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Marijuana - now California's biggest crop

economist.com — Marijuana is now by far California's most valuable agricultural crop. Assuming, very optimistically, that the cops are finding every other plant, it is worth even more than the state's famous wine industry.

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  • musters, on 11/08/2007, -2/+38California, welcome to the world of BC economics.
    • LaueOfficer, on 11/08/2007, -3/+8And to think, all of this money is going to fund terrorists......
      • chaosium, on 11/08/2007, -0/+1Technically, more of the money we pay to prop up the anti-drug parties goes to fund terrorists than these gains.
    • eatspie, on 11/08/2007, -5/+1Keep going guns California, and you can stop China from being the world's largest economy.
    • brad3378, on 10/26/2007, -3/+2What is the "BC" in BC economics?
      • Phrag, on 11/08/2007, -1/+8I believe he means British Columbia, where most of the good pot on the west coast used to come from.
      • captric, on 11/08/2007, -2/+1Yes - its true BC is British Columbia Canada. I am resident of BC, I live near Vancouver and I would invite anyone who thinks this is a good economy to walk down to Hastings and Columbia some day and see all of the derelects, homeless, drug addicted alcoholics who have one thing in common....they ALL SMOKE POT.
        • chaosium, on 11/08/2007, -0/+1Correlation, causation. Learn the difference. If someone has no future, they'd probably smoke a massive amount of pot to get them through the day.
    • littlespy, on 10/27/2007, -1/+2can i buy stock in pot plants?
  • polymath22, on 10/29/2007, -1/+14yea, marijuana has been doing well all over the USA
    http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017&pa ...
    • eatspie, on 10/27/2007, -12/+0Its all right. Gutsy Gibbon is better than Vista.
  • Tiak, on 10/30/2007, -2/+67My note to the government: Now, wouldn't it be nice to have an extra 20 billion dollars of agriculture industry to tax?...
    • dmightx, on 09/21/2008, -0/+30Minus all the spending on law enforcement for all this.
    • brstilson, on 10/27/2007, -1/+23What are you talking about? We can just print 20 billion dollars if we need it.
      • mitchlourens, on 10/27/2007, -7/+2not true, if that happened, we would have an inflation and things would be going much worse. Maybe we should pay attention in economics in high school?

        unless of course that was sarcasm
        • brstilson, on 10/27/2007, -0/+12apparently someone's sarcasm detector is malfunctioning.
          • Shambla, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2Oh a sarcasm detector? Oh that's a _really_ useful invention.
    • idiotwithastick, on 10/27/2007, -0/+9Once (if it is ever) legalized then price will drop considerably as farming become legitimized and competition increases. Won't be 20 billion dollars, but still will be significant.
      • mjhamilton, on 10/27/2007, -1/+6If you tax it properly, the price will not decrease, at least to consumers. It will become like tobacco and cigarettes. The idea is not that it become a big cash crop but a controlled taxable source of income.
        • cranium, on 10/27/2007, -0/+5If the price doesn't decrease, there will be a black market, and you're going to come out worse i the end. There's a sweet spot to bring the price to, it's probably right around half of the current price, maybe a bit more.
    • ociris, on 10/29/2007, -19/+0Its really a shame Digg is full of left leaning liberals like yourself. Instead of trying to fix the problem, you just want to absorb it and make it part of our culture. If that's how liberals do it, then we might as well legalize prostitution and human trafficking. I'm sure we can make a lot of money on those too.
      • kindrobot, on 10/29/2007, -0/+9Nah, Human "trafficking" sucks.
      • Phrag, on 10/29/2007, -0/+12And its just like a 'right leaning conservative' or whatever you want to call yourself to see a problem where there is none and try to 'fix' it by throwing people in jail for doing something that doesn't harm others or infringe on their rights. The problem is prohibition, not consumption. If you did any research on the history or marijuana or the alcohol prohibition, you would see that the large scale problems with these substances only came around after they were prohibited.

        And by the way, we should legalize prostitution because it doesn't harm people or infringe on their rights. It is wrong to criminalize people when they aren't doing either of these things. By criminalizing them, the government looses the ability to add rules that allow them to happen but within a safer and regulated manner.

        Human trafficking is not the same since the people being trafficked are slaves the their rights are definitely being infringed on.

