[mrweasel]

0.6% is still a lot of money. I'm not sure who the US does it's budgets, but in other countries the politicians are fighting over perhaps 1 - 5% of the actual budget, the rest is fixed. The Danish government has a budget of around 1 trillion Danish kroner, but the actual negotiations in parliament only revolves around 5 - 10 billion.

Missing 0.6% pretty much removes the entire bargaining platform.

[maxerickson]

Yeah, it's a lot, but it's low enough that I wouldn't expect taxation to be a primary issue in the policy debate over marijuana.

[sferoze]

There is just no interest in making it legal because it is a cash crop that anyone can grow and benefit from.

There is more to marijuana then it being a recreational drug. It is also a very valuable material that can be used in a variety of other products. Search hemp products on google and you will find a variety of uses.

The fact that we have outlawed hemp in human society is insanity but it makes sense in the context of big business and competition. Do some research on what is takes to grow cotton vs growing hemp.

"The "fabric of our lives" needs approximately twice as much territory as hemp per ton of finished textile, the land-use miser of the bunch. Further complicating matters is the inverse relationship between chemical use and land requirements." - [1]

Hemp is a plant that is so valuable for its use in products, and it is really easy for anyone to grow. It's a weed, its grows like crazy! Doesn't sound very profitable from a big business perspective does it?

[1] - http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_l...

[maxerickson]

At least if you ever have to eat your hat, it will be made out of a strong and durable natural fiber.

[sferoze]

I am pretty confused about your comment, care to explain?

[maxerickson]

I was riffing on an idiom and your apparent interest in hemp.

The use of the idiom in this situation would be something like "If industrial hemp production is allowed in the United States, I'll eat my hat.", meaning that you don't think it will ever happen.

So I was joking that if it did become legal, because of your appreciation for the material, at least the hat you would have to eat would be made out of hemp.

[sferoze]

That is not what I think.

If there is enough public pressure and people start demanding that hemp production be legal, the laws will change.

As long as a large percentage of the population is fine with hemp being illegal it stands no chance. Most people really don't know what they are missing out on, its not just a drug, it is a very valuable plant that has documented use in human society for thousands of years.