait to announce the bust until today.

“We’re talking about an ongoing investigation that it was not appropriate for us to do this two days ago,” [Police Supt. Garry] McCarthy said at a West Side press conference, surrounded by dozens of green plastic bales filled with dope.

“We had agents and police on the street and there’s no way Garry and I were going to put them at risk,” added Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

On Tuesday some eight tons of marijuana was found near a Chicago warehouse. Authorities say it was a shipment from Mexico via Texas.

McCarthy went on to describe illegal drug sales as the “the lifeblood of gangs that are involved in violence day in and day out.” Which is 100% true. But for every eight tons confiscated, an untold amount of tons hit the streets, filling the pockets of violent people with cash. Cops can smile next to bales of weed for the cameras, but they are not reducing drug use and are making criminals rich.

- Joe Klare