cannabisnews.com: Pot is Called Biggest Cash Crop Pot is Called Biggest Cash Crop Posted by CN Staff on December 18, 2006 at 06:35:58 PT By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer Source: Los Angeles Times Sacramento, CA -- For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop. Now they're citing government statistics to prove it.A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion — far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops. California is responsible for more than a third of the cannabis harvest, with an estimated production of $13.8 billion that exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined — and marijuana is the top cash crop in a dozen states, the report states.The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past quarter century despite an exhaustive anti-drug effort by law enforcement.Jon Gettman, the report's author, is a public policy consultant and leading proponent of the push to drop marijuana from the federal list of hard-core Schedule 1 drugs — which are deemed to have no medicinal value and a high likelihood of abuse — such as heroin and LSD. He argues that the data support his push to begin treating cannabis like tobacco and alcohol by legalizing and reaping a tax windfall from it, while controlling production and distribution to better restrict use by teenagers."Despite years of effort by law enforcement, they're not getting rid of it," Gettman said. "Not only is the problem worse in terms of magnitude of cultivation, but production has spread all around the country. To say the genie is out of the bottle is a profound understatement."While withholding judgment on the study's findings, federal anti-drug officials took exception to Gettman's conclusions.Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, cited examples of foreign countries that have struggled with big crops used to produce cocaine and heroin. "Coca is Colombia's largest cash crop and that hasn't worked out for them, and opium poppies are Afghanistan's largest crop, and that has worked out disastrously for them," Riley said. "I don't know why we would venture down that road."The contention that pot is America's biggest cash crop dates to the early 1980s, when marijuana legalization advocates began citing Drug Enforcement Administration estimates suggesting that about 1,000 metric tons of pot were being produced nationwide. Over the years, marijuana advocates have produced studies estimating the size and value of the U.S. crop, most recently in 1998.Note: The $35-billion market value of U.S.-grown cannabis tops that of such heartland staples as corn and hay, a marijuana activist says. Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/skfv6Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Eric Bailey, Times Staff WriterPublished: December 18, 2006 Copyright: 2006 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #13 posted by doc james on December 19, 2006 at 07:55:48 PT max-flowers florida....just about anywhere in the state, dakine is very expensive, and yes this is the real deal, no seeds, just dank. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by mayan on December 18, 2006 at 13:34:43 PT Tom Riley Does he regard the drug war as a success? He sure makes a killing off of it.THE WAY OUT...Scenes from the Boston Tea Party for 9/11 Truth (video): http://prisonplanet.com/articles/december2006/181206Boston.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 18, 2006 at 13:12:38 PT CNN I finally saw it on CNN Headline News. Yes it should be made legal! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Dankhank on December 18, 2006 at 12:58:20 PT the couch ... is nice, the chair fronting this computer is nice ...In 1995 4 pinners were rolled in White Plains NY that lasted for the next two days on the road to SW OK ...pinners are STILL too much for one person if you got the kind ... in this case, Shiva/Skunk from seed some fellow got while on Cannabis Cup ... number nine ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 18, 2006 at 11:27:24 PT nuevo mexican I have music on and the news off. I'll turn CNN on now. It's hard to watch the Mount Hood disaster. Pete's Couch is so much safer then mountain climbing.Happy Holidays to you too! Ho Ho Ho! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by nuevo mexican on December 18, 2006 at 11:23:29 PT Just saw it on CNN! Pinners! CNN had footage of people smoking lots of New York style 'pinners', those skinny, elegant, sophisticated looking joints! LOL!Usually they show people smoking spliffs, bongs, pregnant joints and such, I thought this was good PR, and it was presented as 'this is inevitable'! Go figure!Looks' like we've overgrown the government!Today is a heavy day in the Stars, and this is a BIG story!Glad it's getting the coverage it deserves!I knew when I came to C-News, it would be here, and it was!Happy Holi-daisies! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on December 18, 2006 at 10:40:33 PT Tom Riley This guy's comments always soud like he's reading them off of the same tired old threat, alarm and fear ridden script. I'm glad ONDCP can't afford more creative writers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 18, 2006 at 10:06:25 PT The Full Report This link was in my e-mail.December, 2006 - Issue Number 2. Special Report: Marijuana Production in the United States (2006)By Jon Gettman URL: http://www.drugscience.org/bcr/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Max Flowers on December 18, 2006 at 09:59:14 PT doc james How about a hint as to where that neck of the woods is? Even just the state...? REAL curious over here in the usually $3600-4000/lb northern California. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by paul armentano on December 18, 2006 at 08:58:43 PT Medscape Today: The Brain's Own Marijuana [snip] Medscape General Medicine. 2006;8(4):57. ©2006 MedscapePosted 12/18/2006 Reader's Response to "Endocannabinoids -- the Brain's Own Marijuana -- May Be Linked to the Metabolic Syndrome"To the editor,Kudos to Dr. George Griffing's assessment of the endocannabinoid system and its therapeutic potential in disease treatment. ....Cultural stereotypes and political biases against cannabis and its active compounds should not impede the clinical investigation of cannabinoid therapeutics and their impact on this important biological system.Sincerely, Paul Armentano Washington, DC http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/548794 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on December 18, 2006 at 07:26:22 PT doublethink again Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, cited examples of foreign countries that have struggled with big crops used to produce cocaine and heroin. "Coca is Colombia's largest cash crop and that hasn't worked out for them, and opium poppies are Afghanistan's largest crop, and that has worked out disastrously for them," Riley said. "I don't know why we would venture down that road."No, you IDIOT, we're already on that road! We've bullied everyone into taking the same hateful prohibitionist road. They're having the same problems we are - civil war - because of Prohibition. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 18, 2006 at 07:25:10 PT doc james My goodness that is a lot of money. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by doc james on December 18, 2006 at 07:19:50 PT: ca$h crop In my neck of the woods a lb of kindbud will easily fetch 5600.00. It is only sold by the 1/4 lb only and I love it... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment