Square grouper

Square grouper is a slang term for compressed bales of illicit marijuana that appear on the U.S. Gulf Coast, sometimes lost by smugglers in errant air drops or sea to sea transfers, and sometimes intentionally dumped by crews who fear being caught with illegal drugs.

In popular culture

A tiki restaurant in the Florida Keys is named Square Grouper, as is another restaurant in Jupiter, Florida, on the Treasure Coast.
A 2011 documentary, Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja, by Billy Corben, concerns drug smuggling.

References

Sources

Mueller, Gerhard O. W.; Adler, Freda (1985). Outlaws of the Ocean: The Complete Book of Contemporary Crime on the High Seas. Hearst Marine Books. p. 50. ISBN 0688041701.
O'Halloran, Jacinta (2007). Florida 2008 – Fodor's Florida. Fodor's travel guides. Fodor's Travel. p. 473. ISBN 978-1400017966. a square grouper is the moniker for bales of marijuana dropped into the ocean off the coast during the drug-running 1970s
Victor, Terry; Dalzell, Tom (2007). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. p. 614. ISBN 978-1134615346.
McBride, Tim; Berrier, Ralph Jr. (2015). Saltwater Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of a Marijuana Empire. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 41. ISBN 978-1466882386. square grouper became code over the radio for those bales that never made it aboard our boat or fell off during the voyage back to shore.
Stivers, Valerie; Zona, Hank (January 13, 2023). "Why Laid-Back Travelers Love Florida's Treasure Coast". The Wall Street Journal. [W]aterside tiki bar the Square Grouper is kitschy but fun—its name is '80s slang for a bale of marijuana that washes up onshore.
Howe, Jim (2018). Red Crew: Fighting the War on Drugs with Reagan's Coast Guard. Naval Institute Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1682473023.
McIver, Stuart B. (2001). Touched by the Sun – Volume 3 of Florida chronicles. Pineapple Press. p. 90. ISBN 1561642061.
Information Services Latin America (addendum), vol. 58, Information Services on Latin America (ISLA), October 26, 2002, Smugglers in boat dump marijuana and flee
Guides, Fodor's Travel (2019). Fodor's Florida. Fodor's Travel. ISBN 978-1640971691. www.mynewjoint420lounge.com, Square Grouper (seafood) ... in an unassuming warehouse-looking building on U.S. 1...
Saltz, Rachel (April 14, 2011), "Adventures in the Drug Trades", The New York Times (movie review)
Norman, Lianna (February 3, 2023). "Jupiter's most famous waterfront bar turns 20 in 2023. Here are 5 things to know about it". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023.

Square grouper

In popular culture

References

Sources

Further reading