Originally Posted By avromark Marijuana largest cash crop in US, pro-pot group claims SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Marijuana is the most lucrative cash crop in the United States, worth more than the corn and wheat-growing sectors combined, according to a study released by a pro-drugs group. The study by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a Washington-based organization which is campaigning for the decriminalization of the drug, argued that successive crackdowns against marijuana have been unsuccessful. The report said using conservative price estimates, the marijuana crop was worth 35.8 billion dollars this year -- exceeding the combined value of corn (23.3 billion) and wheat (7.45 billion). The report said despite eradication campaigns which have seen 103 million marijuana plants seized and an average of nearly 36,000 cultivation sites per year destroyed, production increased tenfold between 1981 and 2006 from 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons. MPP communications director Bruce Mirken said the report lent weight to his organization's calls for the marijuana industry to be legalized and regulated. "Our current laws take our biggest agricultural product and hand a monopoly to unregulated criminals and gangs, while wasting millions of dollars and adding to the prison overcrowding crisis," he said. "Instead of wasting money on phony eradication campaigns, let's put marijuana under a sensible system of regulation, like we do with alcoholic beverages."
Originally Posted By onlyme I guess getting 'stoned' is more popular now than it was during the 70's when I was in H.S. Hard to believe
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Make it legal, regulate and tax it, just like alcohol. That and prostitution. Budget problems solved.
Originally Posted By jonvn I can see no reason why marijuana is illegal. None. Prostitution, I can almost understand, as it can spread disease and blight a neighborhood. But really, if someone wants to exchange money for sex, that's really not the business of the government. Prior to 1915, prostitution was not illegal in this state. No one cared. Then the country went nuts. We passed prohibition, and we also passed the red light abatement act in California. All such laws have done nothing but create crime, and criminalize the population.
Originally Posted By pecos bill I wonder how many people out there want to see it kept illegal because of the fortunes they are making on the black market. Fortunes that could be turned into a far greater good as taxes,(providing we have leaders who are intelligent enough to actually do something good!)
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger A lot of law enforcement agencies want to see it kept illegal because they see a lot of income from forfeiture laws. And, of course, the drug trade allows those at the top of such agencies to expand their empires and get bigger budgets.
Originally Posted By LVCajun <Prostitution, I can almost understand, as it can spread disease and blight a neighborhood> Not if it were legal and regulated. I works here in Nevada. Prostitution in Las Vegas is bad, mm-kay. I hear stories everyday about "johns" who were robbed and beaten and there was a report a couple of years ago about the downtown prostitutes being over 50% HIV positive. But a short hour away it's legal and works quite well.
Originally Posted By ClintFlint2 ////A lot of law enforcement agencies want to see it kept illegal because they see a lot of income from forfeiture laws. And, of course, the drug trade allows those at the top of such agencies to expand their empires and get bigger budgets. ///// Can you be anymore right than that???? No, you can not because that is already 100% right.
