MARIJUANA LARGEST US CASH CROP, LAW REFORM ADVOCATE SAYS

US Official Rejects Push to Legalize

WASHINGTON -- US 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 yesterday.

The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and
former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, also concluded that five US states produce more than $1 billion
worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii,
and Washington.

California's production alone was about $13.8 billion, according to
Gettman, who waged an unsuccessful six-year legal battle to force the
government to remove marijuana from a list of drugs deemed to have no
medical value.

Tom Riley, a spokesman for the US Office of National Drug Control
Policy, said he could not confirm the report's conclusions on the size
of the country's marijuana crop. But he said the government estimated
overall US illegal drug use at $200 billion annually.

Gettman's figures were based on several government reports between
2002 and 2005 estimating the United States produced more than 10,000
metric tons of marijuana annually.

He calculated the producer price per pound of marijuana at $1,606
based on national survey data indicating retail prices of between
$2,400 and $3,000 between 2001 and 2005.

The total value of 10,000 metric tons of marijuana at $1,606 per pound
would be $35.8 billion.

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.

Riley said illegal drug use was a "serious part of the economy," but
he rejected the notion of an economic argument for legalizing marijuana.

He said marijuana use was an "inherently harmful activity" with
serious physical and mental health consequences