        As it is in this backwards country, human trafficking seems more acceptable than smoking pot since some corporations have no problem using illegal labor practices as long as all the legal employees can pass a drug test.
        • ociris, on 10/29/2007, -15/+0Geeze i didnt ask for a long winded reply. I like cranium's and goffy59 reply below better. Anyway, there are many reported cases where drugs and physical abuse has been attributed with each other. Isn't killing your brain cells enough proof? Also just try ot imagine if we legalized prostitution... Would you be happy if your mom suddenly said im going to make some extra money today and whore myself out at the whore temping agency? Or your little sister trying to make the extra bucks by having 5 guys high in marijuana bang her senseless in her dorm room. What its legal right?
          Makes me wonder if all liberals are high and incompetent whores like yourself.
          • eviltandem, on 10/29/2007, -0/+11First, the only reason we have human trafficking is because prostitution is illegal. If it was legal there would be no unmet demand on such a huge scale that it could finance kidnapping and shipping humans around the world. The safest prostitution in America is in Nevada... where it's legal (these darn fact things will get you neocons every time).

            It's called the oldest business for a reason. It was around before America, it is around despite being illegal, it will be around for the foreseeable future. Until you figure out how to stop human sex drive this is like trying to control the tides with your mind.... a complete waste of time.

            Your second problem is you seem to think being someone's child gives you control over what they do with their body. If she is your mother, and wants to do that, it is none of your business. What gives you the right to tell someone else how to run their lives and what to do with their bodies? If you don't want to do those things, fine, don't.

            Freedom means I can.
          • Tiak, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Is there a particular reason I should have a problem with the scenario you presented?... Who my parents and siblings sexually associate, and how that relationship is arranged, is none of my business... Do you around giving everyone in your family permission to hae sex or something?
          • Phrag, on 10/29/2007, -0/+7You consider seven sentences to be long winded?

            Please show me some 'reported cases' where physical abuse has been attributed to marijuana use. If there are as many as you say, this should be a very simple task even for someone who thinks seven sentences is long. Also, provide proof that smoking pot kills brain cells. The fact that I have no problem quickly reading your nine sentence long reply while you have a problem reading seven seems to refute this claim.

            If my mother or my sister (which I don't have) or my daughter (which I do have) really wanted to become a prostitute, then that is their decision. I have no right to tell people what they do with their own body. I can give advice and education, but that is all. If anyone wants to be a prostitute, I would much rather they have legal facilities where they can be safe, use protection, get screened for STDs and receive a fair wage. As it is currently, if anyone in my family wanted to be a prostitute (yes, men can be prostitutes too) they would have to risk getting robbed, raped, murdered, infected and a whole bunch of other things in order to do it.

            Sorry for this second 'long winded' reply. Please feel free to take you time trying to understand it before replying.
          • ociris, on 10/29/2007, -4/+0I guess you wouldnt mind if your mom or your sister agreed to have sex with me if i pay her enough money. As for me, im glad that some people still has some moral values that they stand on. Just because prostitution has been around for thousands of years doesnt make it right. In Islam they've hang, stoned and mutilate people for more than a thousand years and luckily some of them grew out of it. I guess we should have more outstanding "liberal thinking" people like yourself willing to agree to sell your mom and your sister's body without remorse. Is it because of the drugs kicking in and eating those brain cells away or are you liberals really that stupid?
          • pasatiempos, on 10/27/2007, -1/+3" As for me, im glad that some people still has some moral values that they stand on....All I know is that I am soooooo very very happy with glee that my tax dollars is actually sending brain dead liberals aka pot heads like yourself to jail or fined. Im sooooo glad that our goverment is using my tax dollars to shoot you guys down on the street and put behind bars the guys that sell it."

            Killing people for having a choice with what to do with their own bodies? Nice morals there ociris...
            Would you mind telling me what is actually wrong with marijuana?
          • ociris, on 10/27/2007, -3/+0Hey like our outstanding citizen Prag mentioned earlier, we have a choice, hence, if your choice is to get shot then i guess i can't stop you. My mind is totally clear of any guilt with that. I wont stop what you do with your life because frankly i totally dont care. And if thats how liberals feel about their own family then by all means be a bunch of hookers and drug adicts. Aparently you guys dont care about your own family. If you guys dont care about them, then why should i? So go ahead i wont stop you, no one cares about you anyway. Do what you want right?

            PS. Dont give me that BS that nothing is wrong with MJ. I have two people i know closely, an uncle and a close high school friend who screwed up their lives completely. They both abused their family and lost their jobs due to that addiction. If you left leaning liberals are dumb enough to ask me that question, then i guess you guys are just plain stupid. I dont need to pull out proof since i know what it does. I think you guys need to look for proof if your so oblivious to what is obvious.
          • Phrag, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2@ your first comment - If my someone chose to have sex with you for money and you are both consenting adults, then no I would not have a problem with it. I don't see why I should and I definitely don't see a justification or benefit to society by paying to arrest, try and incarcerate you or them for it. I don't see prostitution as right or wrong. I don't use prostitutes and I have never been a prostitute. What I do think is wrong is locking up two consenting adults for doing something that harms no one and infringes on no one else's rights. You think it is better to hang, stone and mutilate people rather than give them the right to choose to have sex for money? That seems rather barbaric and inhumane. I never agree to sell anyone. What I said was that I don't have to right to punish people if they choose to sell themselves.

