Why is marijuana illegal?

Question

Are there any real good reasons? I don't smoke it, but I have friends that do, and don't see anything wrong with it. Sure it's not healthy, but alot of things aren't that are legal. And people who say that it leads to worse drugs don't know what they're talking about, I know of a lot of people that just smoke marijuana and have for many years. The ones that go to harder drugs would have with or without it. To me, drinking is way more destructive.

Answer 1

media used propaganda movies like 'reefer madness' demonize it as well as a fake crime rate published by w.r. hearst (he owned a nation-wide string of 38 newspapers like; Los Angeles Examiner, the Boston American, the Chicago Examiner, the Detroit Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Washington Times, Washington Herald, the San Francisco Examiner, New York Daily Mirror, Harper's Bazaar, Universal News, International News Service, King Features Syndicate & the magazine Cosmopolitan just to name a few so you can see his influence) about how all mexicans were criminals driven insane by 'the reefer weed'. this led public outrage (sound like todays practices at all?) to 'secure the borders & ban the weed'.

also it was one of the biggest cash crops ever. it was farmed for its fibers that was used for rope, paper, and fabric which led the cotton industry to lobby against it. hempseed oil was THE stuff used in lanterns because of its combustability, low toxins, peice & duration.

Answer 2

Marijuana is the most insidious drug of all. The long-term negative effects are extremely subtle to detect until one's human potential is seriously thwarted. One's lack of motivation and growing inability to exercise significant investment in meaningful social interactions occurs cumulatively and gradually over time. Also, if a person already has a propensity for any type of mental or emotional disorder, cannabis will amplify the dysfunction. However, one main component of cannabis dependency is a growing rigidity of the defense mechanism of denial. Thus it is fairly impossible for a person whom is addicted to the substance to come to actual realization about it, unless one's life circumstances eventually demands it. Go to http://www.ma-online.org/chatroom1.html and ask this question. You'll get some excellent feedback there. Also, on http://www.ma-online.org you will find a checklist to see if one has symptoms of addiction.



A Second Chance At Life

"I started smoking when I was 14 years old. I'm not really sure of the exact reason. I know I had begun hanging around with people who did smoke and I was very curious as to what made them so happy. So one day I gave in and tried it........ahhhhhh now I knew!! Or so I thought. At the time and for the next 10 years or so smoking did seem to make me very happy. I smoked it everyday all day long. Before school, at lunch, after school and all evening. I worked a part time job in high school so I was always "the friend with the pot". I took alot of risks to score during those years. Most of my connections were older guys, high school drop outs who when I look back seemed a little too thrilled to be selling to a young high schooler!



This went on till around my mid twenties. Then as the matter of smoking to be happy somehow took a wrong turn into "I must be high to handle life", I managed to quit smoking before work and at lunch time, but as soon as I walked in the door after work I hit the bong and continued all night. On the weekends it was a day long event. Eventually the paranoia set in and got worse and worse. I would isolate in the house thinking at any moment that the cops would come knocking on my door and arrest me. Then I would consider the consequences of jail, embarassment, humiliation. That never stopped me from smoking! I'd just smoke more to forget what it was I was obsessing over in the first place.



The straw that finally broke this camel's back was....."

Continued at: http://www.ma-online.org/stories04.html







Excellent question, by the way.

Answer 3

The vast majority of crime in America is drug related. That vast majority of drug use in America is not hard drugs, but marijuana. If you legalize marijuana, you eliminate a large percentage of "crime" in America, jeopardizing the livelihood of many law enforcement officials. Also, if it is legal for smoking, then obviously it would be legal to grow and use the stalks to make engineered lumber for building. This has been shown to be cheaper and more sustainable than wood. This would cause tremendous difficulty for the lumber industry.



In short, you have two major lobbying groups that would be hurt severely by the legalization of marijuana.

Answer 4

People would get high and drive and kill innocent people plus themselves. And cigarettes and alcohol should be illegal for that reason, too. If pot was legalized how long do you think it would take before it became just as destructive as alcohol is now? If not more destructive. A lot more people who have never tried it would try it, and a lot more people who couldn't handle it would find out that they couldn't handle it-- the hard way.



Oh, but sure, let's be all egalitarian and stuff and legalize it and let people try it for themselves. Why do you think they call it 'dope'...?

Answer 5

properly alcohol was once unlawful. It replaced into spoke of as Prohibition. in the time of that element, human beings smuggled liquor and made a lot of money. The have been spoke of as bootleggers. secret golf equipment sprang up around cities the place human beings might bypass to drink. human beings souped up their vehicles merely so they'd outrun the police while they have been bootlegging. prepared crime even have been given in touch in this company. the government observed what replaced into occurring and desperate to make alcohol criminal and tax it. thus far as marijuana, that is somewhat extra good to track. Alcohol have been made by way of businesses for hundreds of years. They use bottling and promoting to sell their products. With marijuana, that is somewhat distinctive. There are some circumstances the place marijuana is criminal for clinical applications. regardless of the shown fact that if weed replaced into criminal, it would be confusing for the goevrnment to regulate and tax it. There are no genuine businesses starting to be marijuana so that is going to likely be confusing. it may additionally be that they think of it ought to bring about extra good drugs. Marijuana sales additionally fund different unlawful activities and so it has remained unlawful.

Answer 6

Marijuana is NOT addictive. Nobody goes through DT's then they stop smoking it. And the 'slow insidious' effect stuff sounds like you could say the same for cigarettes. Do some research for goodness sake. It's tough on your lungs (smoke is unfiltered) and your brain. Also bad for your brain are smoking, crashing on a motorcycle, boxing, UFC, and many other legal things. Oh.. and religion.

Answer 7

It is not terribly harmful. It is not slow and insidious, any more than mcDonalds french fries. It is not very expensive so people don't lose all their money from using it. It is not addictive.



Drinking, eating trans fat, and smoking are all more harmful than smoking marijuana. With the new types of steam bongs you don't even inhale smoke! Just water vapor and THC. I hope it's legal by the time I retire!

Answer 8

The American cotton industry was behind much of the propoganda and lobbying to outlaw marijuana, as a way to eleminate hemp.



Also,the government has no way to tax marijuana since people grow it themselves. They would most likely have to make marijuana only be able to be grown by big companies (illegal still for regular citizens to grow).

Answer 9

It doesn't make much sense that cigarettes (that kill millions every year) are legal while marijuana (that kills no one) is not. Worse is that the government won't let dying cancer patients have their prescribed medicine. I'm all for the legalization of marijuana.

Answer 10

Because there are so many uneducated voters out there that think it would produce a bunch of crack heads. People who are against it, know nothing about it. It's no worse than smoking a cig.

Answer 11

If you get a chance, watch the movie, "Refer Madness". It tells you about all the propoganda that the U.S. government associates with marijuana. You will also get a good laugh, although the movie was made in all seriousness.

Answer 12

it makes you feel good for no reasion. from what i have heard it is harmless. but if it is people could use it and think other drugs are harmless to, witch could get them into big troble. who knows it is a complicated world, all i know is after becoming a smoker and drinki9ng beer thats as far as i want to experement with altered states

Answer 13

Its not if its medical marijuana.