Quote :

"98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is "Ditchweed," DEA Admits September 7, 2006 - Washington, DC, USA Washington, DC: More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law enforcement in the United States is feral hemp not cultivated cannabis, according to newly released data by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. According to the data, available online at: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t4382005.pdf, of the estimated 223 million marijuana plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2005, approximately 219 million were classified as "ditchweed," a term the agency uses to define "wild, scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or tending." Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade. Previous DEA reports have indicated that between 98 and 99 percent of all the marijuana plants eradicated by US law enforcement is ditchweed. NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized the DEA program for spending millions of taxpayers' dollars to predominantly eradicate wild hemp. "The irony, of course, is that industrial hemp is grown legally throughout most the Western world as a commercial crop for its fiber content," he said. "Yet the US government is spending taxpayers' money to target and eradicate this same agricultural commodity." According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report, "The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop." St. Pierre said that most of the hemp plants eradicated by law enforcement are remnants of US-government subsidized crops that existed prior to World War II. "Virtually all wild hemp goes unharvested and presents no legitimate threat to public safety," he said. "As such, it should be of no concern to the federal government or law enforcement." According to DEA figures, Indiana reported seizing over 212 million ditchweed plants - far more than any other state. Missouri law enforcement confiscated some 4.5 million plants, and Kansas reported eradicating approximately 1.2 million plants. More than half of all states failed to report their ditchweed totals. California led all 50 states in the number of cultivated cannabis plants eradicated in 2005, with the DEA reporting that more than 2 million plants had been destroyed. The Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program is a joint federal and state effort funded, in part, by the DEA. STATE LEADERS: DITCHWEED ERADICATED (2005) Indiana (212,441,768 plants confiscated) Missouri (4,529,695 plants confiscated) Kansas (1,177,976 plants confiscated) Wisconsin (272,650 plants confiscated) Oklahoma (100,736 plants confiscated) STATE LEADERS: CULTIVATED CANNABIS** ERADICATED (2005) California (2,011,277 plants confiscated) Kentucky (510,502 plants confiscated) Tennessee (440,362 plants confiscated) Hawaii (255,113 plants eradicated) Washington (136,165 plants confiscated) **DEA footnote: "May include 'tended' ditchweed." For more information, please contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre or NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano at (202) 483-5500. updated: Sep 07, 2006 "

9/8/2006 4:44:51 AM

Another Soap Box failure. No link for the original story. No thoughts, except a thread title. Poor effort old chap. Also, what does

Quote :

" "May include 'tended' ditchweed.""

mean?

9/8/2006 7:07:17 AM

sounds like they included ditchweed that people were growing/tending, i.e. somebody finds ditchweed growing and thinks it's potent marijuana thus they start tending it and finally smoke it only to get a headache.

9/8/2006 7:35:51 AM

Quote :

"only to get a headache."

lol

^^Looks like you've gotten your answer from a tww resident expert on the subject.

9/8/2006 7:51:28 AM

ditchweed that sounds like a new name for swag

Quote :

"only to get a headache."

9/8/2006 8:14:12 AM

So regardless of whether or not it was potent, someone was growing it for illegal use? And its included in that sample of "ditchweed"

I wonder what percentage it was of the total. Hopefully not much, or else this report...is bullshit.

9/8/2006 8:30:26 AM

did you read the report?

Quote :

"Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade."

9/8/2006 9:59:36 AM

why do people hate marijuana so much?

9/8/2006 10:53:59 AM

maybe because its harmful like other illegal drugs?

oh yeah, and its illegal

9/8/2006 11:03:37 AM

its not

and i remember hiking one time and finding some random marijuana plants, i never knew there was feral hemp

9/8/2006 11:10:28 AM

^^

well my cough syrup addiction is going to kill me way before the pot does.

9/8/2006 11:15:20 AM

I remember back when I smoked myself retarded in high school...I was on some "fuck the govt" liberal type shit...then over the years I sobered up and, not coincidentally, couldnt help but face the rationalism of more conservative thought

9/8/2006 11:15:50 AM

Even if you think Marijuana is bad, you still have to agree that the schedule system is retarded

9/8/2006 11:16:56 AM

hahaha

well I dont smoke or drink cough syrup but alot of my friends who are complete pot heads are very conservative.....they just smoke alot.

kinda hilarious

9/8/2006 11:17:09 AM

marijuana use should be safe, legal, and rare.

9/8/2006 11:59:31 AM

it is the rare part that ppl like to whine about

9/8/2006 12:01:38 PM

Make marijuana and select others legal. Hang everybody that sells anything else. There, I just solved your problem.

Or, at the very least, take every dime that goes into supressing marijuana and use it to suppress other stuff as well. By hanging the bastards. OK, so I'm not going to get away from the hanging part.

9/8/2006 12:16:17 PM

Quote :

"couldnt help but face the rationalism of more conservative thought"

9/8/2006 12:24:05 PM

you can blame the Nixon administration for this whole mess

9/8/2006 12:26:58 PM

Or the fools that stand up for marijuana.

Or the *gasp!* harmful effects and illegal nature!

9/8/2006 12:28:29 PM

no seriously

before the Nixon era there was no such thing as 'scheduling drugs'

you probably have never even tried marijuana and are just parroting D.A.R.E

exactly how many deaths does marijuana cause a year anyway? surely it's more than alcohol or even tobacco since it's so harmful and illegal...oh wait

9/8/2006 12:35:58 PM

It use to be illegal for women to vote and black people to own land.

