Reply #76: So what? [View All]

[anigbrowl]

That's absolutely meaningless with a comparison to something else. So a billion is a big number; well the US is a big country, anything that's grown widely enough will be a billion dollar crop (or a multi-billion dollar crop, today). Look, being pro-pot doesn't excuse you from the need for critical thinking. Do you think maybe wheat, cotton, or corn were billion-dollar crops in 1937? Do you really think pot was the biggest crop in the US?

It's like people saying that Marijuana is CA's biggest cash crop. Well, technically it is, but some of that 'value' comes from it being illegal and the resultant high prices for bud - people who say it's the biggest cash crop use the most inflated estimates of sales and street value that the DEA etc. puts out to make their point. Additionally, while we have many other cash crops in California (eg we supply 90% of almonds sold in the US, and grow a lot of grapes for wine), the other crops, like pot are fairly specialized. When it comes to dietary staples, the big bucks are in things like soybeans, wheat, or potatoes, which amount for vast sums of money in states like Iowa, Kansas or Idaho.

I love pot. I've loved it for years. I love it so much that I'm examining the licensing requirements for opening a dispensary right now. But it's not about to displace rice, bread or potatoes when I go grocery shopping.