Pot. Grass. Weed. Hemp. Ganja. National Geographic Channel's Explorer: Marijuana Nation Investigates The Booming Industry Behind The Most Popular Illegal Drug In The United States

Cultivation stretches back from George Washington's farm until today, when it ranks as the leading cash crop in the United States, with annual profits surpassing $65 billion

Explorer: Marijuana Nation premieres on Tuesday, December 2, at 10 p.m. ET/PT

It is estimated that more than 200 million people around the world smoke it.  Two million Americans alone will try it this year.  Users represent a cross section of our society, from teens to the elderly, from top-earning medical and legal professionals to housewives, laborers and truck drivers.  Broad demand has made it, by some estimates, the single most valuable cash crop in the country, spawning a shadowy multibillion-dollar industry that thrives in communities throughout America.  National Geographic Channel correspondent Lisa Ling investigates all angles of the marijuana industry, joining law enforcement as they rappel from helicopters into illegal crop fields, taking you to legal Canadian grow houses and inside the tense standoff between "legal" medical use and federal drug agencies.

Premiering Tuesday, December 2, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, National Geographic Channel (NGC) takes viewers inside the haze of the cannabis industry in Explorer: Marijuana Nation.  Reporting from secret farms and not-so-secret grow houses of marijuana cultivators, Lisa Ling goes into their world - where marijuana is not just a drug but a way of life.  NGC looks at what's behind the increased potency of a new designer crop and how growers circumvent law enforcement while creating a more perfect plant - sometimes literally in their living rooms.  Then explore the controversial medical uses of marijuana in some states, permitting personal use in violation of federal law and creating a tangled web of enforcement conflicts.  Ling conducts revealing interviews with the self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot," law enforcement, growers, scientists and everyday users who offer insight into this complex set of issues.

The debate between illegal marijuana and medical marijuana use has divided the nation for years. Just this past election, Michigan and Massachusetts approved referendum lightning restrictions on the substance.  Explorer: Marijuana Nation showcases the gray area in places like California, where medical marijuana has been legal since 1996 - transforming it into a booming, quasi-legitimate business.  More marijuana is probably grown in California than any other state in the union.  One medical marijuana advocate estimates that nearly $3 million in annual tax revenue contributed to the city of Oakland in 2003 alone.  Often prescribed to counter side effects of chemotherapy, marijuana may have other benefits, including the potential to increase bone density and alleviate osteoporosis.  Regardless of its status in California, marijuana is still illegal under federal law and can carry harsh penalties similar to cocaine and heroin.

Marijuana is cultivated not only on private property but on government and public lands as well, often sensitive areas prized for their pristine conditions and wildlife.  This illicit agricultural activity can include land clearing, irrigation and highly potent and often illegal chemical fertilizers and pesticides, with potential to cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem.  Ling travels by helicopter and joins law enforcement as they rappel into the Sequoia National Forest, making a dangerous landing on steep, rocky terrain to reach an illegal garden.  Once there, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Guard work to remove all the plants from the area.  In 2007, more than 2 million plants were seized on public lands, more than 250,000 in Sequoia alone.

Then Ling travels to Canada, where she visits Mark Emery, aka the "Prince of Pot."  Ling sits down with him at his cannabis cocktail lounge to learn more about his cause and obsession.  Emery runs multiple marijuana businesses - including a magazine, Web site and a store that could be described as a marijuana wonder emporium, selling everything but marijuana.  He has also sparked an international legal showdown by selling seeds around the world via the Internet, earning millions but making him one of America's most wanted criminals.  Emery is unrepentant, and his response to law enforcement is, "We need to have millions and millions of people growing this pot.  And we need to be able to make the governments waste lots of money tracking all this pot down.  So no matter how much they burn there's still a lot of pot."  Emery says he has given away all of his profits from selling seeds to groups working to legalize marijuana.

Emery also takes Lisa to British Columbia, where there is a grow house perhaps like no other.  Sam Mellace owns the operation and has reportedly spent $1.75 million perfecting it.  Nothing is too good for his plants.  He has developed a marijuana butter that can be used to make baked goods, and his marijuana is so potent - it has nearly 18 percent levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - that one of his cookies could get you high.  Mellace's grow house is a glimpse of what industrialized marijuana farming might look like if it were to become legal.

Back in the United States, NGC travels to smaller growing operations for an inside look at this covert subculture.  Upstate California is the heartland of marijuana cultivation, and it is there NGC goes to visit one of the highly secretive growers.  Only by agreeing to keep this grower's identity undisclosed were our cameras allowed a rare glimpse inside.  His farm has no clear rows or heavy machinery - just potted plants amid tall pines that keep them concealed.  Hear firsthand the precautions these farmers take not only to prevent being busted by law enforcement but also to prevent being robbed.

Explorer: Marijuana Nation traces the evolution of the drug from George Washington growing hemp for cloth, to Ronald Reagan's war on drugs, to today.  More than 800,000 Americans were arrested in 2007 for marijuana-related offenses, most of them possession.  Growers are becoming more sophisticated, precisely cultivating highly psychoactive plants indoors.  The widespread use of marijuana is considered by some to be an urgent illegal drug problem; others see the law as disproportionate to its impact on public safety and health compared to legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.  But all can agree that marijuana is a huge industry and we are a Marijuana Nation.

Explorer: Marijuana Nation is produced for the National Geographic Channel by National Geographic Television.  For National Geographic Television, producer/director is Raymond Telles, writer is Robert Zakin, narrator and host is Lisa Ling and editors are Salvatore Vecchio and Barbara Ballow.  For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Kathleen Cromley; senior vice president of production is Juliet Blake and executive vice president of content is Steve Burns.

For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com/explorer.