Recently police hacked down billions of dollars worth of marijuana plants in the country's top pot-growing states to cut down a bumper crop that was growing. California, the nation's top marijuana growing state, saw a major increase in the amount grown in 2009. The number of plants destroyed in California has increased over the last 3 years. Growers in a three-state area of central Appalachia have also reversed the decline in the cultivation of "pot" over the last two years. More than 600,000 marijuana plants were destroyed in the summer of 2009 in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. Many of the plants are grown in remote regions high up in the mountains.
The combined street value of plants chopped down in the first 8 months of 2009 is around $12 billion. The demand for domestically grown marijuana is the highest that it's ever been. Part of this is due to the border patrols that make it harder to get marijuana in from Mexico. It has been noted also, that the demand seems to be increasing with the unemployment rate. Growth of plants was slowed down for several years but the number of growers has increased with the economic downturn,
The use of marijuana for medical purposes is always being asked: "Should marijuana be legal?" This topic is a very hot one and there is usually a very strong response either por or con The medical use of marijuana has been a hot topic for the past decade. Doctors in a few states can approve the medical use of marijuana for treatment of chronic/debilitating medical conditions such as: cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn's Disease, agitation of Alzheimer's disease, severe nausea ( especially as a result of chemotherapy) and seizures.
Marijuana, the most commonly used illegal drug in the US is taken from the leaves and flowering tops of the Cannabis plant. It first became popular in the United States in the 1920's and can also come in a concentrated, resinous form called hashish and a sticky black liquid called hash oil. The average potency has increased over the past 20 years.
Marijuana can be smoked/used in many ways:
Rolled into joints (marijuana cigarettes)
Blunts (marijuana rolled into the leaf wrap of a hallowed-out cigar)
Used in a vaporizer
One of the dangers of smoking marijuana is the possibility that it has been laced with other, more dangerous substances such as crack, cocaine, PCP or even embalming fluid. With unregulated drugs such as marijuana, the user has no way of knowing what has been added.
source: The Associated Press
