A policeman found an abandoned rental truck -- its engine still warm -- sitting by the side of the road, the back stuffed with plastic-wrapped bundles of marijuana.
"Somebody's going be in some major trouble for walking away and leaving that quantity sitting on the side of the freeway," said Sgt Telfinues Preszler Jnr of the California Highway Patrol.
"I'm glad I'm not him."
A recent report estimates that despite intensive eradication plans, $35 billion of marijuana is produced every year in the US, making it this country's top cash crop.
Of course, this makes me ask the obvious question; why doesn't the government legalize and regulate -- and tax -- marijuana?? What idiots.
Cited story.
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tags: marijuana
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Marijuana producers just don't have an effective lobby, the way that tobacco producers do.
I do not think it is that they do not have an effective lobby like tobacco so much as it is that a lot of people make money from the fact that it is illegal. Tons of money spent fighting it means tons of money made by someone.
Marijuana producers don't want it legal; just like the cops and prison industry don't want it legal, it would be bad for business. To many people are making money of a weed that will grow just about anywhere to want it legal. It wouldn't cost $30+ an ounce if it was legal, it would cost next to nothing.
Yeah, the "Drug War" has become a multibillion-dollar industry benefiting a lot of deep-pocket interests.
Also the aspiring fascists in our government love the idea of outlawing things that people are going to do anyway... it just brings them closer to their ideal of being able to arrest anyone, any time they want.
One group working against the insanity is the Drug Policy Alliance, at www.dpf.org. (Note that their domain name reflects a previous acronym, when they were just a "foundation".)
I've also read (though I've forgotten where) that Big Tobacco is already breeding strains of marijuana laced with chemicals found in cigarettes to make it more addictive. They're waiting for it to become legal, so they can start selling Wacky Tobacky legally, with all the trappings of cigarettes. I've found this to be a major reason why even pot smokers don't want to see it legalized - legalization can only be followed by commericalization in our capitalist society. Decriminalization is obviously the way to go.