Product DescriptionAccording to Forbes magazine,* marijuana is “Canada’s most valuable agricultural product - bigger than wheat, cattle or timber.” Bud Inc. gives us an inside look at this thriving homegrown industry.Although the cultivation and selling of marijuana remains illegal in Canada, it is already big business, especially in British Columbia. Law enforcement officials estimate that the annual wholesale value of B.C. marijuana is now $6 billion, about 5% of the province’s total economy. If these stats are correct, it is B.C.’s largest export. Ontario and Quebec are not far behind.Vancouver journalist Ian Mulgrew has been following the rise of this underground economy for some time, and knows all the key players, political and entrepreneurial. Comparisons to the rum-runners of the Prohibition era are not unfounded. These so-called “pot barons” are all savvy businessmen who have built their empires using tried and true business models.Cash-strapped governments, pharmaceutical companies and other big businesses are well aware of the potential profits, and Canada has been at the forefront of the global movement to legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize the recreational use of the drug. Estimates vary, but it’s thought that nearly a million people in Canada could benefit from medicinal marijuana, yet only about a thousand are currently legally authorized to use it. Many feel that marijuana should be grown, regulated and taxed like any other commodity.Following the evolution of the marijuana trade from rich kids smuggling it in their luggage, to trans-oceanic operations involving tons of dope, to today’s thriving multi-billion-dollar domestic industry, Bud Inc. is a fascinating study of real-life supply-and-demand economics.*November 2003ReviewFinalist for the 2005 national business book award“An eye-opening account of the nation’s most valuable agricultural product … and a convincing argument for its legalization.”-Maclean’s“Bud Inc. virtually overflows with interesting players: growers, activists, smugglers, dealers and a few demons, as well…. A fascinating read … [Mulgrew] makes arguments that need to be heard and acted upon.”-Winnipeg Free PressFrom the Trade Paperback edition.About the AuthorAward-winning journalist Ian Mulgrew has worked for newspapers and magazines, authored three books and co-authored another. He has also produced and hosted numerous broadcast programs. He is currently the legal affairs columnist for the Vancouver Sun.Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.IntroductionStephen Easton sat in a small Spartan office behind a desktop cluttered with computer printouts detailing his latest calculations. A senior scholar at Canada’s conservative think-tank, the Fraser Institute, and an economics professor at Simon Fraser University, Easton was astonished by the numbers his formula spat out. If they were correct, marijuana was Canada’s most valuable agricultural product. Forget iconic wheat-golden shimmering symbol of the country’s farming heartland. Stinky, lime-green pot contributed more to the economy. Much, much more.“Over the last three or four years, I think most people now would say my estimates are low,” he laughed. “Especially the police.”By 2000, Easton figured, Canadian cannabis consumers annually spent at least $1.8 billion on bud. That’s almost as much as Canadians spent on tobacco - $2.3 billion. And it meant consumption in the previous decade had doubled. Easton also believed exports to the United States dwarfed those figures.He projected the size of the B.C. export market alone at 1,433 metric tons worth $2 billion dollars in 2000 - almost 3 per cent of the provincial GDP. By way of comparison, that was nearly the size of the B.C. mining and oil-and-gas sectors combined. Easton added that the total intentionally understated the value of the industry because he used only wholesale prices. It didn’t reflect the final sale price, whic

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