Marijuana top US cash crop

spike

spike

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. growers produce nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined, an advocate of medical marijuana use said in a study released on Monday.

The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also concluded that five U.S. states produce more than $1 billion worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington.

California's production alone was about $13.8 billion, according to Gettman, who waged an unsuccessful six-year legal battle to force the government to remove marijuana from a list of drugs deemed to have no medical value.

Tom Riley, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said he could not confirm the report's conclusions on the size of the country's marijuana crop. But he said the government estimated overall U.S. illegal drug use at $200 billion annually.

Gettman's figures were based on several government reports between 2002 and 2005 estimating the United States produced more than 10,000 metric tons of marijuana annually.

He calculated the producer price per pound of marijuana at $1,606 based on national survey data showing retail prices of between $2,400 and $3,000 between 2001 and 2005.

The total value of 10,000 metric tons of marijuana at $1,606 per pound would be $35.8 billion.

By comparison, the United States produced an average of nearly $23.3 billion worth of corn annually from 2003 to 2005, $17.6 billion worth of soybeans, $12.2 billion worth of hay, nearly $11.1 billion worth of vegetables and $7.4 billion worth of wheat, the report said.

Gettman said the 10-fold increase in U.S. marijuana production, from 1,000 metric tons in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons in 2006, showed the country was failing to control marijuana by making its cultivation and use illegal.

"Marijuana has become a pervasive and ineradicable part of the economy of the United States," he said. "The contribution of this market to the nation's gross domestic product is overlooked in the debate over effective control."

"Like all profitable agricultural crops marijuana adds resources and value to the economy," he added. "The focus of public policy should be how to effectively control this market through regulation and taxation in order to achieve immediate and realistic goals, such as reducing teenage access."

Riley said illegal drug use was a "serious part of the economy," but he rejected the notion of an economic argument for legalizing marijuana.

He said marijuana use was an "inherently harmful activity" with serious physical and mental health consequences. He said more American teens were in treatment centers for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined.
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Legalize and tax it and we could even wipe out the current deficit. Ok, maybe not but it's a start.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061218/us_nm/usa_marijuana_dc
 
It's only day old news.

Do I think legalization will happen? My state is inching towards it as are others but it needs to be at a federal level.
 
[Butthead]Huh huh uh huh huh huh...she said highly...huh huh[/Butthead]

So we legalize dope and all our problems go away. Nice. What's next, legalizing child molestation? That'd sure empty some jails out, saving the taxpayer millions.
 
SNP - you been reading the Queen's speech???? :grumpy:


**Newsflash! **
*Security SCARE at the Palace*​

Fresh news just in, guaranteed even less than a day old - Buckingham Palace are concerned that a security leak of this year's Christmas message by HRH Queen Elizabeth II may have been leaked on the internet.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
[Butthead]Huh huh uh huh huh huh...she said highly...huh huh[/Butthead]

So we legalize dope and all our problems go away. Nice. What's next, legalizing child molestation? That'd sure empty some jails out, saving the taxpayer millions.
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Well yeah, that's a valid arguement since smoking weed and molesting children are equal. :rolleyes:
 
SNP:
Nope. Should I?
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er ..dunno - i never watch it anyways. :shrug:


Channel 4 are apparently doing their own alternative version of the Queen's speech on christmas day this year. It normally is a secret (ish anyway) though, what is in it. :D

Ironically, the only time i ever saw it, a family member who does not normally christmas with us wanted to see it ... when there was an alternative Ali G version on the other channel i'd have quite liked to have seen.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
Yeah, let's get the feds in on more state matters. Been working fine since 1860, huh?
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The problem is the state can legalize it but the feds can still prosecute. If the feds legalize it and and let states work it out it might be a step forward though.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
Both are equally illegal.
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No, actually at least in my state smoking weed is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a small fine (or legal for medical uses) and molesting children is a felony punishable by mandatory prison. You're state treats them as equal offences?
 
spike said:
Well yeah, that's a valid arguement since smoking weed and molesting children are equal. :rolleyes:
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They are equal in that they both reflect a lack of self control, a selfish desire for gratification regardless of the cost to others .... and that they were both perfectly legal until recently.
 
Professur said:
They are equal in that they both reflect a lack of self control, a selfish desire for gratification regardless of the cost to others .... and that they were both perfectly legal until recently.
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Weed no more reflects a lack of self control than beer. Would you outlaw beer too?
 
I didn't say I'd outlaw weed, did I?

But natural strength weed. Not this hybrid shit that's on the streets today. Stick to the natural stuff and I've got no more problems with it than I do with natural strength tabacco.
 
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