Why is Marijuana illegal?

[Maeisgood]

Read this and tell me why alcohol and tobacco are legal but weed is not.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

Marijuania became illegal due to blatant racism by poweful men.

It has stayed illegal because people don't understand the rediculousness of of keeping it illegal.

I say this as someone who does not use pot.

As a tax payer and very upstanding/productive citizen, I am angry that my tax dollars and resources go to fighting an unwinnable fight against a non-threatening natural substance.

Keeping it illegal does so much more harm than good.

 

[Michele l'Arcangelo]

makes people lazy?

 

[Maeisgood]

So do video games and many other things. Most of the lazy people I know who do it weren't doing much to begin with. I also know people in medical and engineering school who smoke as well. People from all backgrounds do it.

 

[redspicyflag]

I've wondered this as well

Must be the social stigma

 

[GitFiddler]

Blatant Racism???? Give me a fvcking breaK!

Originally, it was because of paper. Dow Jones was patenting their wood pulp paper making machines, while someone else was developing the hemp paper making machines, so they played the drug card, and financed the movie Reefer Madness, to brainwash to whole country into thinking marijuana was "evil."

It stayed illegal, because hemp is the most useful plant on the planet, and can be used for everything from cheaper, higher quality food, paper, fabrics, and cheaper, higher quality less addictive medicines (you cant patent a natural plant) , as well as a cheaper, better, more efficient and renewable replacement for petroleum, among MANY other things, which would save the planet, our country, our wallets, and basically make life better for everyone.

This would put a lot of corporations out of business, so they pay the politicians LOTS of money to make sure it stays illegal.

That's the gist of it, coming from a non pot smoker.

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

Blatant Racism???? Give me a fvcking breaK!

Originally, it was because of paper. Dow Jones was patenting their wood pulp paper making machines, while someone else was developing the hemp paper making machines, so they played the drug card, and financed the movie Reefer Madness, to brainwash to whole country into thinking marijuana was "evil."

It stayed illegal, because hemp is the most useful plant on the planet, and can be used for everything from cheaper, higher quality food, paper, fabrics, and cheaper, higher quality less addictive medicines (you cant patent a natural plant) , as well as a cheaper, better, more efficient and renewable replacement for petroleum, among MANY other things, which would save the planet, our country, our wallets, and basically make life better for everyone.

This would put a lot of corporations out of business, so they pay the politicians LOTS of money to make sure it stays illegal.

That's the gist of it, coming from a non pot smoker.

You give me a break. It's a well known fact that Harry Anslinger ran a campaign of racism in order scare white people into supporting marijuania laws.

This was the only way he could get the Bureau of Narcotics off the ground.

Official files have been found that contain: "...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."

The news giant William Herst become allied with Anslinger and ran a huge propaganda campaign.

Why did Herst help Anslinger? He hated Mexicans.

Anslinger and Herst were THE ONES responsible for the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which effectively outlawed marijuania.

Since the 1630's money has played a huge part in marijuania farming and it may be responsible for keeping it illegal now.

But the bottom line is corporations didn't make it illegal. Anslinger and his racist rhetoric did.

 

[DonGorgon]

cause its a mind altering drug that lower productivity and the national GDP...

 

[JahGlory]

-State inhibiting
-America doesn't produce it efficiently enough
-It is already distributed efficiently enough and on such a wide scale that there is no point in legalizing it.

It's illegal here in canada again by Ste[hen Harper the Devil) and just the other month I blew smoke right into a cop's face.. Nothing.. Before that I was smoking on a corner and a cop car pulls up and this jamaican cop is driving it and he goes "come here bwoy" i look in the window and he asks me for a draw. Of course I'm already stoned and am super-sensitive to paranoia so I'm like no youre gonna steal my spliff. he chuckles and drives away.

Its not even illegal when they say its illegal, get high brotha!

 

[mpimpin]

Reps Teflon

 

[LoneSilver]

Marijuana should be legal for medical uses..people with certain stages of MS and other painful illinesses should be allowed to use it where most medicines don't help with the pain not sure I think California makes it legal for medical uses.

Alot of what is against the law across the board is good but some laws need a second look.

I tried some weed years ago and puked it wasn't for me like smoking can't handle it either a good thing..

LoneSilver

 

[Bible_Belt]

My ex-wife is from the Caribbean, and I spent some time there. Marijuana is technically illegal everywhere in the Caribbean, but it is about impossible to get arrested for. The laws exist because the US is a giant bully who threatens every developing nation that if they do not adopt drug laws that mirror those of the US, then the US will crush that country economically, which is easy to do when so much of their economies revolve around US tourists.

