Along with some other key industries, agriculture is often considered the lifeblood of the South. The Carolinas are no exception, as everything from corn to cotton to soybeans brings in hundreds of millions of dollars annually and provide thousands and thousands of jobs to locals. However, in the Carolinas, there has always been one cash crop that’s reigned supreme for centuries: tobacco.

Tobacco is, and always has been, one of the backbones of our economy. Even as smoking in the U.S. continues to decline, tobacco still brings in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. It plays a huge role in our state’s history, economy, and culture.

Still, despite the titanic tobacco industry still pushing out big numbers annually, it’s impossible to predict what the future holds. Time, consumer trends and other factors could one day bring a major decline to the success of tobacco exports. This is where a newer, and more controversial, cash crop comes into play.

Cannabis is fresh, new industry. Previously, we had only ever heard of marijuana farmers from garage and greenhouse drug busts. But the times have changed, and the once-taboo plant has become the underdog powerhouse of the agricultural scene. States that have legalized cannabis are now reporting unbelievable amounts of annual revenue. The crop is also being researched as an alleviation for hundreds of various medical conditions.

 For example, the Colorado Department of Revenue has reported staggering state marijuana sales since legalization in 2014, with 2017 alone bringing in over 1.5 billion dollars in total sales. Similarly, Washington has reported millions in revenue from retail sales. And, in both cases, these states’ governments make hundreds of millions in marijuana excise taxes.

Still, despite these numbers, every step has been a struggle for the industry, and its relative infancy doesn’t help it. Many lawmakers, such as current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, continually push legislation slowing the progress of marijuana in the U.S. Furthermore, corporate lobbyists, especially those representing big pharmaceutical companies, strive to slow the industry’s growth, perceiving it as a threat to their own revenue.

Yet others fear “dangerous” side effects from cannabis, despite studies showing that there isn’t much to worry about. For example, Lachenmeier and Rehm with Scientific Reports found that the amount of cannabis an individual would have to consume within a short period of time to incur toxic side effects is massive, and an amount much larger than the toxic threshold for more common drugs like alcohol and narcotics.

Additionally, medical marijuana has taken off as either a solution or temporary alleviation to millions of ailing Americans. As Dr. Peter Grinspoon wrote, some studies and individuals suggest that cannabis can help individuals, to some degree, who suffer from anything ranging from general pain and anxiety to debilitating physical conditions such as PTSD, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease, along with many others.

North Carolina is already dipping its toes in the water. As reported by WRAL, over 300 NC farmers have been given state approval to grow experimental hemp, marijuana’s less THC-packed little brother. Hemp alone could boom into another thriving export for our state, but we shouldn’t be afraid to branch out in marijuana.

Still, outside of these farmers and a few select candidates for usage in medical treatment, marijuana continues to be widely prohibited in North Carolina. Currently, being caught with any amount of marijuana for personal usage is finable, and, with an amount over 0.5 ounces, you’re looking at possible jail time. I completely agree that laws and regulations must come with full legalization, but current laws are what’s holding back possibly the next big “thing” for our state.

Because of the freshness as well as the controversy surrounding the subject of marijuana, I believe that a large-scale contemporary college campus, just like NC State’s campus, is the perfect place for the movement to gain further traction. Historically, college campuses have played a massive role in the strengthening of movements across the nation, and an organized protest advocating the inclusion of marijuana into our state’s agriculture and society would force lawmakers to listen to the ideas and desires of their constituents.

Despite my enthusiasm for the massive benefits that cannabis agriculture would give North Carolina, I’m still looking to a realistic approach to legalization. Marijuana is, in every meaning of the term, a “drug.” It still has physical and cognitive effects on the body, and laws and regulations would need to be in place to govern the industry and the product’s effects.

Still, both the lawmakers and the people of North Carolina should not be afraid of what cannabis brings, economically or otherwise. Trade and culture constantly change, and North Carolina should strive to be at the forefront.