Your Economy On Marijuana

With the opening of iGrow just over the Bay Bridge in Oakland, California and countless legislation bills around the country its about time that we have a serious talk about marijuana.


Our economy is still in shambles and economists predict that things are not going to get better anytime soon.  So what do we do to stimulate this economy?  It's not like money grows on trees...or does it?


Here are some interesting statistics that were featured in the Rolling Stone's April 1, 2010 issue titled "Marijuanamerica" by Mark Binelli:

• Annual revenue of California's weed industry = $14 billion
• # of states in which marijuana is the cash crop = 12
• # of pot plants eradicated in California's Sequoia National Forests in a 2008 operation = 420,000
• Estimated street value of those plants, if harvested = Over $1 billion
• Total weight of all marijuana plants seized by the DEA in 2009 = 3,285 tons
• Total estimated street value of those seizures = 31.5 billion
• Estimated annual cost of marijuana prohibition to taxpayers = $42 billion

With these statistics, making marijuana legal sounds like a feasible solution to a speedy economic recovery which could actually become a reality on the November 2010 ballot in the state of California.

Tom Ammiano, California State Assembly Member, is the main backer of the initiative that has recieved 700,000 signatures which will make it possible to get the measure on the ballot.  If passed, the initiative would make it legal for anyone 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana and grow plants in an area no larger than 25 square feet for personal use.  It would also allow cities and counties to permit marijuana to be grown and sold, and to impose taxes on it.

If this is to pass there are still certain measures that need to be taken and things that need to be monitored closely.  Like making sure production is still moving along smoothly and people aren't smoking too much and getting "too relaxed." And also making sure that the growers are not booted out of thier profession because of a few companies trying to monopolize.  Like Nick Tennant, founder of a pot-growing business-like class in Detroit, Michigan says: 

"It's better for society to stimulate micro-economies of scale.  You give 10,000 people the oppurtunity to make $50,000 a year, rather than giving 10 people the oppurtunity to make $10 million a year."

See a story discussing whether Marijuana is good for you.

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Pink Slips Are Not Going Away

Los Angeles Unified School District could be sending out more pink slips to their already sparse roster of teachers. The school board, yet again, unanimously approved layoffs as a way to close an expected $640 million budget gap.

The first positions that will be eliminated are school nurses and librarians as well as an increase in class sizes in an already inundated school system that is the second largest in the country, after New York City.

This news comes in wake of the vote by LAUSD to hand over some its public schools to charter school operators and teachers groups as part of an experiment to see whether outsiders will have better luck improving student achievement. The board awarded four schools to charter groups, and two schools to a group led by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“We’re extremely disappointed in the vote today,” said Lauren Carter, administer for ICEF, Inner City Education Foundation, a charter school group that runs 15 schools in Los Angeles and hoped to be awarded a new school. Instead the board voted to give the school to a teachers’ group. “We were looking for more bold action from board members to make decisions for what was in the best interests of the kids. It’s a sad, sad day for us.”

Under a resolution passed last year, the Los Angeles Board of Education for the first time allowed charter schools and outsiders to bid for the right to operate schools deemed “public school choice” sites.

Charter schools are said to be doing quite well according to a Times analysis that showed, overall, L.A. charter schools deliver higher test scores than traditional public schools.

These type of cuts are taking place all over the United States so this recession is obviously far from over. With all of these cuts taking place and a complete overhual of the healthcare system its going to be very interesting to see what our nation will look like in a few of years. One thing is certain and that is if we don't raise a competent next generation things will be looking bleaker than they do now.

U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated that he wants to “make sure there is flexibility on the local level. We cannot begin, nor do we want to micromanage 100,000 schools from Washington. The best ideas have always come from the local levels and we want to continue to support that.” I am sure the local-level-less-government touting Republicans will be happy about that one.

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White House To Invest $850 Million For Black Colleges And Universities

White House To Invest $850 Million For Black Colleges And Universities

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U.S. - Cuba Foreign Policy Looking Up

Americans are one step closer to being able to travel to Cuba. Obama is making small but progressive moves, along with Fidel and Raul Castro, to settle the bitter feud that has been going on for half a century.

Today in Washington, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson )D-MN), Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS), and at least 31 of their House colleagues introduced new legislation HR 4645 that would finally restore diplomacy between the two countries allowing for travel, telecommunications and agricultural sales to the island.

“U.S. producers are the closest suppliers that can help meet the food and agriculture needs of the Cuban people. Opportunities to sell to paying customers in Cuba have been hindered by bureaucratic red tape and by arbitrary prohibitions on the ability of U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. This bill cuts the red tape and allows that trade and travel to happen,” Chairman Peterson said.

Although Cuba is benefitting from tourism and farming it is still an isolated island that struggles to feed its population. Communist Cuba is known to have reputable health and education systems and the embargo has hindered American students from using its educational institutions.

After the Cuban revolution the US placed an embargo that would last until Cuba moved toward “democratization and greater respect for human rights.” It didn’t help that in 1996 the Cuban military struck down and killed the passengers of an unarmed U.S. civilian aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba.

Since then, there has been a National Emergency Act placed between the two countries denying monetary and material support to the Cuban government.

Many say that the full embargo will be lifted by the end of the 2010.

What is still left for interpretation is the fact that the U.S. leases Gauntanamo Bay land from Cuba. Castro says that he hasn’t cashed any of the checks since the 50s when the Cuban Revolution took place.

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