Should America’s largest cash crop be legalized?
U.S. growers produce nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country’s largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined, an advocate of medical marijuana use said in a study released on Monday…………
By comparison, the United States produced an average of nearly $23.3 billion worth of corn annually from 2003 to 2005, $17.6 billion worth of soybeans, $12.2 billion worth of hay, nearly $11.1 billion worth of vegetables and $7.4 billion worth of wheat, the report said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061219/od_nm/usa_marijuana1_dc_1&printer=1
Blue Steel & Lace 
No.
personally i believe marajuana should be legalized and tobacco made illegal.
That’s a lot of tax money the gov’t is missing out on. And those farmers won’t need subsidies.
Yes .
As long as it’s good…I’m all for it!…lol
Yep.
Judging by some of the answers on here,i thought it all ready has.
No, and the numbers given are merely estimates, since there is not a legal market for the product in the United States.
Yes, there is no earthly reason for it to be illegal now. It’s the way we can have renewable resources and be able to pay off the national debt with the taxes that would be paid on it.
There is too much money to be made in the criminal process for dealing with illegal drugs, most likely more than could be made were it made legal.
If we sell liquor and tobacco in this country, I see no reason not to sell marijuana. They’re all drugs.
I don’t think the tobacco lobby in this country would let that happen, though. They’ve got the politicos’ balls in a vice grip.
Every currently controlled substance should be legalized, except methamphetamine.
Absolutely NOT!
The price would drop drastically, and it would no longer be the largest cash crop, but the taxes on it would make it cost twice as much.
wow! imagine it selling on ebay. boy, now you can really get “it”
No but it should be decriminlazied
i dont even smoke it and i believe it should be legal
absolutly!! hell yes, it soo should be legal… it causes less probl;ems than alcahol…. remember prohabition? well, its time for buds!!!!
Maybe it should, since it is such a revenue raiser for the government.
Ironic isn’t it.
Though the statistics may tell that $35 billion worth of marijuana is produced annuallly, its damage to society must be in terms is much more than that. It should not be viewed in the context of an income to many, and they should be asked to switch over to other type of crops. If USA cannot do it, which other country can?
VR
Yes. It should be. Hemp especially. Hemp would be a great alternative fuel source and does not deplete the soils like corn does. We could save trees by making paper from hemp, and best of all, if Marijuana was legalized the US could tax and regulate it, and hey! Maybe pay off some of that debt that GW accrued waging his illegal war.
My Dad is a cop and he says if anything, alcohol should be illegal, not pot.
I’m all in favor of legalizing pot, but those figures you’re using are while it is illegal. The price would go way down if it were legal, and wouldn’t come close to the value of corn or wheat.
Absolutely – I can think of many more positive outcomes from the legalization of marijuana than negative ones.
Not legalizing the sale and use of marijuana means it is tougher to purchase the drug, thus decreasing the frequency of its use and the frequency of addiction.
If we legalize marijuana, we reduce the black market and the violence associated with the sale of marijuana.
It insures that people who use the drug for medicinal purposes, such as pain control, have access to it.
The sale of marijuana as a prescription drug serves as a source of income for the government.
The government could tax the sale of marijuana and use this income to lower the national debt.
That would be a smart move on the Governments part, even if I don’t sell or smoke marijuana today. But, I did use to smoke it, but, Lived in Hawaii where it was grown locally and sold illegally. But, it was probably the best and strongest marijuana you would find in the US.
But, in the Mainland US, the marijuana is being smuggled in through Mexico, and that is why the Mexican government (corrupt and receives pay offs) don’t want no barriers on our borders. Millions of Americans purchase and use these drugs from Mexico, and not mentioning other more potent drugs, cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth.
I can see our government legalizing marijuana to distribute it legally with restrictions by age. That will put back our tax money from those who receive financial assistance from the govt. and those who work and purchase marijuana. Hopefully, that can also help to support senior programs and govt. debts.
Though I personally don’t smoke the stuff, I say yes. Can you imagine the growth of our economy if they legalized it?
Yes, I think we should give it a try. I have heard good arguments from both sides. Legalization could lead to a substantial increase in abuse, but not necessarily. Would any increase in abuse outweigh the benefits of better regulation, tax revenues, a likely reduction in trafficking-associated crime, and a reduction in the police state? I think it is likely it would. I have read that there have been problems in the Netherlands due to their allowing marijuana use, though. At any rate, I don’t think it would have to be an irrevocable decision. We should keep thorough records of use, abuse, and associated problems. If it turns out to be a bad idea, we could revert to the status quo.
Might as well. But the real cash crop, which is much bigger, is from the drugs that the C.I.A. distribute around the world. It helps keep the D.O.W. artificially inflated so it doesn’t crash. Besides, it’s nothing to do with the pot that people smoke. The whole thing is about Hemp. If Hemp was legal to grow, it would cripple many large Corporations, like The Dow Chemical Corporation. So, it’s not going to happen.
Yes, think of all the billions that could be made in taxes, the billions that could be saved in police investigations and prosecution and the billions that would be saved by not putting the offenders in prisions.
No. While we have our problems, excessive sobriety is not 1 of them.
Yes, it most definitely should be legalized! Everyone keeps debating the potential tax dollars that the Govt would earn, but no one is mentioning the money we would save before it is even taxed.
Every minute more and more of our tax dollars are being flushed down the toilet by spending more for D.E.A. and law enforcement devoted to prevent marijuana cultivation, distribution, and use. Imagine if we redirected that drug prevention money towards a real drug like crystal meth. Just about every police agency has said meth is the biggest drug problem in their area, and yet we waste our money on preventing marijuana.
Why?
As for the people that claim marijuana legalization would be bad for our society and cause all of these problems. I think they’ve been inhaling too much out the propaganda pipe from the federal govt.
NO.
Absolutely it should be!
As should all other “banned” substances.
The US governments “war on drugs” has been one of the biggest wastes of our limited government resources.