The members are mostly cops, judges, corrections officers and former DEA agents who think the "war" amounts to throwing $69 billion down the rat hole.
Yesterday, while researching new plants to order for next spring, I wandered across the odd fact that you can buy opium poppy seeds legally in the US, although it is illegal to grow them - they are a Schedule 2 drug. Nevertheless, people do, in fact, grow them.
They used to grow them at Monticello until some UVA students got busted in a raid in Charlottesville, which raised the awareness of the Monticello gardeners that they were breaking the law.
They are actually quite pretty, and the seeds are what is used in poppy seed pastries and Indian cuisine.
I got the distinct impression that many, many people in the US do, in fact, grow them for the opium, without any difficulty with the law. I decided against it. |
