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| Pot Rivals Apples as State's Biggest Cash Crop |
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Posted by CN Staff on December 23, 2006 at 15:17:31 PT By Emily Heffter, Seattle Times Staff Reporter Source: Seattle Times 
Seattle -- Washington is among the top five pot-producing states, producing a $1 billion-a-year crop that is second in value only to the state's famed apple harvest, according to an analysis released this week by a public-policy researcher.Jon Gettman, the Virginia-based researcher who wrote the report, used government data to show that marijuana has become the biggest cash crop in the United States, bringing in more annually than corn and wheat combined. It's among the top three cash crops in 30 states, Gettman said. He said Washington is the nation's fifth-largest producer, behind California, Tennessee, Kentucky and Hawaii. Nationally, domestic marijuana production has increased 10 times over in the past 25 years, from 1,000 metric tons in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons in 2006, according to federal government estimates cited in the report. Gettman's study argues that the U.S. is forfeiting millions in potential tax revenue every year by criminalizing marijuana. He says proliferation of pot across the country shows the drug is a "pervasive and ineradicable part of the national economy." Drug-enforcement officials say they aren't surprised by the estimates since Washington and California have traditionally been hot growth spots for marijuana. But a regional enforcement agent worries that putting a dollar figure on the crop perpetuates a "fallacy" that marijuana represents a harmless tax windfall. Washington's Top Crops (Annually*) $1.15 billion: Apples $1.03 billion: Marijuana $500 million: Wheat *Based on a three-year average "You can look at anything being a cash crop if you don't want to make any conclusions about the damage it does," said Dave Rodriguez, the director of the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a Seattle-based division of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. During the past several years, growers based in California and Mexico have taken over Washington's outdoor pot crops, which often are hidden on public forestland in the Yakima and Chelan areas, Rodriguez said. Law enforcement eradicates about 100,000 plants a year. In King County, indoor growing operations are becoming more common. Growers nurture a few hundred plants at a time in a single-family home and advertise the quality as similar to that of Canada's renowned "B.C. Bud" — noted for its purity and potency. It's not surprising that the industry is growing in Washington, Gettman said. Well-known industries in British Columbia and Oregon bring the expertise and culture to town, he said. "Washington is in a situation where they get information and interaction from these two areas and so it's not that far afield ... for Washington to have a thriving indoor cultivation market because they have a lot of local knowledge there," he said. "It's the old real-estate maxim of location, location, location." Gettman's report started with a widely used federal pot-production estimate that about 10,000 metric tons of marijuana are produced domestically every year. He divided that amount among the 50 states based on how much marijuana was seized in each state. From that result, he estimated that Washington is the second-largest producer of indoor-grown plants, sixth-largest producer of outdoor-grown plants and fifth-largest producer overall. Marijuana is a $1.03 billion-a-year industry in Washington, the report said, sandwiched between the $1.15 billion apple crop and the $500 million-a-year wheat crop. Total Marijuana Cultivation State -- Pounds Produced -- Total Value Complete Title: Analyst Finds That Pot Rivals Apples as State's Biggest Cash Crop Source: "Marijuana Production in the United States (2006)" by Jon Gettman, published in The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, December 2006 Marijuana Production in the United States (2006) -- http://www.drugscience.org/bcr/index.html Source: Seattle Times (WA) Related Articles: Transcript: Why Not Cash in on Marijuana Crops? Group Calls Marijuana State's Top Cash Crop Marijuana Top US Cash Crop, Analyst Says Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #32 posted by FoM on December 25, 2006 at 06:57:26 PT |
| Merry Christmas! Enjoy your vacation. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #31 posted by FoM on December 25, 2006 at 06:55:50 PT |
| I guess no matter what Bush has done to us I love America because soon he will be out of office and maybe if we work hard we will be able to show the world that we are good people and we don't support bombing and occupying other people's countries. This Land is Our Land http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr6NE_N5w3c [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #30 posted by FoM on December 25, 2006 at 06:40:49 PT |