            @ your second comment - Choosing to be a prostitute is not choosing to be shot. If you choose to shoot someone for being a prostitute, then you are a disturbed individual who should seek therapy. Why does prostitution bother you so much that you would justify killing people to stop it?

            Well I am sorry that two people you know ruined their lives with a marijuana addiction. I will tell you though that I know a lot more than two people who have smoked pot and none of them have become addicted to pot or ruined their lives with it. I don't think two people is a large enough sample to get a good idea of what happens to the millions of people that smoke pot. Even though I have known dozens, if not hundreds, of people that smoked pot, I don't claim to know what it does to all people. These kinds of assumptions are the basis of prejudice and don't lead to anything good.

            Also, the way you write and continually call 'liberals' stupid makes me think you are listening to Anne Coulter too much. You might want to watch out for that since her popularity seems to be declining since she came out as an anti-Semite.
        • ociris, on 10/27/2007, -4/+0Just as a side note. Its not my money being used to buy the MJ, so go ahead and spend exorbitant amounts of money for your MJ. I could care less if you guys pay tax for it. All I know is that I am soooooo very very happy with glee that my tax dollars is actually sending brain dead liberals aka pot heads like yourself to jail or fined. Im sooooo glad that our goverment is using my tax dollars to shoot you guys down on the street and put behind bars the guys that sell it. Maybe someday, your daughter would want to become a prostitute so she could buy plenty of drugs for herself and maybe for you too. Im sure you wouldnt have a single problem with that. Its like the pot heads family bonding. How nice.
        • Phrag, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1Well I'm glad you are happy. We will see how happy you are when I have a nice warm jail cell to sleep in, three meals a day and medical care while you have nothing because the government spend all your social security keeping me in jail.
      • cranium, on 10/29/2007, -0/+11We are fixing the problem. The problem is that you asshats made it illegal in the first place.
        • mrFREEZE, on 10/29/2007, -0/+7If only marijuana had been "the white man's drug" instead of alcohol, and alcohol had been the "Mexican immigrant's drug", we'd all be enjoying some of that sweet, sweet herb and lock up people for drinking.
      • goffy59, on 10/26/2007, -0/+5moron.block
    • gropo, on 10/26/2007, -0/+5CA. Govt: "Hmm, naw we feel much more righteous telling you what you can and can't do with your bodies while taking your money and pissing it down a hole"
  • lucidguru, on 10/29/2007, -5/+17Hmm lets see... keep MJ illegal and limit supply... This sends prices shooting upward... gangs establish themselves to grow MJ and protect profits... cities become more dangerous because gangs fight over turf and don't obey laws... citizens pay extra taxes to stop this crime, but all this does is limit the supply further making the sale of MJ even more profitable for those that do sell...
    I guess the crime fighting efforts have really paid off. The price of MJ must be so high now that it's silly for the average person NOT to grow and sell their own marijuana. Who wants to work at mcdonalds for $5 and hour when they can make $200k easy sitting at home doing very little except growing smelly plants in the basement.
    • IEatBrains, on 10/27/2007, -1/+12If you look at cannabis' growth/distribution, you'll see that gangs don't invest heavy amounts of interest in the plant. It is easy to grow and sell (relative to other drugs) -- not to mention its low/nonexistent levels of physiological addiction, and as a result -- doesn't require infrastructure to maintain.

      "Fighting Crime", has had no significant impact on the prices as much as more addictive drugs where illegitimate structures (drug cartels) can be cracked down upon. I really am reluctant to make this analogy -- but marijuana dealers operate in "cells", not really communicating heavily with one another, and creating very small microeconomies, -- resulting in no significant demand for a large entities which use violence to maintain their control. As for "drug-fighting", crime levels have actually dropped since the 1980's on the declaration of "war on drugs." I'm not going to say whether the anti-drug policy is right or wrong, but a large amount of what you're saying is incorrect. I'm basing almost everything I've said from stuff I've learned in Criminology, Advanced Social Theory, and some Microeconomics courses. Also, the large majority of "Dealers" do not use dealing as their primary profession -- its just a side job to accommodate for lower paying primary jobs.

