| HEMPOLOGY.ORG: THE STUDY OF HEMP
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Legislator blasts hemp eradication programs
By Chris Conrad
Vermont legislator Fred Maslack is fuming that the nation's marijuana eradication program is little more than a pretext to destroy the nation's feral hemp genetic pool, left over from the World War II Hemp for Victory program.
"I think there is an expertise presumed on DEA's part that should not be presumed, so I had the state auditor of accounts analyze eradication spending. The most damning statistic in there is that 99.28% of the marijuana eradicated nationally is in fact ditchweed. Cultivated marijuana is less than 3/4 of 1% of the total cannabis eradicated annually.
"It is no wonder the DEA is fighting hemp tooth and nail, because that is what their whole campaign is against; in the form of ditchweed. As far as the War on Drugs is concerned they would be better off pulling up goldenrod. This aspect shows what the DEA's real interest is. For as long as I've been following this data, ditchweed has been the issue, and it is a great fraud being perpetrated on the American people, because there is no drug potential in this stuff, DEA testimony notwithstanding.
"They're misrepresenting what they're doing," he said. "It amounts to consumer fraud; it may all be labeled marijuana, but it certainly won't get you high. Personally I feel that my intelligence is being grievously insulted."
A keen supporter of public safety, Maslack feels that this program is actually a detriment to police crime control. "It's high time to reallocate this law enforcement money. I hate to rain on their outdoor recreational activities, but the same money could just as well be used to control drunk drivers, which is a better use of the funds and that's where they should be redirected." [ Representative Fred Maslack, 800-322-5616, Fmaslack@Leg.state.vt.us ]
[Ed's note: The total number of ditchweed cannabis plants reported to be eradicated in 1996 exceeds 400 million! South Dakota and Missouri eradicated over 150 million ditchweed plants each. These plants should be processed for their fiber and hurd content instead of being destroyed.]
| SOURCE: VERMONT STATE AUDITOR'S REPORT ON THE DOMESTIC CANNABIS ERADICATION SUPPRESSION PROGRAM, DATED JANUARY 16, 1998. |
| State | Grant Amount | Ditchweed Eradicated | Outdoor Plants | Indoor Plants | Out + In Subtotal | Cost / Cultv'td Plant | Total Plants | % D'weed To Total |
| South Dakota | $105,000 | 189,694,084 | 224 | 0 | 224 | $468.75 | 189,694,308 | 100.0% |
| Missouri | $535,038 | 156,839,311 | 53,157 | 1,782 | 54,939 | $9.74 | 156,894,250 | 99.96% |
| Indiana | $400,000 | 30,087,547 | 41,747 | 4,532 | 46,279 | $8.64 | 30,133,826 | 99.85% |
| Illinois | $300,000 | 20,545,031 | 15,267 | 1,723 | 16,990 | $17.66 | 20,562,021 | 99.92% |
| Wisconsin | $224,500 | 9,551,143 | 13,414 | 4,518 | 17,932 | $12.52 | 9,569,075 | 99.81% |
| Minnesota | $150,000 | 3,962,511 | 87,034 | 1,160 | 88,194 | $1.70 | 4,050,705 | 97.82% |
| Nebraska | $55,000 | 3,312,336 | 291 | 98 | 389 | $141.39 | 3,312,725 | 99.99% |
| North Dakota | $60,000 | 3,205,000 | 882 | 71 | 953 | $62.96 | 3,205,953 | 99.97% |
| Oklahoma | $339,250 | 1,333,023 | 45,152 | 4,479 | 49,631 | $6.84 | 1,382,654 | 96.41% |