| Really good videos. Last night on our way to my sister's house we heard Melissa Etheridge sing War is Over on the radio and it surprised me because I haven't heard that song played for a long time. Peace on Earth is my prayer this Holiday Season. Here's my Christmas Wish video. It's Neil Young singing Imagine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3T8xr274q8 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #29 posted by FoM on December 25, 2006 at 06:34:57 PT |
| Thank you so much and a big Merry Christmas to you! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #28 posted by The GCW on December 25, 2006 at 06:31:14 PT |
| I'm traveling... Missouri... Family... don't have tv at home... Watching last night, I saw a commercial showing a show on today (Christmas) that celebrates the troops etc. and it is interesting that on the day We celebrate the birth of the PRINCE OF PEACE, they are putting on a show to honor those who kill and murder... Wierd and worse. Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus Christ. I love You and I Am glad You love Us. Thank You. Forgive Us of Our sins. Thank You for that great blessing. Love The Green Collar Worker [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #27 posted by mayan on December 25, 2006 at 06:12:57 PT |
| According to government data, wild hemp plants are counted and considered "manufactured" aren't they? Cage God. And who knows just how much weed is grown indoors? Regardless, cannabis could be a huge boost to many local economies throughout this country. Free the weed. Free the land. Free the people! James Brown, R.I.P. I hope everyone enjoys their celebrations today. May this be a peaceful holiday season for all! I wish I could focus on peace for just this day of all days, but there is no rest for the wicked... Channel tunnel is terror target: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1978642,00.html [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #26 posted by rchandar on December 25, 2006 at 01:53:54 PT:
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| James Brown, 1933-2006.
RIP, God rest his soul. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #25 posted by rchandar on December 24, 2006 at 23:02:59 PT:
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| There are many reasons to stay in America, despite all the problems and the things that incense us on a daily basis. But then, FoM, neither one of us could relocate to Europe even if we wanted to. We're Americans, so that means we'd never be able to land a job. --rchandar [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #24 posted by nuevo mexican on December 24, 2006 at 22:11:48 PT |
| Women are Awesome! Off/on topic: This video is stunningly haunting, beautiful, disastrous, and too true to really comprehend, so here we are on Christmas Eve, and this song tells the real Christmas story! Blessed are the peacemakers! Maybe someone posted this already? Christmas at War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejz0Cak6vbA&eurl= What we can do: March on Washington, Jan. 27th, 2007!!!! THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, NOW CONGRESS MUST ACT. On Saturday, Jan. 27th, people from every corner of the country will march on Washington, DC. Our message will be clear, our voice will be strong: End the war in Iraq, Bring all the troops home now! We urge you to join us! On Mon., Jan. 29th, we will take our message directly to the new Congress during our lobby day. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ Video of Beatles singing 'You can't do that', live, great song, great band, great memories, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjIyaOZgQA&feature=PlayList&p=D18C022A4DB0B651&index=23 John and Yoko: 'And so this is Christmas' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-DEF0F90c8 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #23 posted by Hope on December 24, 2006 at 21:31:17 PT |
| here, too. I hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow. Merry Christmas! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #22 posted by JHarshaw on December 24, 2006 at 20:44:19 PT |
| To all here....and most especially to you FoM I wish a Merry Christmas and the best New Year. I know I don't say much but there are so many eloquent people here that all I need do is read. It is a pleasure to come here and get a chuckle or maybe just a ray of hope. So, may this year coming find us all where we want to be. just a thought, peace and pot [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #21 posted by ekim on December 24, 2006 at 20:08:37 PT |
