The Cash Crop 1

The Cash Crop: Marijuana

(Name Removed)
 The Cash Crop 2

In the February 1938 edition of Popular Mechanics, hemp, the stalk portion of the

cannabis plant, was named to be the “New Billion Dollar Crop.” Unfortunately, a bill had just

been passed adding a substantial tax to the product, some say to give paper and cotton products a

competitive advantage, effectively cutting short its ability and leading cannabis on the road to

criminalization. Today, possessing or growing marijuana can be awarded with over five years in

jail and substantial fines (Egelko, 2003). Though hemp remains legal, it has such stringent

conditions, including government approval and permits, that farmers cannot meet the

requirements to grow it. However, cannabis has persisted as a major product in the US in spite of

these measures.

According to surveys from 2001 by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, over

a quarter of U.S. adults use marijuana (2002). The importation of hemp products are worth over

$360 million (Brones, 2009). According to CNNMoney (2009), 2.6 million people lost their jobs

in 2008. The Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget estimate that the deficit will be

$1.4 trillion by the end of 2009 (Romer, 2009). The economy is often listed as one of Americans’

primary concerns. During this stressful economic time, shouldn’t the US take advantage of the

lucrative and tenacious cannabis market? Cannabis needs to be federally legalized for private use

in order to promote financial benefit through job creation, taxation, and through reducing the cost

of importing hemp products as well as other benefits.

Opponents of legalization cite undesirable social and physical effects of marijuana as

their reasoning. The primary issues named are impaired cognitive ability, negative physical

effects associated with the lung, reproductive organs, and the heart, addictiveness, and potential

as a gateway drug (CDC, 1982; Time, 1968). Studies have shown that marijuana can inhibit

users’ ability to “focus, sustain attention, and organize data…for as long as 24 hours” (ACDE,
 The Cash Crop 3

2002). Many studies have associated marijuana use with short-term memory loss while under its

influence. Additionally, users experience increased heart rate for up to an hour after taking

marijuana (USDEA, n.d.). In addition to physical side effects, opponents are concerned about

social implications linked with marijuana use. Many users seem to become lethargic, and some

people are concerned that this may lead users to become unproductive members of society.

Perhaps the biggest worry is the connection between marijuana users and users of other drugs as

many users of harder drugs, such as heroin, have reported using marijuana (Time, 1968).

. While some of these effects are accurate, many have been proven either false or

inconclusive through other studies. To begin with, nearly all physicians concede that physical

effects, such as on cognitive ability, last only as long as the effects (2-3 hours) and people who

are not pre-psychotic experience no adverse psychological reactions (Time, 1968). As for social

consequences, several studies indicate that how a person expects to react to marijuana will affect

the actual reaction, even in placebo tests (Friedman, Hicks, McCarth & Pedersen, 2009).

Additionally, with the large number of marijuana users,

if even one in five marijuana users moved on to harder

drugs, the number of users of those drugs would be

much larger, according to results of surveys completed

by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

However, other studies have shown the number of

Past Month Illicit Drug Use among Persons
marijuana users to be much larger, further eroding the Aged 12 or Older: 2008

National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

“gateway” theory (U.S. Department of Health and Human
National Findings

Services, 2008). *Other studies indicate the number of

marijuana users to be far greater

One large concern over the smoking of marijuana has

been its contribution to lung cancer, but recent studies have given pause to that argument. In fact,
 The Cash Crop 4

an article by Charlene Laino from WebMD recounts how in studies on mice with lung cancer

THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, “cut lung tumor growth in half and helped

prevent the cancer from spreading” (2007). Another article relates a study that was attempting to

prove the association between marijuana use and lung cancer, but found just the opposite.

Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, whose work has been used by the

government, found that there was “was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some

protective effect” even in regular to heavy marijuana users (Kaufman, 2006).

Dr. Tod H. Mikuriya, a psychiatrist in California and formerly a consultant for the

National Institute of Mental Health, has been able to study over 100 years of records on cannabis

(Time, 1968). As noted in Time, Dr. Mikuriya has seen no evidence of physiological addiction

and therefore “little or no build up of tolerance” and no withdrawal symptoms (1968). His

studies also show that it would be nearly impossible to kill a person through marijuana use as

killing “one mouse requires 40,000 times the dose [of THC] that makes a man high;” killing a

person would take much more (Time, 1968). It only takes “20 times the relaxant dose of alcohol”

to kill a man.
Opponents of legalization portray marijuana

In fact, when as hazardous to people’s health, but there has

never been a case of someone dying from

comparing marijuana’s risks to marijuana use or overdose (Cloud, 2002). In

contrast, 23 thousand people die from

those of our current legal
prescription medication overdose, 79

drugs, prohibition of the plant thousand from alcohol poisoning and related

conditions, and well over 400 thousand

seems anomalous. For people die from effects directly related to

cigarette smoking (ASTHO, 2008; CDC,

example, while marijuana
August 2008; CDC, May 2009).

appears to have no negative

effects on the lungs, cigarettes contribute directly to nearly 90% of lung cancer deaths (CDC,

May 2009). Alcohol leads to about 79,000 deaths and an untold number of hangovers (CDC,
 The Cash Crop 5

August 2008). In addition to that, alcohol is reported as a factor by 35% of victims of violence

and two-thirds of “intimate partner violence” (CDC, 2008). Alcohol poisoning is also a serious

concern. As noted earlier, only twenty times a normal amount of alcohol can kill someone, while

a 160lb man would have to ingest THC equal to about “900 joints,” (a cigarette-like amount) in

one sitting in order to risk poisoning, while most users do not even smoke a single joint in one

sitting (Cloud, 2002).