      Crime rate in past 20 years in response to "war on drugs" and its negative correlation with crime rate (again, it could be any exogenous variable -- but I've generally been taught that its the war on drugs and dismantling of gangs).
      http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_01a.html
      • eatspie, on 10/27/2007, -11/+1Long and convoluted comment demands a bury.
        • kindrobot, on 10/27/2007, -0/+7Here's 5 dollars, go buy an attention span. (if I see you buying ritalin with it, I'm headbutting you)
      • semiotix, on 10/27/2007, -0/+8I don't know how easy it is to sell, or what gangs do or don't have to do with it, but marijuana is NOT that easy to grow IF you don't want to be caught. To get a crop of a size where you're making a real profit, you need to be indoors (buildings cost money), using lots of electricity for lights (super-expensive, especially in California, and easy for the Feds to track) and hydroponic equipment (also expensive), without using pesticides (which aren't very smokable). That's not even considering the labor involved in drying and processing the crop. Oh, and there's always the chance that someone will steal or vandalize your crop.

        I don't really care about legalization one way or the other, but if you're making money farming marijuana (as opposed to dealing it), you're a pretty damn good farmer, period. (Or you're just begging to get busted.)
    • frostbyt, on 10/27/2007, -7/+1On that note lets make cocaine legal too. Hell lets make it all legal so we can be nice and subdued when the terrorists attack.
      • pasatiempos, on 10/27/2007, -0/+5Actually cocaine makes you go hyper energetic. Quite the contrary to what you're assuming.
  • beatbank, on 10/29/2007, -9/+4B.C. economics? What in the world are you talking about? California? Maybe I am just a little too lifted..
    -Greetings from Humboldt County
  • databoy, on 10/29/2007, -19/+3How many no brainer marijuana articles have to be posted on digg. Where are the statistics to support the claim. Marijuana is a weed which grows in semi-arid regions. It does not need maintenance.

    MARIJUANA IS BANNED IN THE USA BECAUSE IT WILL DESTROY THE COTTON INDUSTRY.

    Once you start to understand that simple philosophy you will understand why marijuana will remain illegal in the USA. It has nothing to do will smoking the weed. In fact illegal marijuana is cut with tobacco and other substances to make it psychotic and dangerous.
    • conna, on 10/29/2007, -0/+12You started off about right but your last sentence is incorrect.
    • Shaman760, on 10/29/2007, -0/+9"In fact illegal marijuana is cut with tobacco and other substances to make it psychotic and dangerous.".
      Wow....who do you buy your marijuana from- the Government? They are the only ones I know who like to put stuff in their pot....like Paraquat for instance.
      I'll stick to the stuff I get from my guy who grows it organically and avoid the propaganda.
      Kthxbye
    • Classico, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1You FAIL.
    • republicker, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1"Cut with tobacco" Did the people w/ D.A.R.E tell you that in elementary school? That's the funniest ill-infomed comment I have heard lately. I'm guessing this guy has never seen a sack in his life. Cut w/ tobacco lolololololol
  • ravage86, on 10/29/2007, -1/+21I'm intrigued... tell me more about this "marijuana".
    • pasatiempos, on 10/27/2007, -0/+6It's the devil's weed I tell ya! One smoke and you could go psychotic and gang-rape your sister!
    • stoanhart, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2I never knew it was possible for me to gang-rape someone. Will marijuana reveal my hidden auxiliary penises?
  • meachen, on 10/29/2007, -16/+4not anymore *****.........those fires would have wiped out 90% of that *****
    • Shaman760, on 10/27/2007, -1/+14Nah. There's more bud in Cali than you can ever even imagine. We're fine out here but thanks for caring. :)
    • Tiak, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Not really... Didn't you wonder how all of those people on the news who lost everything and talk to the news crew don't seem to be all that depressed?....
      • xerexes1, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1Perhaps because they were in a state of shock upon discovering that their homes and personal possessions had been destroyed? Or you're on to something and they had a secondary high from all of the smoke in the atmosphere.
  • flashback99, on 10/29/2007, -2/+8Even in the face of weekly evidence for legalisation, the law still stays the same. Idiots.
    • fwhiteh, on 10/27/2007, -5/+0Ha ha...it's legalization not legalisation....good try...somebody has smoked a little too much MJ. I don't think we should be calling other people idiots.
      • ScottyMcBaggs, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2You ***** tool, a world exists outside of America, a world where people use the metric system and spell things a little bit differently sometimes.
        • fwhiteh, on 10/27/2007, -5/+0Wow you are a ***** dumb ass...thanks for enlightening me about the world outside of America.
  • llsethj, on 10/29/2007, -4/+7IT is only valuable because of the risk. If it were legal, it would be cheaper than Tobacco and hardly a cash crop.(because it is safer and wouldn't have to keep cadres of lawyers and lobbyists on its payroll).

