REPORT NAMES POT AS STATE'S NO. 3 CASH CROP

TAMPA - When thinking of Florida's agribusiness, oranges and
strawberries probably come to mind. How about pot?

Marijuana is the state's No. 3 cash crop - behind vegetables and
citrus - according to estimates released last week by a
pro-legalization analyst.

While legal crops benefit from the Sunshine State's climate, marijuana
cultivation in Florida thrives indoors in the temperature-controlled
confines of houses with blacked-out windows, according to the report
prepared by analyst Jon Gettman.

Police and federal authorities have targeted, and stumbled upon,
several major grow houses in the Tampa Bay area this year, including a
bust last week.

Gettman's report places Florida third in the nation for indoor
marijuana growing operations, with an estimated 1.2 million plants
being grown. California and Washington produce the most indoor
marijuana, respectively, Gettman said.

According to his report, marijuana crops nationwide are worth nearly
$36 billion annually, compared with corn's $23.3 billion, $17.6
billion for soybeans and $12.2 billion for hay.

In Florida, the report estimates indoor and outdoor pot-growing
operations yield nearly $600 million a year for producers, compared
with $1.2 billion and $1 billion for vegetables and citrus,
respectively.

Gettman's analysis, based on U.S government statistics and estimates,
concludes that marijuana is the nation's largest cash crop.

"Words fail to describe how odd it is to give this plant so much
value," said Gettman, who used to lead the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Drugs Are $200 Billion Industry

To arrive at his figures, Gettman used government estimates that more
than 10,000 metric tons of marijuana are grown in the nation each
year, and that only about 10 percent is seized by authorities.

Tom Riley, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control
Policy, said he has not reviewed Gettman's report, but said marijuana
clearly is a large cash crop.

It is part of the roughly $200 billion the National Drug Control
office estimates U.S. residents spend on illegal drugs each year, Riley said.

But he disagreed with Gettman's assertion that marijuana should be
legalized and taxed.

"There's a lot of cash to be made in extortion and murder," he said.
"That doesn't mean extortion and murder are any more desirable."

Gettman said he sees legalizing the drug as a way to pay the nation's
debts. The high prices people pay for the drug indicate that they
would be willing to pay for marijuana that is government-regulated and
taxed.

The only reason marijuana is as highly valued as it is, he said, is
that it's illegal.

Florida's status as the third-ranking state for indoor cultivation in
Gettman's report probably has as much to do with the state's
topography as its widespread development, Gettman said.

Outdoor growing operations thrive in hilly terrain where plants can
avoid detection from the air, he said. In Florida, growing pot inside
carries "far less risk," he said.

Heavily patrolled waters off Florida's coasts - with Coast Guard
cutters searching for everything from drug runners to Cuban migrants
trying to get to the United States - are also a factor pushing
production indoors, Gettman said. Several Busts Made This Year

Gettman's report was released a day before police stumbled upon a
growing operation in a south Tampa home that had 163 plants.

Federal authorities also busted an indoor marijuana growing ring this
year that used 10 to 20 houses. Each house could have yielded up to $3
million if authorities hadn't intervened.

Tampa police Sgt. Ken Mormon said there are usually signs that a
structure is being used as a grow house. The tenants may often come
and go at all hours. Windows may be blacked-out. Loads of fertilizer
being carted inside is often a dead giveaway, he said.

Neighbors often report grow houses, which is why they're frequently
rental properties, Mormon said.

A lot of people opt to grow marijuana indoors because "they need to
make some quick money" and it's less risky than making or distributing
other drugs, Mormon said.

Mormon, who has worked narcotics cases since the early 1980s, said he
has been raiding grow houses for that long.

Grow houses in Tampa, he said, "have never caught on where it's
widespread."

Gettman's report, "Marijuana Production in the United States," is
posted at www .drugscience.org.