>Zeke said: "Hmmm, wonder what that would do to the beef and chicken? "
Damn, now we're back to grass-fed beef again. I guess the chickens would get all laid back, or would that be the eggs. >My guess is that the legalization of marijuana would make the prices >of beef and chicken increase because the supply would remain the >same, but the demand would go through the roof -- I mean, there is >the "munchies factor" to consider. Beef and chicken, for munchies?? Whatever happened to lemon meringue pie? These young people of today, good grief. Anyway, it's interesting. The likes of ADM, Cargill and Monsanto would have us believe crops can't be grown without them, and yet there you are, the biggest crop is grown without them. I read somewhere it's the biggest crop in Canada too. I'm not that convinced the industrial variety is such a great energy crop though, as claimed. Last time I looked it seemed they were including both the oil from the seeds and the biomass, but I think you get either the one or the other, not both. Using the oil for energy is a bit nuts, there are better markets, and it's a drying oil anyway, not so good for biodiesel. Best Keith >John > > > >On Feb 14, 2007, at 12:22 PM, Zeke Yewdall wrote: > >>Yeah, if we can subsidize it to the point that corn is, the price >>will drop through the floor, everyone will start loosing money >>growing it, and we can start feeding it to factory livestock >>because it's so cheap. Hmmm, wonder what that would do to the beef >>and chicken? >> >>On 2/14/07, Mike Weaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> >>>Keith Addison wrote: >>> >>> >See "Invisible farming": >>> >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html#invis >>> > >>> >--- >>> > >>> >Marijuana Production in the United States (2006) >>> >by Jon Gettman >>> > >>> >Full text online. >>> >http://www.drugscience.org/bcr/ >>> > >>> >Entire Report (356 kb pdf) >>> >http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr2/MJCropReport_2006.pdf >>> > >>> >---- >>> > >>> > http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017&page=1 >>> >ABC News: >>> >February 14, 2007 | Local News and Weather >>> > >>> >Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop >>> > >>> >Marijuana Takes the Pot as Most Valuable Cash Crop in the Country >>> > >>> >Marijuana is the top cash crop in 12 states and among the top three >>> >cash crops in 30, according to a new study. (AP Photo ) >>> > >>> >By NITYA VENKATARAMAN >>> > >>> >Dec. 18, 2006 >>> > >>> >Weeding through the value of the nation's cash crops, a study >>> >released today states that marijuana is the U.S.'s most valuable crop >>> >and promotes the drug's legalization and taxation. >>> > >>> >Drug enforcement officials say the equation is not that simple. >>> > >>> >The report, "Marijuana Production in the United States," by marijuana >>> >policy researcher Jon Gettman, concludes that despite massive >>> >eradication efforts at the hands of the federal government, >>> >"marijuana has become a pervasive and ineradicable part of the >>> >national economy." >>> > >>> >In the report, Gettman, a marijuana-reform activist and leader of the >>> >Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, champions a system of legal >>> >regulation. >>> > >>> >Contrasting government figures for traditional crops - like corn and >>> >wheat - against the study's projections for marijuana production, the >>> >report cites marijuana as the top cash crop in 12 states and among >>> >the top three cash crops in 30. >>> > >>> >The study estimates that marijuana production, at a value of $35.8 >>> >billion, exceeds the combined value of corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat >>> >($7.5 billion). >>> > >>> >Pot Tax? >>> > >>> >To activists for marijuana legalization, the study confirms a >>> >position they've held for years, and uses government stats to support >>> >their claim. >>> > >>> >"The fact that marijuana is America's No. 1 cash crop after more than >>> >three decades of governmental eradication efforts is the clearest >>> >illustration that our present marijuana laws are a complete failure," >>> >says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project >>> >in Washington D.C., a group that focuses on removing criminal >>> >penalties for marijuana use. >>> > >>> >Kampia, whose comments were included in the study's press release, >>> >adds, "Our nation's laws guarantee that 100 percent of the proceeds >>> >from marijuana sales go to unregulated criminals rather than to >>> >legitimate businesses that pay taxes to support schools, police and >>> >roads." >>> > >>> >A 2005 analysis by Harvard visiting professor Jeffrey Miron estimates >>> >that if the United States legalized marijuana, the country would save >>> >$7.7 billion in law enforcement costs and could generated as much as >>> >$6.2 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like alcohol or tobacco. >>> > >>> >Miron's report on the costs of marijuana prohibition was signed by >>> >more than 500 leading economists, most notably the late Nobel >>> >laureate Milton Friedman, who served as an economist in both the >>> >Nixon and Reagan administrations. >>> > >>> >The Dangers of Legalization >>> > >>> >Aside from the health debate over legalizing marijuana, Garrison >>> >Courtney, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency, says groups that >>> >advocate its taxation sometimes paint too rosy a picture. >>> > >>> >"It's still a drug," Courtney says. "Just because it's a good cash >>> >crop doesn't mean you should legalize and tax it." >>> > >>> >"It's not these cute mom-and-pop bong shops anymore," Courtney >>> >continued. "It's violent drug-trafficking groups that are doing all >>> >these grows." >>> > >>> >Local marijuana growers, he says, are the tentacles of international >>> >drug-trafficking organizations that bring weapons, violence and a >>> >slew of other drugs into the market. >>> > >>> >"You can't tax a Mexican drug trafficking group," Courtney explains. >>> >"That's the side a lot of people don't focus on." _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
