In response yesterday's post about Al Gore's mansion consuming 10% MORE electricity after installing solar panels than before (which makes me question why we are polluting China with waste chemicals in order to use such panels here), Diesel Mike wrote:

lots of hydroponics and grow lights?

HA HA HA.

Now, the Gores are probably not growing marijuana in a home grow set up, but it got me to thinking:

The war on drugs has forced growers across the country to hide their grow operations in an effort to supply a government-created, artificially high-priced clientèle with plant matter.

These suppliers stand to make great profits by taking the risk to set up grow lights inside to produce pot for the masses. The grow lights use tons of electricity, which is how the drug agents identify growers.

Why not say enough is enough? Hemp is a plant that, from all reports, grows like a weed in the wild. Let's get the growers out of their basements, or garages or wherever, and also reduce electricity use too!

Not only would our jails be less full, and police be able to focus more on violent and property crimes, but hemp could be cultivated for clothing, alternative fuels, rope, paper, ....?? The possibilities seem endless.

Of course some officials would be out of work, but they could retrain to enter the new hemp economy.

Seems like a win-win to me...

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On no particular schedule, I take a walk. Each time this happens, I have a thought. This is Nicole Sauce's Thought of the Walk.