    Of course, California could tax the living ***** out of it and it would still be cool by most people because consumers are used to paying very high taxes.
    California's loss :(
    • Phrag, on 10/26/2007, -0/+3Not sure why you were buried for that because I think you are correct. If pot were legalized and grow in bulk like other cash crops, it would be significantly cheaper and of better quality. Even if heavily taxed, I don't see it being anywhere near the cost it is now which is tens of times more than what it cost to grow it. People also forget all the revenue that could be made from a hemp industry which would effectively become legal along with marijuana.
    • SpencerMc, on 10/26/2007, -0/+4You're forgetting the numerous other uses of cannabis besides simply getting high.
      It's the perfect cash crop, if for no other reason than the sheer versatility.
      • clothmonkey, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Very true - biofuel, rope, clothing, plastics(Derived from the oils), the list goes on and on - and it's a perfectly renewable resource!
  • Shaman760, on 10/29/2007, -2/+16Wow taxing the sales of bud would pay for the CA wildfires twentyfold. TWENTY TIMES OVER. That is a LOT of money.
    • pennvneff, on 10/27/2007, -3/+3People would just start growing their own and avoid the tax or buy from a grower who didn't report to the government.
      • millerftw, on 10/27/2007, -1/+4Plus dollars not spent on the "war on drugs".
      • Phrag, on 10/27/2007, -0/+4Some people would, but I thing the majority would buy it from a store and pay the tax simply for the convenience. Some could grow for personal use and maybe for a few other people, but the bigger the operation got, the more likely it would be found and the owner back charged for all the taxes they had not payed. At a certain point, it would just be easier to become a legitimate business and pay taxes instead of rushing around, retailing to individuals and trying to avoid the man.
      • clothmonkey, on 10/26/2007, -0/+3So tell me, why aren't more people growing their own tobacco, by that argument?
      • lowryba, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1I could grow my own but why would I want to when I can just go to a shop and purchase it conveniently? Why do few people grow their own tobacco? Or make their own booze?
  • pennvneff, on 10/29/2007, -1/+9Marijuana has always been a cash crop in California, at least up in NorCal. I mean how many of you who live outside of California have heard of Humboldt County?

    What I find interesting is the fact that Asian gangs are using homes to grow down in SoCal, that's a somewhat relatively new thing. Though the somewhat idiotic and racist undertone that diversity is the reason why these gangs are able to operate so freely is a miss all together. I guess White people are some what better at detecting Marijuana being grown? Please. Rich White people are buying up all the good weed and nobody wants to ruin a good thing.
    • kindrobot, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Now that you point it out, that does kind of stink of racism. Real racism.
  • jeremyduffy, on 10/29/2007, -4/+3Before the fire anyway. It's no wonder the fire fighters can't get anything done. Every time they're downwind, they get high.
    • deepakhj, on 10/26/2007, -0/+0Uhh weed is grown in Northern California, Mendocino and Humboldt. Unless it's indoor.
  • AntBing, on 10/29/2007, -2/+10Legalize it and tax the hell out of it. The money could be used to fix Social Security and give every American free health care.
  • tucsonalama, on 10/26/2007, -1/+2You're kidding! Announcing the Terminator was Governor of California would have been more of a surprise.
  • DailyLlama, on 10/27/2007, -1/+9In other news...Funions' stock rises 134%
    • clothmonkey, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Why does anybody like those? I've tried them a few times, and it's like a party in my mouth - a party where somebody threw up on the rug...
  • DTJunkie07, on 10/26/2007, -2/+4I don't understand something...if marijuana does eventually become cheaper then what would stop people from just planting a few of their own plants and making their own mj and not paying a dime to anyone? I mean everyone would turn into a mini dealer.
    • octophobic, on 10/28/2007, -0/+11A lot of people can grow their own vegetables too but they don't. It will create a hobbyist group for MJ growers but a lot of people would still buy cheap mass produced weed.
    • cranium, on 10/28/2007, -0/+4I've heard that it takes a bit of experience to cure it correctly so it doesn't turn out bitter and yucky.
      • Shaman760, on 10/30/2007, -0/+1You just let the flowering parts of the plant (i.e. buds) dry out and you're golden. That's the beauty. There is no real rocket science to it. Just don't let it dry completely out. I have known people with humidors dedicated to their cannabis habit....