Of course, saying that something is no worse than another is hardly a solid argument, so

what benefits does marijuana provide? First, there are a number of medical uses with fewer side

effects compared to prescription drugs. Mr. Trujillo, the author’s father in-law, has suffered from

polio since early childhood, and after trying a myriad of prescription pills, was prescribed

medical marijuana by his doctor. Mr. Trujillo, age 50, describes his reasoning: “I suffer a lot

from restless nerves at night and it helps me to relax and go to sleep so I can get through the next

day… When you take medication, you become addicted to it, but I can go without [marijuana]

for a day, but with [prescription pills] I get that “medicine-head” and have to constantly take it.

And with [prescription pills] you get all those side-effects, and with [marijuana] you don’t get

any of those…I feel like a regular person” (D. Trujillo, personal communication, Nov. 9, 2009).

Mr. Trujillo is not alone. Although many people relate glaucoma to medicinal marijuana

use, it is actually not always the best choice because it must be used often (several times a day)

to relieve intraocular pressure (Glaucoma Research Foundation, n.d.). However, marijuana has

shown considerable benefits for patients undergoing chemotherapy, a treatment Kenmore, Co.

in Kerry,
that often causes them to feel nauseous and causes vomiting which brings about Ireland built

this house
anorexia and cachexia (NCI, 2000). Research from the National Cancer Institute
using hemp

(2000) has shown that marijuana, in cigarette form or its synthetic form, Marinol, products

(2009).
helps to decrease nausea and increase appetite. They also note that the THC in
 The Cash Crop 6

natural marijuana cigarettes absorbs more quickly than the manufactured form. Marijuana also

has great potential as a pain reliever, especially with diseases causing nerve problems like polio,

and in aiding aids patients and the like with appetite and other issues.

Separate from the drug portion of the plant,

hemp provides a number of benefits as well. Hemp is

the stalk of the plant while marijuana mainly comprised

of the leaves and flowers. Hemp is particularly useful as a

material because the stalk is comprised of very strong

fibers and hurds, a pulp-like substance (Priesnitz, 2009). As Rolf Priesnitz relates in his article

“Hemp for Houses,” hemp can be used in a variety of construction projects (2009). It can be used

in nearly every part of a house; from foundation to roofing, hemp provides an often more

affordable, stronger, and environmentally friendly material compared to traditional sources

(Priesnitz, 2009). Another use for the plant is hemp paper. Hemp is a stronger, more durable, and

more recyclable material than wood paper. In fact, hemp paper was the first modern paper,

created in China, and the U.S. Constitution was drafted on it (Paper

Industry Association Council, 2009). Hemp can also be used as a food

source and is high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Perhaps during these times of economic uncertainty, the most

compelling benefit that legalization can provide is financial. As Hans

Farmer harvesting hemp.

Fastre, the CEO of the largest hemp foods company in the U.S. relates, “If hemp farmers

Hemp fiber is used to make a variety of products, including are able to grow hemp, we’ll be able to better supply U.S.
dog collars, clothing, and rope (Pooch N Caboodle, 2008).

consumers with more affordable hemp foods, from locally

grown hemp seeds, while directly supporting American farmers,” (Brones, 2009). His company

alone is expected to import over $2 million in hemp seeds next year (Brones, 2009). Not only
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could legalization provide jobs for farmers, but like with alcohol and cigarette sales, carries

potential jobs in quality control, sales, and other markets. With the unemployment rate currently

at 7.2%, about 2.6 million people, a new market could help many people take care of their family

and necessities (Goldman, 2009).

In addition to saving and creating jobs, legalization

could save the U.S. money on imports as well as create

money from taxes. The hemp industry in North America

brings in over $360 billion dollars, but the U.S. is able to

regulations and must pay to import our hemp products

(Brones, 2009). In just the raw materials of hemp, the U.S.

imported nearly 2 million pounds of hemp fiber, yarn and fabric in 1999 (USDA, 2001). About a

quarter of adults in the U.S. smoke marijuana and a about a quarter of adults smoke cigarettes,

but the U.S. only benefits from one (NHSDA, 2002; QuitSmokingSupport.com, 2009).

According to the CDC (September 2009), in 2007 states received $24.9 billion in taxes and

settlements from the tobacco industry. In California, the USDA estimates that the marijuana

industry is valued at $14 billion a year, making it the state’s largest agricultural commodity

(Stateman, 2009). The state’s tax collectors estimate that if marijuana were to be legalized and

taxed, it could “bring in about $1.3 billion a year in much needed revenue,” (Stateman, 2009).

The national implications are even greater.

Legalizing marijuana has the potential to improve the lives of Americans in a number of

ways. Patients suffering from a variety of ailments and not wishing to endure the side effects of

pharmaceutical medication can relieve themselves without fear of federal retribution. Farmers

can begin production of an environmentally friendly and stable commodity that has a sound

market. The economy can enjoy a boost in production and workers from quality control to sales
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can enter through a new field. Furthermore, the U.S. budget will secure money otherwise spent

on imports and receive funds from taxes to contribute to a balanced budget. Other than short-

term effects comparable to those of alcohol, marijuana has no proven negative repercussions.

With so much to gain and so little to lose, legalizing marijuana is the common sense choice of

action.
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References

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Brones, A. (October 2009). Legalize it and I will industrialize it: industrial hemp is the engine to

kickstart this economy. The Huffington Post. Retrieved Oct. 27, 2009, from

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Cloud, J. (2002). Is pot food for you? Time. Retrieved Oct. 24, 2009, from
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lung-tumors
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