Marijuana Production in the United States (2006) – Domestic Marijuana Production

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American marijuana farmers grew 22.3 million pounds of marijuana in 2006 with a value of $35.8 billion. These figures, which include marijuana seized by law enforcement, include 56.4 million marijuana plants cultivated outdoors worth $31.7 billion and 11.7 million plants cultivated indoors worth $4.1 billion. Five states (California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington) had marijuana crops worth over $1 billion. The top ten outdoor producers are listed in Table 3, the top ten indoor producers are listed in Table 4, and the top ten overall producers are listed in Table 5.

Table 3. The Top Ten Outdoor Marijuana Producing States

Plants
Production (lbs)
Value ($1000s)
California
17,445,553
7,692,043
$12,353,421
Tennessee
6,742,057
2,972,688
$4,774,137
Kentucky
6,171,906
2,721,299
$4,370,406
Hawaii
5,340,368
2,354,660
$3,781,583
North Carolina
900,204
396,915
$637,446
Washington
834,835
368,093
$591,157
Alabama
797,955
351,832
$565,042
West Virginia
672,200
296,385
$475,994
Georgia
603,671
266,169
$427,467
Arkansas
599,632
264,388
$424,607

Table 4. The Top Ten Indoor Marijuana Producing States

Plants
Production (lbs)
Value ($1000s)
California
4,222,055
930,788
$1,494,846
Washington
1,239,514
273,262
$438,858
Florida
1,192,349
262,864
$422,159
Oregon
595,925
131,377
$210,991
Texas
524,729
115,681
$185,784
Alaska
359,417
79,237
$127,254
Indiana
301,991
66,577
$106,922
Michigan
300,502
66,248
$106,395
Kentucky
295,280
65,097
$104,546
Ohio
248,962
54,886
$88,146

Table 5. The Top Ten Marijuana Producing States

Plants
Production (lbs)
Value ($1000s)
California
21,667,609
8,622,831
$13,848,267
Tennessee
6,779,093
2,980,853
$4,787,250
Kentucky
6,467,186
2,786,396
$4,474,952
Hawaii
5,447,131
2,378,196
$3,819,383
Washington
2,074,349
641,354
$1,030,015
North Carolina
998,512
418,588
$672,253
Florida
1,434,745
369,740
$593,802
Alabama
810,287
354,551
$569,409
West Virginia
723,986
307,801
$494,328
Oregon
967,307
295,126
$473,972

Most marijuana is produced for local, in-state use. In nine states, though, the percentage of all marijuana production is greater than the state’s percentage share of annual marijuana users [21]. (See Table 6.) For example, California contains 13.25% of annual marijuana users in the United States according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health but also accounts for 38.68% of the marijuana produced in the United States, a ratio of production to use of 2.92. On this basis California is considered an export state in which marijuana is produced both for in-state use and export to other states. The nine states that fit this criteria as exporting marijuana producers are Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, Washington, and, though just barely, Alaska.

Table 6. Marijuana Exporting States, Market Share is Greater than Share of Annual Use

 
Annual
% of all
Ratio of
 
Users
Annual
Production
% of all
Production%
 
(1000s)
Users
(lbs)
Production
to Use %
Hawaii
124
0.49%
2,378,196
10.67%
21.92
Tennessee
380
1.49%
2,980,853
13.37%
8.97
Kentucky
367
1.44%
2,786,396
12.50%
8.68
California
3,375
13.25%
8,622,831
38.68%
2.92
West Virginia
144
0.57%
307,801
1.38%
2.44
Arkansas
221
0.87%
271,211
1.22%
1.40
Alabama
323
1.27%
354,551
1.59%
1.25
Washington
637
2.50%
641,354
2.88%
1.15
Alaska
84
0.33%
80,463
0.36%
1.09