9/8/2006 12:37:16 PM

Quote :

"did you read the report? Quote : "Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade." "

Yes I read the report, but your comprehension skills blow ass


Tended Ditchweed isn't tended because people want to make rope, its tended because people are unaware that it doesn't contain THC and they want to either smoke or sell it. Therefore, its still illegal, its just that they're too stupid to do it right. Its like selling fake cocaine, you're still breaking the law and its still counted as a drug crime even though no real drugs were involved.


Therefore, tended ditchweed should be included in the illegal category and not the "wild, natually growing waste of time destroying" category.

9/8/2006 12:39:24 PM

I actually recently reversed my stance of marijuana laws. I think people over the 18 should be able to buy it and use it in private. We should tax the shit out of it, and make the penatly for giving it to minors REALLY severe.

I really don't care if people smoke weed, because I know it isn't really bad for you (it can make you really annoying to be around though)

Keep the other shit illegal though, because it is dangerous.

9/8/2006 12:42:07 PM

you don't know what youre talking about

before the 1920s, hemp was ALL OVER the goddamn country, like kudzu on the side of the freeway. do you really think the US Gov't was able to destroy each and every last plant that grew wild?

it's a weed- hence the nickname

jesus, don't you think that people would rather grow marijuana inside their houses where their plants wouldn't get destroyed or tampered with?





[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 12:44 PM. Reason : asdf]

9/8/2006 12:42:51 PM

^^^ditchweed (as they've defined it at least) doesn't have to do with whether it has been tended or not, just that it hasn't been tended such that it will have the THC that the non-feral type does.

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ^^^]

9/8/2006 12:43:28 PM

Quote :

"Or the *gasp!* harmful effects and illegal nature!"

Lets get some elaboration here on those *gasp!* harmful effects.

Also remember that not every law is necessarily reasonable, and that's why laws change over time.

Plus I've never seen anyone under the influence of marijuana do things that people under the influence of alcohol do. It's a safer drug than alcohol in many many ways.

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 12:45 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2006 12:44:41 PM

Quote :

"The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established, and recent studies have found a link between use of marijuana and depression"

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0131.html

9/8/2006 12:45:56 PM

find a link from something other than "catholiceducation" and then maybe we'd be getting somewhere.

9/8/2006 12:47:03 PM

whats wrong with that?

oh, heres the whole quote, wasnt sure if i could hold everyones attention w/ such a long one

Quote :

"Concerns were raised in a series of articles published in the Nov. 23 issue of the British Medical Journal. "The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established, and recent studies have found a link between use of marijuana and depression," the journal stated. "

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 12:49 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2006 12:48:21 PM

i don't have a problem with using a church as a source, but how about a church that isn't known for covering up the truth or molesting little boys?

9/8/2006 12:49:21 PM

^and you just lost credibility with that comment. good day!

9/8/2006 12:50:15 PM

maybe work should be illegal because it depresses the hell outa me

9/8/2006 12:58:01 PM

Quote :

"exactly how many deaths does marijuana cause a year anyway? surely it's more than alcohol or even tobacco since it's so harmful and illegal...oh wait"

you do realize that harmful and deadly are not the same thing, right?

9/8/2006 1:04:02 PM

let's start with: how many deaths does alcohol cause per year? or cigarettes? or fatty foods?

our government should not be in the business of outlawing things that are bad for us (if it is only affecting us).

9/8/2006 1:09:26 PM

fatty foods, yes. cigarettes, somewhat. alcohol and other drugs, not really.

im no big fan of alcohol, but my policity has always been "why add fuel to the fire."

9/8/2006 1:17:44 PM

of course i realize that harmful and deadly are not the same thing

but i also realize that the reason marijuana is illegal has far more to do with misinformation and propoganda than its 'harmful effects'

see: the 1920s

9/8/2006 1:20:22 PM

yeah, there's no reason whatsoever for alcohol and tobacco to be legal but marijuana be illegal.

9/8/2006 1:51:12 PM

well, there is a reason, just not a very good good reason.

9/8/2006 1:53:30 PM

9/8/2006 1:54:20 PM

Haha Randy once again shows his true colors (unintelligent, gullible).

Why is marijuana bad? Because it's illegal!

Why is marijuana illegal? Because it's bad!

ad infinitum

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 1:55 PM. Reason : Why yes, infinite regress is the path to enlightenment!]

9/8/2006 1:54:30 PM

Quote :

"I remember back when I smoked myself retarded in high school...I was on some "fuck the govt" liberal type shit...then over the years I sobered up and, not coincidentally, couldnt help but face the rationalism of more conservative thought "

this is funny on so many different levels.

9/8/2006 1:56:15 PM

^ Haha how did I miss that gem. That kid doesn't know the rules of logic and reason more than his ass from a hole in the ground.

9/8/2006 1:58:37 PM

catholiceducation.org

9/8/2006 2:12:36 PM

^ thats where I get my news

9/8/2006 2:45:31 PM

My last job made me far, far more psychotic than my stint smoking marijuana did. Actually, come to think, I was using the marijuana as a crutch to help me deal with the job.

[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 2:48 PM. Reason : No offense or anything, EarthDogg ]

9/8/2006 2:48:33 PM

work caueses depression.

i knew it

9/8/2006 2:49:12 PM

at least my name doesnt have the word Faggot in it

9/8/2006 2:59:27 PM

your user status name does

9/8/2006 3:04:24 PM

haha touche

9/8/2006 3:07:13 PM