I saw people smoking in public everywhere. About an eighth-ounce of good green stuff cost $2 in St. Vincent, less than tobacco. Even the rolling papers were more expensive. And I probably paid the inflated tourist rate for the pot. The stuff is everywhere and cheaper than anything that has to be imported to the islands.

btw, in these cultures where a significant portion of the people have smoked pretty much all day every day for decades, if you believe the US government there should be people dying of lung cancer, brain damage, reefer madness, whatever, but people are fine. There is no more lung cancer there than anywhere else.

 

[Rhoto]

Blatant Racism???? Give me a fvcking breaK!

That's the gist of it, coming from a non pot smoker.

FYI, Hemp and smokable cannabis are two different things completely. Read a book.

The criminalization of it was used to round up Mexicans who had brought it over the border and used to smoke it after a day's work.

And no, hemp oil cannot provide the energy that petroleum does.

So know your sh1t before you make yourself look like any more of an idiot.

 

[Paradox]

25 Oct 2007

WHY IS MARIJUANA ILLEGAL?
by Lucas McMillan, Staff Writer, Times-Delphic

Racism, Social Stigma and Criminalization: Uncovering Marijuana's Sordid Past

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in the world. According to the FBI, one cannabis user is arrested every 40 seconds in the United States.

The trade of marijuana is also one of the most profitable international businesses in the world, raking in billions and billions of dollars every year. It knows no boundaries, political or geographical.

Despite most governments' best efforts to eliminate the trade of it, weed is nearly impossible to get rid of because of its sheer pervasiveness in our world and our culture. There is a very real social stigma built around weed, and it can sometimes be hard to separate the myth of marijuana from the reality.

There are decades upon decades of economic, political, medical, and even racial views of this drug that need to be peeled away to uncover the truth.

Marijuana, besides being one of the most common drugs, is also one of the oldest. Everyone from practicing Hindus to the Assyrians routinely used cannabis as both a medical treatment and a religious ritual.

Marijuana was even sold openly at medical markets in the U.S. from the 1700s through the late 1800s.

However, the legality of marijuana was heavily influenced by racism and xenophobia in the early 20th century. In 1910, large numbers of immigrants came into the U.S. to flee the Mexican Revolution and brought with them the concept of smoking hash recreationally.

Many Americans, especially the multitude of unemployed at the time, feared and resented the immigrants. By 1931, 29 states had passed anti-cannabis legislation.

The federal government's attitude towards marijuana was also one of racism and suspicion.

Take Harry J. Anslinger, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who, in 1937, said, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers," he said. "Their satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

Clearly, a vicious social stigma was being built around marijuana, and it would prove to be long lasting.

Weed is still considered a deleterious drug to this day, and those impressions can be traced back to the early - to mid-20th century, when the American government propagated outrageous and over-the-top myths about marijuana's effects on the human brain.

It was claimed - through informational films, the most infamous being Reefer Madness - that ingesting hash would cause everything from sexual promiscuity to full-blown dementia in people.

In reality, the effects of marijuana are much harder to determine and much less dramatic.

According to a case study done by the medical department at UCLA, marijuana does not increase a person's chances of getting cancer in any significant way. It also doesn't cause people to commit more violent crime or become sex-crazed maniacs, as shown in early anti-marijuana propaganda films.

These early claims about weed seem laughable now, but some remnant of them persists to this day in many people's minds. It is much less clear how smoking weed affects a person's mental health, however.

In a study done earlier this year, Dr. Stanley Zammit of Bristol University in England found that those people who smoke cannabis are 40 percent more likely to have a psychological disorder than those who don't. It is not clear, however, if those with pre-existing mental conditions are more prone to smoking marijuana or vice versa.

Another confusing aspect about marijuana is the debate over the so-called "gateway drug" theory.

This theory proposes that people who use marijuana regularly are more likely to use harder drugs eventually than someone who never smoked cannabis.

Some scientists have debated and even refuted this theory, but several tests have been done with results pointing towards its validity. For instance, a study done in Australia that involved children who smoked weed regularly at the age of 15 were in some cases 15 times more likely to be using hard amphetamines by their 20s.

So why is marijuana illegal if its legal status was determined by the public's xenophobia and racism a century ago? So many stigmas have grown up around it over the years that legalizing it now is a more daunting task than ever before.

With all that said, marijuana isn't exactely good for you. The smoke inhaled is on par with that of smoking a cigarette and some studies even claim that one joint is equal to smoking five cigarettes. The tendency for weed users to hold the smoke in their lungs for long periods of time increases the damage that it does.

But it's not clear that THC is carcinogenic, said a report in Time Magazine.