        I used to live on a plantation back in the 1990's and in exchange for cheap rent (SoCal is expensive)we were required to spend 1 hr. a day processing.
        Our routine consisted of those office "inbox" type wire baskets filled with just PRIMO organically-grown greenbud in which we would pull out a bud—footlongers in some cases but usually about 4-8 long, trim the water leaves from it and then pick off any brown spots and the resulting worm.
        The best part of that gig was partaking in all the "worm bud" we could smoke. For some reason, the brown spots of the plant that we would pull off turned out to be Kevorkian-grade! I attribute that to the lower moisture content from the worm sucking the water from it. That was great stuff. Good times.....I was happy back then. Hey, I'm still happy! Peace
    • gropo, on 10/28/2007, -0/+7The same thing that prevents people from baking their own bread or making their own jams/jellies. They're lazy and would rather spend some of their society-credits on products.
    • vuke69, on 10/28/2007, -0/+8Think of it along the lines of the tomato model.

      Over half the tomatoes consumed in the United States are home grown. But Con-Agra seems to be doing just fine. As gropo said, people are lazy. Would I have a couple of plants in my garden if it were legal? Sure as hell would. Some cheap schwag for day to day usage. But I would never have the time or money to have the setup to grow some real premium weed. It's just not practical.
    • skyfire1, on 10/28/2007, -1/+2Since it's perfectly legal to make soda I will never buy a Mountain Dew again.
  • kindrobot, on 10/28/2007, -0/+9Tax it and fund health care for the whole nation. (antbing beat me to it, but dammit it should be said a million times until it's pounded into our collective skulls)
  • Todamont, on 10/28/2007, -1/+11How about this... Legalize it and DON'T tax the hell out of it. This is supposed to be a free country right? Needing to get the government's permission and pay a "sin" tax to smoke a blunt, to me, reeks of totalitarianism. Could someone please explain the difference between involuntary taxation and slavery... Oh wait, they are the same thing...
    • kindrobot, on 10/26/2007, -0/+5Kind of a good point. But it is incentive for lawmakers (read: our totalitarian leaders) to legalize. But you're still right. (why digg him down?)
    • Phrag, on 10/26/2007, -0/+5I think the tax is a way to:
      1. Give incentive for legalization to the people that are generally apathetic to the whole thing.
      2. Calm the fears of some people that think that it will create a lot of pot addicts by supplying money for pot addict rehab (I think its silly but some people believe this so it should be addressed)
      • HesNikke, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2detox day 26: do i want to smoke? yeah. do NEED to smoke like some addict? no. do i need rehab? nah, i'm gonna light up on sunday! :P
    • yankees1644, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2Yes, there is absolutely no difference between being forced to pay money to the government and being forced to work for someone that owns you until you die. Idiot.
      • rocket777, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1Just a matter of degree. As a slave you still have some freedom. As a taxpayer you have a good deal more. But if you can't smoke a joint, you're not that free either. So, they are the same nature, just not the same quantity. I'd say, having to work 1/2 a year to pay taxes, and 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, adds up to, well you do the math.
  • octophobic, on 10/28/2007, -0/+11I don't even smoke but I want to see it legalized and taxed. (Tax and regulate this drug the same way alcohol is treated.) Money spent on MJ should be benefiting our country and not street gangs or illegal foreign imports. (Legal foreign imports should be OK!)
  • Didac, on 10/26/2007, -0/+6"In places like Chino Hills, the boom has also been helped by demographic change. Like many southern California suburbs, Chino Hills has been rapidly transformed from a mostly white area to a rainbow one. Residents of such a diverse place may be more inclined to ignore odd behaviour and a funny smell emanating from the house down the road—provided that the grass is kept short."

