Marijuana Top U.S. Cash Crop, Policy Analyst Says

A study released Monday by an advocate of medical marijuana use said that U.S. growers produced nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop. This figure is larger than that for corn and wheat combined.

The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also concluded that five United States states produce more than $1 billion worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington.

Gettman, who waged an unsuccessful six-year battle to force the government to remove marijuana from a list of drugs deemed to have no medical value, based his figures on several government reports between 2002 and 2005 estimating the United States produced more than 10,000 metric tons of marijuana annually.

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