"The latest research suggests that THC may have a dual effect, promoting tumors by increasing free radicals and simultaneously protecting against tumors by playing a beneficial role in a process known as programmed cell death."

It is still very much associated with crime, counter-culture and ill health, despite other drugs being just as likely, if not more likely, to be involved with such things. There is a growing movement in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world to legalize weed once and for all, an uphill battle to say the least.

Can this movement overcome the strong social stigmas surrounding marijuana that have persisted for nearly a century? It is a complex issue, with many gray areas in both the medical and political fields. The legalization issue will be explored in part two of this series.

http://www.mapinc.org/tlcnews/v07/n1238/a04.htm?116

 

[GitFiddler]

http://www.hemp4fuel.com/

And, yes, I know the difference between Hemp and Cannabis. Unfortunately for the planet, the government doesn't. Thats why farming hemp is illegal, even though it won't get you high. I've read plenty of books, so don't call me an idiot.

I wont argue about the racism thing though, but I believe it's more to do with corporations, personally. I just get heated up thinking about the myriad of things we could do with hemp (industrial, and medical), but cant because of whatever propaganda, racism or corporate interests, the govt. wont let us make good use of this miracle plant.

 

[Rhoto]

http://www.hemp4fuel.com/

Again, the amount of fuel required daily to power California alone, would take up all the farm land used for food.

 

[Deep Dish]

Right now, Deep Dish is stoned. This is actually my second attempt at this post because the first time I forgot what I doing.

I believe marijuana is illegal precisely because it feels good. It is a chemically-induced orgasm and a damn f*cking good one, but American society is replete with history of society taking issue with anything which makes people, especially teenagers, feel sexual. We live in a culture where educators teach abstinence, legislatures espouse "family values," and parents go hysterical when schools offer free condoms, so god forbid teenagers may feel a glimpse of sexuality by way of their lady friend Mary Jane. Think of the big three drugs: tobacco, alcohol, marijuana; and how pleasure affects regulation. Tobacco tastes disgusting and induces feelings of sickness, yet tobacco is legal and with the barest of restrictions; alcohol feels much better but no orgasm, legal but with restrictions; whereas marijuana is the safest substance but considered the handiwork of the devil.

I think one big problem with the marijuana movement are stoners. Stoners tend to get all crazy into wild-eyed conspiracy theories involving the cotton industry, reinforcing the iconic image of marijuana causing paranoia. I don't believe there is a conspiracy and I think politicians are against it largely because their socially conservative base would go ballistic if they were to support the idea.

 

[GitFiddler]

http://www.venusproject.com/ethics_in_action/Real_Reason_Hemp_Illegal.html
Here is a link with a ton of hemp facts, including one about DuPont (Sorry, I said Dow Jones above) and their paper patent in 1937, and someone else supposedly made up the word "marijuana", to keep the public from realizing they were actually banning hemp. Interesting

http://www.rense.com/general67/FORD.HTM
This is an interesting link on how engines were originally built to run on fuels such as hemp, and other biofuels.

Rhoto, I never said hemp would "completely" replace oil. I'm saying it would reduce the need, were it legalized. All my statements are backed up now.

http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempFN4-5.html
An article about Duponts new nylon patent in 1935. This mentions Anslinger, and Hearst, which were cited above in the racism argument.

I think the racism part is legit, but it, as well as the intoxicating properties of it in general, were mostly used as a TOOL by Dupont to spread propaganda (they also financed Reefer Madness) and convince congress to prohibit it's biggest competitor. On a business standpoint, it was a genius move.

 

[Wired for Sound]

All these conspiracy theories and "keep da black man down", "maintain government control" garbage makes me laugh. Marijuana is a drug that screws up lives. Yes, anything that makes you feel good that you want to do again can be construed as a "drug". TV, Caffeine, porn...whatever. However, weed is particularly detrimental in many other ways. Studies have proven this.

Think about it. There's people out there that blame police officers for the laws that congress and state legislators have implemented. There's people that believe President Bush and **** Cheney created an elaborate scheme to murder 3,000 Americans with jumbo jets as an excuse to go to war and finish "daddy's work"...and then managed to keep everyone involved quiet about the whole thing. There's people that drive down the street with their rap music and bass turned on full blast with their windows rolled down with no regard for other people's right to live peacefully.

Do you REALLY want these same people having full unregulated access to a drug that SEVERELY impairs judgment, perception, and can occasionally have hallucinogenic effects? I sure as hell don't.

 

[PRMoon]

It's bad enough we have enough drunk drivers on the road. I can't imagine what the death toll will be like when people can fully legally get their hands on dope and play bumper cars on the free way. That should make a tough problem alot better