Where the Grass Is Greener

Where the Grass Is Greener

The slur was enough to make every Cornhusker huff--if not puff. In a lengthy report on U.S. marijuana laws, the Wall Street Journal last week reported that the green-flowered cannabis weed from which "grass" is produced "flourishes in temperate climates; one botanist estimates that 17% of the field foliage in Nebraska is marijuana." Replied outraged Nebraska agronomists: "Utterly ridiculous . . . absolutely crazy . . . silly."

Actually, they said, only 1% of the state's 77,227 sq. mi. has gone to pot--and neighboring Iowa has even more of it, thanks to heavier rainfall. The marijuana that grows in Nebraska, mostly along roadsides, creeks, hedgerows and railroad tracks, is virtually worthless as a narcotic. "Smoking it would be about like smoking corn silk," said Lancaster County Extension Agent Emery Nelson.

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