POT PROVES PROFITABLE THROUGHOUT THE STATES

Marijuana is the most valuable cash crop in the United States, worth
more to its growers than corn and wheat combined, according to a new
report by a leading U.S. drug reform lobbyist that cites the U.S.
government's own figures.

Even the most conservative government estimates suggest domestic
marijuana production has increased 10-fold in the past 25 years. It is
the leading cash crop in 12 states, and one of the top five crops in
39 states.

The report's author, Jon Gettman, says it is "larger than cotton in
Alabama, larger than grapes, vegetables and hay in California, larger
than peanuts in Georgia and larger than tobacco in South and North
Carolina."

California accounts for almost a third of all U.S. production. It is a
major economic force in the state, especially in the redwood forests
in the north, where the smell of weed wafts unmistakably down the
streets of several towns.

Marijuana remains popular with the baby-boom generation, which first
experimented with it in the 1950s and 1960s.

And its use is booming among teenagers and young adults.

U.S. marijuana cultivation is worth more than $35 billion US per year,
based on government price surveys, Gettman says.

Corn, the largest legitimate crop, is worth just over $23 billion US
and soybeans around $17 billion US.