| Texas | $380,000 | 495,402 | 17,011 | 927 | 17,938 | $21.18 | 513,340 | 96.51% |
| West Virginia | $123,500 | 449,374 | 30,969 | 1,264 | 32,233 | $3.83 | 481,607 | 93.31% |
| Kansas | $177,000 | 77,553 | 14,597 | 483 | 15,080 | $11.74 | 92,633 | 83.72% |
| Colorado | $78,000 | 60,309 | 23,573 | 6,010 | 29,583 | $2.64 | 89,892 | 67.09% |
| Vermont | $45,000 | 19,964 | 4,027 | 1,479 | 5,506 | $8.17 | 25,470 | 78.38% |
| Kentucky | $550,000 | 9,416 | 523,777 | 14,968 | 538,745 | $1.02 | 548,161 | 1.72% |
| Michigan | $180,000 | 7,364 | 53,922 | 4,502 | 58,424 | $3.08 | 65,788 | 11.19% |
| Iowa | $62,000 | 5,000 | 354 | 30 | 384 | $161.46 | 5,384 | 92.87% |
| Delaware | $18,000 | 3,900 | 4,755 | 101 | 4,856 | $3.71 | 8,756 | 44.54% |
| California | $712,591 | 944 | 337,927 | 48,335 | 386,262 | $1.84 | 387,206 | 0.24% |
| New York | $125,000 | 785 | 129,029 | 10,367 | 139,396 | $0.90 | 140,181 | 0.56% |
| Mississippi | $160,000 | 25 | 12,868 | 253 | 13,121 | $12.19 | 13,146 | 0.19% |
| Hawaii | $520,000 | 0 | 552,923 | 442 | 553,365 | $0.94 | 553,365 | 0.00% |
| Tennessee | $503,400 | 0 | 427,897 | 3,479 | 431,376 | $1.17 | 431,376 | 0.00% |
| North Carolina | $100,000 | 0 | 63,209 | 1,475 | 64,684 | $1.55 | 64,684 | 0.00% |
| Florida | $156,000 | 0 | 65,915 | 28,420 | 94,335 | $1.65 | 94,335 | 0.00% |
| Alabama | $326,000 | 0 | 90,162 | 509 | 90,671 | $3.60 | 90,671 | 0.00% |
| Pennsylvania | $70,000 | 0 | 16,445 | 1,772 | 18,217 | $3.84 | 18,217 | 0.00% |
| Georgia | $200,000 | 0 | 42,741 | 8,035 | 50,776 | $3.94 | 50,776 | 0.00% |
| Ohio | $225,000 | 0 | 43,631 | 1,215 | 44,846 | $5.02 | 44,846 | 0.00% |
| Maine | $83,000 | 0 | 7,734 | 4,551 | 12,285 | $6.76 | 12,285 | 0.00% |
| Arkansas | $280,000 | 0 | 39,147 | 879 | 40,026 | $7.00 | 40,026 | 0.00% |
| Oregon | $322,200 | 0 | 15,428 | 23,220 | 38,648 | $8.34 | 38,648 | 0.00% |
| South Carolina | $110,000 | 0 | 12,554 | 103 | 12,657 | $8.69 | 12,657 | 0.00% |
| Alaska | $110,000 | 0 | 186 | 10,185 | 10,371 | $10.61 | 10,371 | 0.00% |
| New Mexico | $20,000 | 0 | 1,792 | 36 | 1,828 | $10.94 | 1,828 | 0.00% |
| Virginia | $230,000 | 0 | 17,616 | 772 | 18,388 | $12.51 | 18,388 | 0.00% |
| Idaho | $45,000 | 0 | 3,216 | 351 | 3,567 | $12.62 | 3,567 | 0.00% |
| Washington | $300,000 | 0 | 4,618 | 18,702 | 23,320 | $12.86 | 23,320 | 0.00% |
| Maryland | $74,690 | 0 | 3,776 | 768 | 4,544 | $16.44 | 4,544 | 0.00% |
| Louisiana | $275,000 | 0 | 12,635 | 513 | 13,148 | $20.92 | 13,148 | 0.00% |
| Massachusetts | $57,000 | 0 | 2,315 | 135 | 2,450 | $23.27 | 2,450 | 0.00% |
| Connecticut | $42,000 | 0 | 815 | 603 | 1,418 | $29.62 | 1,418 | 0.00% |
| Nevada | $35,000 | 0 | 388 | 690 | 1,078 | $32.47 | 1,078 | 0.00% |
| New Jersey | $70,000 | 0 | 1,946 | 204 | 2,150 | $32.56 | 2,150 | 0.00% |
| Arizona | $117,000 | 0 | 2,730 | 509 | 3,239 | $36.12 | 3,239 | 0.00% |
| New Hampshire | $45,000 | 0 | 616 | 403 | 1,019 | $44.16 | 1,019 | 0.00% |
| Montana | $65,000 | 0 | 53 | 614 | 667 | $97.45 | 667 | 0.00% |
| Rhode Island | $15,000 | 0 | 92 | 0 | 92 | $163.04 | 92 | 0.00% |
| Utah | $60,000 | 0 | 220 | 57 | 277 | $216.61 | 277 | 0.00% |
| Wyoming | $5,000 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | $1,666.67 | 3 | 0.00% |
| TOTALS | $9,241,169 | 419,660,022 | 2,840,777 | 215,727 | 3,056,504 | $3.02 | 422,716,526 | 99.28% |