(NaturalNews) The biggest cash crop in the United States is not corn or wheat, according to public policy analyst Jon Gettman, as marijuana produces more annual revenue than those crops combined; nearly $35 billion.
The report by medical marijuana advocate and former National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws head Gettman also stated that California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington produce more than $1 billion worth of the plant each.
The approximately $35 billion figure in the report was based on government reports made between 2002 and 2005, in which estimated marijuana production levels in the United States were at more than 10,000 metric tons a year. Gettman used a national survey of marijuana retail prices between 2001 and 2005, which put the cost at between $2,400 and $3,000, and calculated the price per pound of marijuana at $1,606.
According to the report, the revenue generated by corn in the United States from 2003 to 2005 was $23.3 billion a year; soybeans produced $17.6 billion; $12.2 billion came from hay production; nearly $11.1 billion worth of vegetables were produced; and $7.4 billion was made from wheat.
U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesperson Tom Riley said he could not confirm Gettman's figures, but said illegal drug use was a "serious part of the economy." The office estimated illegal drug use overall was at $200 billion a year. Still, Riley said he did not think there was a realistic economic argument in favor of marijuana legalization, calling it an "inherently harmful activity," and added that more U.S. teens were being treated for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined.
Gettman made an unsuccessful attempt to get marijuana taken off a list of drugs with no medical value for six years, and hopes that this new information will show that the United States is failing to control marijuana through criminalizing its cultivation.
"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," Gettman 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."
###
Related Articles
• Marijuana nutrients found to help prevent Alzheimer's disease
• War on Drugs targets natural medicine sources while meth epidemic worsens in the U.S.
• Medicinal marijuana significantly reduces pain from peripheral neuropathy, say scientists
• Marijuana under attack for causing memory problems, say forgetful drug researchers (satire)
• Marijuana Chemical Cannabidiol Halts Spread of Breast Cancer Tumors
 |
Additional Resources:
Marijuana
cash crop
medicinal marijuana
|
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/021363.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|