    So much for the bs... as if whites didn't smoke, come on!
    • gropo, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2I think you missed the point... Grow houses reek of fresh sticky-icky. Indian. Pakistani, Armenian, Korean, etc. houses reek of culturally-indigenous cooking spices. That's the way I interpreted that statement at least.
  • tydas, on 10/26/2007, -0/+3The question is will we ever see decriminalization in the next 10 years? 20 years? I really do not know. If you can get drunk I don't see the reason why you can't get high.
    • fwhiteh, on 10/30/2007, -5/+0STOP BITCHING. It's not like it is hard for you to get "high." Unfortunately, the ***** is everywhere!
      • Phrag, on 10/27/2007, -0/+3So after almost 80 years of prohibition its still very easy to get and readily available in all places. Don't you think thats a sign that we should consider a change in policy?
  • bemenaker, on 11/04/2007, -0/+8You know, if it was legal, it would be peaceful hippies up there in them there hills growing weed, and not violent Mexican gangs.
    • Classico, on 10/26/2007, -0/+4Ahhhh... I long for that life.
    • fwhiteh, on 10/27/2007, -4/+0Yeah that is what we need... more ***** hippies!
      • Phrag, on 10/30/2007, -0/+5You prefer gangsters with automatic weapons?
        • fwhiteh, on 10/27/2007, -2/+0No I probably prefer hippies over gangsters, but both groups are a drain on society....worthless.
        • Phrag, on 10/30/2007, -0/+4How are hippies a drain on society? They produce plenty of things. (speaking in strictly stereotypical views) Organic vegetables, home-made clothing, music (albeit bad folk music but still), art, jewelry, sandals, 'glass art', liberal arts colleges, protests signs, funny movies, books, etc. Without hippes, you wouldn't have Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream which is some of the best ice cream I have ever had.
          • fwhiteh, on 10/30/2007, -0/+1Oh *****...I forgot about Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream!
  • gabeh73, on 10/27/2007, -7/+1I'm a 34 year old MIT grad, married, two kids. I work in the Energy industry. I made well over 100k this year already...not that that is a lot of money, but I am comfortably middle class and have no reason to waste my time on random theories that are probably not true.
    If I were two recommend just two things to get started with on to answer your question about why we keep bringing this issue up ...here it is:

    why do you think that over a 100 former CIA agents, FBI agents, NIST and military pilots have come out publicly to demand a reall 9/11 investigation be done? read their statements:

    http://www.patriotsquestion911.com/

    now watch some videos of WTC 7 getting destroyed:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=antql-Nz4bY

    now why trust the 9/11 commision when it was run by CFR members who are on the record as basicly hoping for a "pearl harbor event"...an yet the 9/11 commision spent zero time covering the WTC 7 demo...WHY? why not follow the money leads taht the FBI came up with regarding teh pakistani ISI sending money to mohammed Atta?....these people are lying clinton is helping them lie..of course he will get mad..he'll get hung if enough people figure this out.
    • Devotia, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1Eat a bullet, truther. Buried and reported for severe douchebaggery and spamming.
    • clothmonkey, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2I was gonna ask what this has to do with pot, but I realized that you must be full-capitals HIGH right now.
    • captric, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2Well its pretty obvious that graduating from MIT doesn't make you smart. A group of 100 people who for whatever reason doubt the truth of the 9/11 investigation does not a Conspiracy Theory make. Millions of people KNOW what happened because they know that living in a free country with a free press and being the most educated people in the world with a lot of common sense and as much cynicism about the government as anyone else saw what happened with their own eyes and know from personal experience that massive cover ups in this nation are impossible. Impossible at an exponential rate based on the number of people required to keep the secret. Do the math MIT grad - it is mathematically impossible to pull off a conspiracy of this sort. If there is any question about anything that happened related to 9/11 it is only how much the Policy Makers of this country knew and when, about this one threat, among the thousand of other threats that they juggle daily. Indeed it is irrelevant what they knew or when because just like you and I, on a daily basis the unseen but possible threats to us are food poisoning, getting hit by a car, falling off a ladder,etc etc. does not keep us form eating, waking to the store or fixing our roof. I am a graduate of a state university, middle class, two kids and a six figure income. I think the difference between you and I is I have common sense that you cant learn in school and I DON'T smoke pot - so I don't have the same level of paranoia that people like you do.
      • gabeh73, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1I don't smoke pot either, but I don't believe the drug war is a just a simple example of both political parties being dumb...nope I've known enough rich families who 1) make big political contributions to prog-drug war folks 2) traffic drugs into this country 3) own or are involved in at a high level, the various state prison systems. Was it a conspiracy taht they had written the HOmeland security act beforehand and were merely waiting on a "pearl harbor event" according to Gary Hart CFR member...are you educated enough to know what the CFR is? they have had many succesful conspiracies that they admit... btw google or wiki: "Operation Northwoods" if you don't think the gov is willign to kill you to start a war.
        • captric, on 10/27/2007, -0/+0I don't know where you are from but your lack of understanding of how things work in this country is embarrassing. First of all, most people in this country are not members of political parties, they are independent thinkers who vote based on many issues but especially those that concern them most. There is nothing dumb about either political party that you refer to, besides, we have a "representational government" that reflects the population and are voted out if they do not perform according to the wishes of their constituents. Witness the last landslide victory of the Democrats over the Republicans in Congress and the impending defeat of the Republicans in the Presidential race as well. What is a pro drug war folk? People opposed to the use of illicit drugs by illiterate and irresponsible people? This country is not governed by people who make political contributions. Rich people that traffic drugs in this country? Are you joking!? Most of them are in jail or will be soon because it is illegal to traffic drugs. Rich people own state prison systems????? You really are out of your mind. So let me get this straight - the"rich people" want to line their pockets with money by having a war on drugs that will fill their state prison systems???? That's laughable!!!!!!!! What is "the homeland security". They wrote it (whatever IT is) and then "waited" for a "pearl harbor event". The DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY is a gathering of already existing federal agencies under one management team because it works better that way. The only thing new is the TSA. I know who Gary Hart is - I met him - he is an Attorney from Colorado - lives in Genesse Colorado and had a failed attempt at a run for President. That's only Gary Hart I know. You know, one of the glaring differences between the educated and the uneducated is not the quantity of their knowledge - but the SOURCE of their knowledge. YOU are apparently gaining yours from lefty wackos on the Internet who have no credibility and are motivated only by their bi polar political desires.
  • sidecarsally, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1http://digg.com/world_news/War_On_Drugs_is_an_Utte ...

