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Why Isn’t Marijuana Legal?

Let me get this straight, America:

  • It’s perfectly fine to sell alcohol to adults
  • It’s perfectly fine to sell tobacco to adults
  • It’s perfectly fine to market “pharmaceutical” drugs to anybody
  • It’s perfectly fine for us to consume mass amounts of caffeine
  • It’s perfectly fine to put trans fats in products
  • It’s perfectly fine for us to get our kids addicted to sugar

…but marijuana still isn’t legal?

Give me a freakin’ break man. Are we still living in the early 1900s here?! If the evening news was full of videos like the following, I’d certainly be tuning in a helluva lot more (and maybe, just maybe, light up my first MarcCanter doobie in the process):

32 Comments

[IMG] Chris Pirillo Under the Radar Tech Conference Why Isn?t Marijuana Legal? I Purchased an Optimus Maximus keyboard Star Wars 3D Animated Cartoon Student Loans from the Military Dual Monitor Display Increases Productivity Loose Change Treasure Map Sonic / Roxio / Video Editing Software Coupons

I tend to agree with you, despite my otherwise conservative values. I smoked a great deal of marijuana whilst working in Indochina in the 1970s, & I must say that there have been only positive effects flowing from this experience.

dude, you’re a moron. i’ve been following you for a while now. i’ve just unsubscribed from everything you have. geez. wake up man.

that’s just…. wow… LOL

Well, its true. Its only fair to make things that can’t be controlled when its illegal, legal and extort some measure of control. This applies to everything, Drugs, Downloads, etc.

You are 1000% correct, Chris. And remember, at one time alcohol *was* illegal and was still just as popular and reefer is now.
It’s just that the elite don’t want to loose and excuse they have to jail practically any person they want at will.
It’s about control, and money.

Oh my goodness. That video had me rolling! Seriously though, it should be legalized. It doesn’t harm your health any more than smoking cigarettes or drinking (and actually has some beneficial aspects - which the previously mentioned “habits” do not). Plus, it could be one more thing that the government could tax the crap out of. I’m sure that would make them happy. So, actually, I’m rather surprised they haven’t thought of that as another way of creating revenue for themselves. Guess they weren’t put into their positions necessarily because of their brains though.

I totally can see Chris’ point of view on this. In the big picture however, maybe the term “anything in moderation is ok” starts off as a means of rationalization eventually turning into “:I can quit anytime”. This is probably truer for some people than others. Over time, the habit eventually becomes your priority. The priority eventually becomes your life.

For something containing so much potential power over our lives, perhaps it is best certain substances remain illegal. I gave this some extra thought in comparison as to why we may never see a hangover cure in a convenient pill. A large portion of our utopia might remain drunk 24×7? Lol…

Chris, help me. I think I am dying.

Time is going by really, really, really slow…

it’s 2 AM in the Bangkok Airport, and I am going to try to answer this question. It’s because the government has a million complex incentives to keep it illegal, including the money it makes from both prosecuting it and growing it indirectly

Because big pharmaceutical companies haven’t figured out how to get their cut, that’s why. If marijuana wasn’t something that could be easily grown by consumers, it would be a legitimate treatment for all sorts of mental and physical ailments from bi-polar disorder to cancer and HIV-AIDS.

Tax…yeah…

The infrastructure is in place (and will remain in place) to bring contraband through the US military, the DEA, the local and state police, but somehow, when the IRS gets involved–then we’ll be able to stop the smuggling.

We can’t even stop cigarette smuggling. But tax pot–”it’s a goldmine!”

Yea right.

Is my belief that tabacco is far worst than marijuana… causes more deaths, that’s for sure.

The reality is clearly stated by asking the government the question, there must be a reason why they would not allot to become legal. The black market would dissapear by legalizing not only marihuana but any other drug, people will do it no mmater what so why not having quality instead of having people dying from smoking or sniffing poor quality stuff? Again ask the question to the governement, and eventually you will realize there is a reason (money) behind this subjrct

Actually it used to be legal, along with opium, cocaine and LSD….laws had to be passed because people have demonstrated by their misuse of the drugs that they can’t handle the responsibility. Drugs aren’t evil, people are.
We suffer the consequences of the few who spoil it for everyone.
It’s also the reason the beginning driving age keeps going up too.
The Indians have used peyote and other drugs religiously for centuries.