| Newsletter December 22, 2006 Life has settled into a routine for me. I call and book appointments, scheduling 5-6 or so a day. The 7:10 train takes me to Union Station and a brisk 1 mile walk later, I am ‘at work.’ Still, I never fail to take a good glimpse of the Capitol Dome as I leave the train station and I always glance over at the massive pillars of the Supreme Court building on my morning walk. Such things reminds of the seriousness of my mission. A staffer this week agreed that Walter Cronkite’s idea was excellent; namely, to have a national, blue ribbon commission to study the entire policy of prohibition. She did challenge me to find a way of naming such a body so as not to scare all the soccer moms and dads. So, how do we? Framing an issue (drug prohibition, not war on drugs, etc), creating a non-threatening name for a commission makes sense and would make it easier for our leaders to sign on to such a study. If you have a brain burp on this, please let me know. Challenge your friends. “National Commission on Drug Policy” or “Drug Policy Study Group” or your idea here___________ This week I switched to the Senate, where I will stay until I have met w/ all the staffers whose Senators are on the judiciary and appropriations committee. Their newest of 3 office buildings, The Hart, is close to palatial. In the main corridors there is no dry wall (sheetrock) only marble. Even the handrails of stairwell are marble. Yikes! My tax money. Now I know why Congressman want to grow up to be a Senator. If you visit DC, I would be happy to accompany you to your federal offices. Constituents go to the head of any line. You would find it a learning often positive experience, even when the aide indicates sharp disagreement. You will walk away knowing how/what it takes to change a politician’s mind and vote. No need for your Sunday best, just clean street clothes are fine. Since I started a year ago, I have visited 170 offices out of 540. I believe I can visit all the rest in 2007. The offices are mostly empty during the week between Christmas and New Years. So, no newsletter next week. I will spend the week working on a new section of the LEAP website, translating material into German, French and Spanish. Wishing you and yours the best in 2007. howard Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Washington, DC Hablo espanol, je parle francais, Deutsch auch Howard J. Wooldridge 1402 W. 7th Street Frederick, MD 21702 301-695-1739 817-975-1110 (cell) wooldridge@leap.cc The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #20 posted by FoM on December 24, 2006 at 20:05:12 PT |
| Merry Christmas to you! We had a really nice time with our family and I hope you all are too. Afterburner, I'm glad you liked it and it's really good to see you. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #19 posted by afterburner on December 24, 2006 at 17:42:56 PT |
| harmless No not 'harmless'! Safer, benign That's beautiful FoM #12 Free the Miracle Plant from false accusations! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #18 posted by Dankhank on December 24, 2006 at 16:41:32 PT |
| soon to start our Christmas eve meal ... Schienebraten and Knoerdals ... Super Bavarian Dinner ... Happy Holidays to all ... Peace and good will to all love ... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by global_warming on December 24, 2006 at 12:10:30 PT |
| have a good trip when 2007 comes I hope that good people Find Freedom [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by global_warming on December 24, 2006 at 12:02:31 PT |
| Have you pressed the correct button? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by global_warming on December 24, 2006 at 11:37:05 PT |
| Have you ever been "arrested"? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by global_warming on December 24, 2006 at 11:32:22 PT |
| are you a good person? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by global_warming on December 24, 2006 at 11:16:53 PT |
| the belly of the main stream media yet? It seems that so many people live in a world with 2 standards, a world that closely hides behind some kind of moralism, yet allows the likes of terrorist bastards to blackmail us into some plea bargained agreement. The platform of existence supports all of us, when you look for courage, look at your capacity for freedom. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 24, 2006 at 08:22:58 PT |
| Cannabis should really be free. It would have value as people figured out ways to market it. So many industries would be born all around the USA. Someone might have a special strain that works good on a particular symptom of a disease. Besides that Cannabis could be used in making some form of alcohol type drink. Beer is made with Hops and Hops is in the Cannabis family I think. If it was free it could be used as a tea not for any high but the benefits of a good green tea with a unique flavor. Bread and clothing and so much more that I can't add them up. It would put oxygen back in the air if it was allowed to grow freely. Many jobs would be created because it will take time and money to maximize all the ways to utilize the Cannabis plant. Taxes would be generated by the new products made from Cannabis. It could be like Senator Obama and become a rock star even if for just a little while. It would be a good thing. Merry Christmas [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by potpal on December 24, 2006 at 07:52:08 PT |