    lol
  • blackturtleus, on 10/26/2007, -0/+2I'm against any law that bans the cultivation of ANY plant. Let the plants grow! It outrages me whenever I see a field of poppies or marijuana being chopped to pieces or burned at my expense! I saw ole Anderson Cooper gloating in Afghanistan in a recent news show... what a jerk!
  • captric, on 10/27/2007, -3/+0I think the real problem with marijuana is the people that try to make the argument that it is OK to SELL it to other people. I know lots of people who have or do, smoke pot, I have as well. Some of these people are doctors, lawyers, judges and police officers. The laws in this country reflect that it is not much of a crime to be in possession of small amounts of pot for your own personal use. But when you start EVANGELIZING its use and start a business of making money by selling it to other people, that is where you can get in serious trouble, and justifiably so. In other words, if you want to be a STONER, more power to you, the rest of us will find you entertaining, just don't try to recruit other people into your little cult.
    • Phrag, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1Why is it justifiable for people to get into big trouble for selling pot? If people can smoke pot and become all the things you mentioned, then why is it such a bad thing to supply them with it when they want it and it doesn't harm them? This post is kind of confusing to me. You seem to be fine with pot use, but not growing and selling it. Where would people get it if someone wasn't selling it to them? I don't like pushy pot dealers, but thats because I don't like pushy sales people in general. American is a capitalist country. Punishing people for selling something to people who want to buy it goes against the very basis of capitalism.
  • GeoGrapher, on 10/27/2007, -1/+12.9 million plants worth $10 billion? That's about $3,500 per plant. For the most part you can only get an ounce or 2 off one plant worth at the most $400 per ounce (real good sticky icky aside...) I guess you can harvest a few times a year, but still those numbers sound extremely optimistic.
    • Phrag, on 10/26/2007, -0/+1To the best of my knowledge, when the cops get pot plants they weigh the whole thing including the roots, stems, etc. They then pretend that the whole weight is smokable marijuana and multiply the entire weight by the amount that they think pot costs (which is also probably inflated). It makes for good headlines, but it is not accurate at all. That said, there are ways to get a single plant to produce thousands of dollars worth of marijuana, but it has to be outdoors in a climate where it will not die over the winter or in a greenhouse.
  • evnglion, on 10/27/2007, -0/+3All I know is that most of the prisons in the united states are grossly overcrowded, and a lot of that has to do with our ridiculous marijuana laws. We are spending WAY too much money to lock up non-violent offenders, not to mention the billions of dollars being spent enforcing laws and conducting investigations. If we were to make marijuana available to responsible adults (ie 21+) in small quantities and from controlled environments (like ABC stores for liquor) and then tax it, the government would be making BILLIONs in tax as opposed to spending it. We free up some jail cells, we keep money out of the hands of dealers, and put money back into schools and health reform where it belongs. Why can't this happen? Oh yeah, the multi-billion dollar prescription drug industry.

    People who smoke pot aren't going to go away, the plant was here long before humans and it will be here long after.
  • gwardyak, on 10/26/2007, -0/+0nice...=]
  • sidecarsally, on 10/26/2007, -0/+0http://digg.com/world_news/War_On_Drugs_is_an_Utte ...
  • iRaachie, on 10/26/2007, -0/+0Not surprising since Santa Barbara reeks of weed.
  • ubergeek09, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1This isn't a surprise I mean it is California.
  •  

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