America's Number One Urban Agriculture Cash Crop is Marijuana/Pot

Desk of Jac Smit,
January 15, 2008

We advocates of farming in the city have for the past three decades, It is the 30th Birthday of City Farmer and the 40th year in the field for the author, focused on its value for good food and its benefit to the low income households. In the past decade we have given more attention to its benefit to the environment, and in the 21st Century to its money earning capacity.

We can not ethically further study or report the income generating capacity of urban agriculture without the cash crop Marijuana or Pot.

Pot is the largest cash crop in America and in other countries. A 1997 Study by the US Government DEA estimated a street market value of $ 44 billion. For comparison, this is approximately twice the value of America's leading legal cash crop, Corn. In the past ten years both Corn and Marijuana have increased their market share.

Beyond the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] other estimates for 1997 were: Jon Gettman, author of "Marijuana Crop Reports" and President of NORML = $ 100 billion; Dale Geirringer, NORML California = $ 30 to $50 billion; Marijuana Business News = $ 100 billion in 1998 [NORML is the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ]; it will issue a new report in 2008.

How is it that I find Pot to be an urban crop? In contradiction to its nostalgic image, Pot is mostly grown indoors from machines the size of a dishwasher to uninhabited 10,000 square foot Mac-Mansions. Outdoors now-a-days it is mostly grown in small plots in the forest. But indoors is more productive, although requiring a greater initial investment and providing less bang per ounce.

The nostalgic image from the 1960s and 70s is Pot gardens. The current common image is of an illegal criminal activity hotly chased, destroyed and punished. Here are a few contrary factoids. But don't forget the dollars!

A. The number of deaths determined to be from marijuana in the 21st Century is zero:

B. The Medical Marijuana Directory includes eleven States from Alaska to Rhode Island, with over 25 offices, which includes the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] [aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=182] C. A Legal Directory has over fifty offices, from Seattle WA to Fredericksburg VA, one of which declares a 90 percent Federal Jury trial acquittal rate.

D. The "Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" has sold over 500,000 copies and is now available in Spanish and Italian. [Marijuanagrowing.com] and the DVD I & II is on :

E. Beginners packages priced at US$ 1,500 +/- include technical support.

F. Most growing is Hydroponic and Biodynamic is spreading [biodynamics.com]

Government and University based surveys are reporting urban agriculture in 2007 has two to three percent of the food market, and we accept that we are approaching the four percent "Tipping Point". However, when we include Pot, which has a huge Hi-Tech work force, capital investment and market, we are playing in a different league. The dollar value of Pot, unlike the other big crops, is produced by small businesses and therefore generates greater benefits to local communities.

This memo only reports on the USA. Pot has a similar significance in at least 100 of the 190 countries on earth, I assert.

Refs:

1. www.marijuanabusinessnews.com
2. "The Best of High Times": Special Collector's Edition, 2008,
3. www.bionynamics.com
4. Ultimate Grow DVD at www.youtube.com
5. Marijuana Horticulture Medical Grower's Bible, Cervantes, G.
5th Edition, Book Masters, Ashland Ohio
6. www.norml.org
7. "Marijuana Crop Reports"
8. www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=182.