| Isn't this calculation based on prohibition prices? And it doesn't factor in what the introduction of hemp into various industries, food, agriculture, textiles, will contribute. I hope the reason cannabis is inevitably legalized is because there is no reason to prohibit it. It is a safer alternative (I prefer reefer) to alcohol or tobacco, it is not a gateway drug, has medicinal benefits, is a green alternation to many polluting industries, healthy food source. In fact, that it is a crime to not allow responsible use of this beneficial plant. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 24, 2006 at 07:41:29 PT |
| I hope everyone is having a great holiday. I will keep looking for news until we leave but I doubt any news will surface. As far as the money issue we are talking about I never have wanted to leave America since there is so much to see right here so maybe that is why I don't understand Euros versus dollars. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #9 posted by rchandar on December 24, 2006 at 05:43:37 PT:
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| ...it does if you travel to holland, or anywhere in europe. With the Euro at $1.34, purchasing power for Americans has gone down astronomically since the 90s. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 23, 2006 at 19:40:40 PT |
| I agree that the debt is the bad thing. That I understand. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on December 23, 2006 at 19:31:37 PT |
| In 1864 it cost $9.97 to buy one British pound. In 2004 a British Pound cost only $1.83, up from $1.30 in 1985, so there has been a slight weakening of the dollar in recent years, but does it indicate collapse? The debt is the thing ... Economics is tricky ... Sheeeeesh ..... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 23, 2006 at 19:00:19 PT |
| You made sense to me. I look at America and I don't see us as a powerful country but more like a person who is in heavy credit card debt. Whoever loans us the money really owns what we borrowed the money for because if we default they would own our stuff or something close to that. I think a depression is a strong possibility. We had our power go out yesterday. We heat with wood so it didn't matter. After the 70s fuel shortage we decided not to depend on anything but ourselves for heat. Most people where we live use wood as heat. I think we should look at how we will survive if the bottom falls out of the economy just like we did back when we couldn't get fuel except on certain days. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by ChristenMitchell on December 23, 2006 at 18:47:26 PT:
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| The dollar is the world currency. If it were replaced by the Euro it would weaken. The US does not support the dollar anymore with gold. It by and large simply prints what it needs. All taxes now go to simply service the national debt, nothing goes to services. When the dollar's value is reduced and it loses its popularity, the national debt which is publicized as 9 Trillion dollars (but which may actually be closer to 45 Trillion dollars) will sink the economy. Something like a new and even greater depression. At least that is my, admittedly small, understanding. I'm sure another contributer can say it better. Thanks [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 23, 2006 at 18:18:22 PT |
| I tried to read and understand the article but it went over my head. I don't know what people should prepare to do if the world gets anymore complicated. All I can think is to work down debt and don't buy un-necessary things. Grow a vegetable garden and cut back on waste. I want to see a return to more thoughts like Mother Earth News gave us years ago. Less dependence on any system but on our own ability to make our own way seems smarter. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by mayan on December 23, 2006 at 17:48:36 PT |
| Here's one man's take on it from January of this year... The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse: http://www.energybulletin.net/12125.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 23, 2006 at 17:17:25 PT |
| I've read about what you are saying but I don't understand why it would matter about Iran using Euros instead of US Currency. How would it hurt us? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by ChristenMitchell on December 23, 2006 at 16:44:23 PT:
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| Speaking of cash, the beginning of the end is at hand. Iran announced today that it is dumping the dollar in favor of the Euro for its oil transactions. This could very well be the start of the buck's slide from world preeminence. Do recall that Saddam changed to the Euro, and we know what happened.
It is always interesting to see what news the US media congloms choose to report to the public. No sign so far on the big boys' sites. [ Post Comment ] |
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