Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Will legal pot end Appalachia’s biggest cash crop?
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
White lightning might be the Appalachian South’s most famous vice, but green lightning is reportedly our most lucrative one. The region’s pot production is commonly valued at a whopping $4 billion annually. That’s based on mountain counties in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and it far exceeds legal agriculture in the same area, which generates closer to $2 billion. At the same time, the coal market has been collapsing. In just the last eight years, U.S. coal production has dropped about 15 percent, forcing massive layoffs in the heart of coal country and leaving thousands of mountain families in dire straights. In the midst of this crisis, what do Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia do? During just one year, 2014, they seized more than $2 billion dollars worth of marijuana plants, compounding our economic crisis even as public opinion shifted. An October 2015 Gallop survey revealed that nearly 60 percent of Americans now favor the legalization of marijuana. It’s a growing majority, and in nearly half the country, it has already tipped the policy scale. The District of Columbia and 24 states have legalized marijuana in some form. Possessing small amounts is on par with a parking ticket in even more. With decriminalization underway, Appalachia faces tough questions. Will it continue to convict people who grow its biggest cash crop? Will it ignore a 2015 report that named marijuana the nation’s fastest growing industry? Will it stand by as another of its economic pillars falls? Note: Per my conversation with Emily Satterwhite, I have published on this topic but do not plan to write a new paper. I will be presenting on the topic.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
A Roanoke, Virginia native, Mark Lynn Ferguson has written about the Appalachians for many publications, including the Chicago Tribune, and discussed the region with news outlets, ranging from ABC News to local public radio. He now lives in the Washington, D.C. metro, but stays connected to his homeland by making fried taters, hightailing it to the mountains every chance he gets, and writing for his blog, The Revivalist: Word from the Appalachian South, which gets around 200,000 visitors annually. He’s also been in marketing/communications for 20 years and worked with some of the world’s biggest brands. Mark Lynn holds an ED.M. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte.
Will legal pot end Appalachia’s biggest cash crop?
White lightning might be the Appalachian South’s most famous vice, but green lightning is reportedly our most lucrative one. The region’s pot production is commonly valued at a whopping $4 billion annually. That’s based on mountain counties in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and it far exceeds legal agriculture in the same area, which generates closer to $2 billion. At the same time, the coal market has been collapsing. In just the last eight years, U.S. coal production has dropped about 15 percent, forcing massive layoffs in the heart of coal country and leaving thousands of mountain families in dire straights. In the midst of this crisis, what do Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia do? During just one year, 2014, they seized more than $2 billion dollars worth of marijuana plants, compounding our economic crisis even as public opinion shifted. An October 2015 Gallop survey revealed that nearly 60 percent of Americans now favor the legalization of marijuana. It’s a growing majority, and in nearly half the country, it has already tipped the policy scale. The District of Columbia and 24 states have legalized marijuana in some form. Possessing small amounts is on par with a parking ticket in even more. With decriminalization underway, Appalachia faces tough questions. Will it continue to convict people who grow its biggest cash crop? Will it ignore a 2015 report that named marijuana the nation’s fastest growing industry? Will it stand by as another of its economic pillars falls? Note: Per my conversation with Emily Satterwhite, I have published on this topic but do not plan to write a new paper. I will be presenting on the topic.
