Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Washington (Agenzia Fides) – Unexpected have been the findings that the number one cash crop in the United States in not corn, wheat, or cotton, but marijuana. A report done, gathering information from various US federal entities as well, shows that the marijuana industry in the US in worth $35.8 billion. There are a total of 56.4 million marijuana plants cultivated outdoors worth $31.7 billion and 11.7 million plants cultivated indoors worth $4.1 billion.
It is a situation that causes concern, especially among the leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States, due to the harm that is spread from the use of drugs among the youth and other victims, as well as the number of cases of mental illnesses it causes. Just one year ago, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the high rate of chemical dependence from drugs and narcotics, in his visit to “Fazenda da Esperança” in Brazil, on May 12, 2007. He spoke emphatically saying, “therefore urge the drug-dealers to reflect on the grave harm they are inflicting on countless young people and on adults from every level of society: God will call you to account for your deeds. Human dignity cannot be trampled upon in this way.”
This is all in addition to the contradiction that exists between a legal system that finances the extermination of Colombian cocaine plantations and the apparent impossibility that exists in entering into a private home to stop marijuana production.
Marijuana is the top cash crop in 12 states and among the top three in 30 states, and among the top 5 in 39 states. The marijuana culture is more extended than that of cotton in Alabama, than grapes, vegetables, and hay in California, than peanuts in Georgia, than tobacco in South and North Carolina.
According to government data, the internal production of marijuana has multiplied by 10 in the last 25 years: from 1000 tons in 1981 to 10,000 tons in 2006. In five States (California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii, and Washington), the marijuana crop is worth over $1 billion.
California is the main producer and exporter within the United States. California contains 13.25% of annual marijuana users in the United States and also accounts for 38.68% of the marijuana produced in the United States. The rest is exported to the other states in the US.
In California, marijuana has now substituted wine as the main cash crop, thanks to a sophisticated system of 2-mile-long tubes that allow for outdoor irrigation of the crop. The plants are fertilized and cultivated by Latin American workers who arrive in the country for this very purpose. The illegal drug manufacturing system is thus linked to that of illegal employment: modern slaves forced to produce a substance that makes other people slaves of vice!
The “cultivators” protect the harvest with armed guards, explosive traps, and guard dogs, creating a kind of “duty-free zone” and making it difficult and dangerous for the police force to take action.
Marijuana, which is the “light” drug par excellence, is no less dangerous than other drugs. In fact, the marijuana grown indoors, from California and Canada (where manufacturing has doubled from 2000-2004, according to local authorities), has a greater quantity of THC, the main active ingredient in the drug, than that grown outdoors. Although, with time, the marijuana grown outdoors in central California is also gaining a higher quantity of THC. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 30/7/2008)
