The federal government has spent a lot of money on eradicating illegal marijuana in the last year. The eradication efforts even went on in the states that have legalized marijuana for adults. Several lawmakers are asking the government to use the eradication funds towards more productive programs such as domestic violence but there have been no positive developments in this regard.
The Money Spent by the Federal Government
The federal government has spent about $18 million in the cannabis eradication program in the year 2015. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial program details were shared by the administration. It also said that federal, state and local authorities evacuated about 4.1 million cultivated marijuana plants that were present in all 50 states.
In 2014, the number of plants was 4.3 million. The money spent by the federal government in 2014 was about the same. The cost of destroying a plant comes down to $4.42 in 2015 while it was $4.20 in 2014.
The Program
The program allows local and state law enforcement agencies to search, seize, and destroy illegal marijuana plants in the USA. A large amount of money to fund this program is offered from the asset forfeiture fund of the Justice Department. The program money is also used to employ helicopters to scour the countryside areas for the production of marijuana.
The Better Use of Funds
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. Along with a small group of lawmakers had tried to pass a legislation that aims to redirect the funds involved in marijuana eradication into more productive uses like the domestic violence prevention programs. They were unsuccessful in their efforts and their leader still thinks that marijuana must be removed from Schedule I classification and DEA must not allow the wasteful eradication program to go on for long.
States that have Legalized Marijuana
The eradication operation was also conducted in the states such as Oregon and Washington that have now legalized marijuana use for the recreational purpose by the adults. In Washington only, about 36,000 plants were done away with and the cost of it came ou to about $950,000. It means that the DEA spent about $26 per plant.
States Not Accepting Federal Government Help
There are states like Colorado and Alaska that refused to use the federal government funds to do away with the illegal marijuana plants. They stuck to removing the illegal marijuana plants on their own.
