hash crop a cash crop

Washington state's marijuana farmers could have earned $270 million from all the plants seized by law enforcement in the past year, according to The Olympian.

The estimated $270 million value of the plants seized in 2005 ranked just above sweet cherries, which were valued at $242 million in 2004, and just below the $329 million the state’s nurseries and greenhouses produced. Apples are the state’s No. 1 agricultural commodity, bringing $962.5 million in 2004.

Not only does our state lose tax revenue by destroying pot plants, it pays huge social and economic costs to lose tax revenue.

One pewter lining in this smoky cloud: our pot farmers' resourcefulness and genuine American ingenknowhow.

“We’re struck by the amount of work they put into it,” [Washington State Patrol's Lt. Rich] Wiley said. “It’s very labor intensive. They often run individual drip lines to each plant, and are out there fertilizing them. It takes a tremendous amount of work.”