Cannabis Column - #36

Jon Gettman is a long time contributor to HIGH TIMES. A former National Director of NORML, Jon has a Ph.D. in public policy and regional economic development and consults with attorneys, advocates, and non-profits on cannabis related research and public policy issues. On October 8, 2002, along with a coalition of organizations, he filed a new petition to have cannabis rescheduled under federal law. This column will track that petition's progress.
Marijuana Production in the United States (2006): The Nation’s Largest Cash Crop

The most recent and compelling report on US marijuana production reveals that not only is cannabis now the largest cash crop in the United States but also that, according to US Government data, domestic marijuana cultivation has grown ten-fold over the last 25 years.

This new report on marijuana production was recently published in the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform and distributed to the national media by the Marijuana Policy Project. In 2006 domestic marijuana cultivation was worth $35.8 billion, more than corn and wheat combined. Over 56 million marijuana plants were cultivated outdoors with a value of $31.7 billion and 11.7 million plants were cultivated indoors at a value of $4.1 billion.

"The fact that marijuana is America's number one cash crop after more than three decades of governmental eradication efforts is the clearest illustration that our present marijuana laws are a complete failure," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "America's marijuana crop is worth more than our nation's annual production of corn and wheat combined. And our nation's laws guarantee that 100 percent of the proceeds from marijuana sales go to unregulated criminals rather than to legitimate businesses that pay taxes to support schools, police and roads."

Legalization would change all that by transforming marijuana producers from criminals under current laws to responsible merchants operating under state and federal regulations. Perhaps of greater interest to marijuana users is that legalization would significantly lower the cost of marijuana to responsible adult users and eliminate much of the profit incentives that are responsible for the availability of marijuana to teenagers and younger children.

Since the NORML Foundation published the last report on domestic marijuana production in 1998 new evidence has surfaced that clearly establishes the magnitude of marijuana cultivation in the United States. Despite intensive eradication efforts over the last 25 years the federal government has recently acknowledged that domestic marijuana production has increased from 1,000 metric tons (2.2 million pounds) in 1981 to 10,000 metric tons (22 million pounds) in 2006.

The new crop report derives a price index from extensive data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to establish a price of $1,606 per pound at the producer level and utilizes modest yield estimates of 200 grams for outdoor plants and 100 grams for indoor plants (these figures are considerably lower than common police estimates of a pound per plant and values $2,000 to $4,000 per pound) establishing the overall value of $35.8 billion as both conservative and credible.

The top ten marijuana producing states are California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii, Washington, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, West Virginia, and Oregon. Five states (California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington) had marijuana crops worth over $1 billion.)

Marijuana is now the top cash crop in 12 states, one of the top 3 cash crops in 30 states, and one of the top 5 cash crops in 39 states. Domestic cannabis is a larger cash crop than cotton in Alabama, larger than grapes, vegetables, and hay combined in California, larger than peanuts in Georgia, and larger than tobacco in both South Carolina and North Carolina. The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform’s special report also contains extensive tables of marijuana production and detailed comparisons of marijuana and other cash crops by state.

This new report argues that the government's failure to reduce the growth of marijuana leaves marijuana's legalization as the only reasonable option left for policymakers to control this untaxed and unregulated market. It’s time to debate the legalization of marijuana in the United States. Key elements of marijuana legalization policies should include federal and state excise taxes on production, distribution, and sales along with licensed market participation, age restrictions, and prohibitions on advertising and marketing to minors. Current regulatory models for tobacco and alcohol provide suitable examples upon which to base legislation to enact effective marijuana controls under federal and state laws. The ten-fold growth of production over the last 25 years and its proliferation to every part of the country demonstrate that marijuana has become a pervasive and ineradicable part of our national economy.

In addition to this report on marijuana production, the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform also includes the Drug Enforcement Administration's reports on marijuana eradication from 1982 through 1993, along with yearly tables of eradication statistics of both cultivated marijuana and ditchweed (wild hemp) from 1982 through 2005.

The federal government’s admission that marijuana cultivation has grown ten-fold over the last 25 years is a powerful argument in favor of marijuana’s legalization. It is tacit recognition that the eradication and prohibition efforts have not only failed to suppress marijuana production, but have actually transformed it into the largest cash crop in the United States. This in spite of, as the report details, being well funded, having tremendous local cooperation, sophisticated technology, the help of the National Guard, and authority to seize considerable assets. Even these advantages have not enabled the government to exercise control over marijuana cultivation in the United States. For example, a report by the Federal Research Service of the Library of Congress suggests that at best law enforcement seizes just 10% of the marijuana available in the country. Another indication of the futility of current policies is that marijuana cultivation has spread from just California and Hawaii in 1979 to every state in the nation.

Marijuana Production in the United States (2006) provides valuable information and arguments for advocates of marijuana’s legalization. It’s a must read for local activists, advocates for reform, and policymakers at the state and federal level. If you want to give your congressional representatives and US Senators a good reason to take a fresh look at marijuana’s legalization, this is the report you should bring to their attention. Look over the information provided in HIGH TIMES' 420 Campaign, use that information to contact your representatives in the US Congress, and encourage them to review this new report on marijuana production in the United States.