CANNABIS CROP: POT VALUE IN U.S. PEGGED AT $35 BILLION

Analyst Pushes For Legalization And Tax

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The market value of marijuana produced in the
United States exceeds $35 billion, according to a report released by
a marijuana public policy analyst -- far more than the crop value of
such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay.

Jon Gettman, the report's author, argues the data support his push to
treat cannabis like tobacco and alcohol by legalizing and reaping a
tax windfall from it, while controlling distribution.

While withholding judgment on the study's findings, federal anti-drug
officials took exception to Gettman's conclusions.

"Coca is Colombia's largest cash crop, and that hasn't worked out for
them, and opium poppies are Afghanistan's largest crop, and that has
worked out disastrously for them," said Tom Riley, a spokesman for
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "I don't know
why we would venture down that road."