>Another great moment in the War on Drugs brought to you by the nanny
>state GOP.
>
>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0612180188dec18,1,4149402.story...
>
>Pot called top cash crop in America
>Study: Market value exceeds $35 billion
>
>Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles TimesPublished December 18, 2006
>
>SACRAMENTO -- 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 Monday by a marijuana public policy analyst contends
>that the market value of pot produced in the United States exceeds $35
>billion--far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as
>corn, soybeans and hay.
>
>The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in
>the past quarter-century.
>
>Jon Gettman, the report's author, is a proponent of the push to drop
>marijuana from the federal list of hard-core Schedule 1 drugs, such as
>heroin and LSD. He argues that the data support his push to begin
>legalizing cannabis 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.
>
>(snip)