i believe its because it cannot be controlled at the moment and is the reason why its not legal. give it a few years, im sure it will be

its because the gov. can’t profet from pot. they can off of alcohol and tobbacco and all that other stuff but not pot

i think weed should be leagl is if beer and cigs are legal why cant we smoke pot at least that dose sum thing for u am i right it dont cause holes in your throat abd beer and whiskey ect.. cause addicticon problems like that shit and cigs also the goverment is scared that if weed is legal they will lose profit off cis and stuff if it is legal sum day i can under stand dont smoke and drive and shit the goverment will make a killing in profit i tried it once and loved it just thinnk of it all that bud cops have in the storage if they made it legal the goverment made it leagal they could sell joints in cig packs for like 104 a pcack wit like 20 joints in it they will make a killing who wants to form a group of sum sort to get that shit legallized e mail me at conkersfd@aol.com or request me as a friend on myspace my email on my myspace is conkersfd@myspace.com my name is stephen and we will get a huge partition around plz do it as fast as u can

egregiousness hexapetaloideous misconstrue myorrhaphy setose ponderously pointmaker quarrel
every
http://www.freewebs.com/bkcxed/1.html

The gov. is dumb! How Many people do you here about dying in wrecks and things like that from smoking pot compared to getting drunk and driving, if anythig, alcohol should be illegal! I like pot yes, thats not why im saying this, ive been saying this for years, and everyone i know tends to agree… even if they dont smoke it. And how many times do you here about it giving you lung cancer and emphazema?! I mean seriously the government says they cant profit from it and that its too dangerous, but they can most def. profit from it, and its not really dangerous, whats the worst thats gonna happen… get the damn munchies?!

i could not agree more, all this stuff that is legal.. Sheesh my god, but it still is sold in all major ghettos of the us!!

i agree!!

legalize it dont criticize it!!!!

I completely agree, I don’t understand why government officials and authority’s have such a beef with marijuana. There is nothing wrong with it from my point of view and many others. It’s better then alcohol, I have never heard of anyone dieing from driving while high and I have never heard of anyone doing anything tremendously illegal. or anything illegal at all. Alcohol should be the thing that is illegal not marijuana. You cant die from it and you get nothing but positive effects. It helps and has been proven to help with some severe illnesses and has also been proven to help with day to day things such as headaches and upset stomach etc. Most people haven’t even tried it. They just discriminate against it because there parents did or because “society” says its wrong. But NOBODY understands. Unlike ciggs it dosent hurt you much! only when smoked and it can be consumed other ways to get rid of the bad smoking part. Marijuana is 10x better then ciggs and it also has good healthy positives to it. I dont understand how a so called “drug” that has been proven and used in ancient times and through the present to help with medical problems be illegal. Alcohol kills, driving on alcohol kills. Marijuana does neither of these. Ciggerates kill and give cancer but what does marijuana do? NOT that. When under the “influence” of marijuana you can still get your daily tasks done and not be a pest to society. The worst that could happen is that you smoke go out and do what you need to do and laugh quite a bit and be a bit more happier then normal and also maybe be a bit hungry thus spending money and thus boosting our economy from giving company’s money to spend some of that money back on taxes which gets our government back money. Now think about if they found a way to legalize it and tax it. Legalizing it will free up room in jails because of dumb marijuana arrests it will also stop wasting our TAX PAYERS MONEY which is OURS remember that guys, on stupid arrests such as possession. It will also get our economy more money because they taxing this stuff and get extra money for shit. This infuriates me knowing that politicians and authorities can be so oblivious to the positives to this. Legalizing this is not saying “hey kids its alright to do drugs” because marijuana is not a drug from my point of view it helps people and such and is just as good as asprin! There are such things as DRUGS out there and marijuana is not one. This drug does not cause deaths(like alcohol) does not cause anger which will make you do stupid things(like alcohol) and you can drive and this and you are 100x more cautious and drive better while high. Your reaction time may be slower but you drive slower anyways! so its fine. Jesus, I wish people would just get some common sense.

I completely agree. Cigarette can end up giving you lung cancer quickly versus weed which a lot of studies shown that lung cancer chances are sometimes lower because of the THC which reduces tumor growth. It’s ridiculous that they sell alcohol which people can over drink and die from alcohol poisoning. People drink and kill others and themselves everyday just by getting in a car. Smoking weed doesn’t effect your motor skills in the least compared to alcohol. I’ve driven many times while high and I actually seem to drive better and slower and a lot more cautious. I wouldn’t recommend it because if you are new to smoking weed it might be a little over bearing at first. Smoking weed makes you content in whatever your doing. Take one hit and your mind expands completely to another lever of intelligence. You think of things you never thought of and you kind of feel smarter. As strange as it sounds smoking weed helped me see a bigger side to the world. The only thing that was bad for me about weed was I smoked all day everyday because i loved being high and never got anything done. I ended up watching TV and when i went to work i couldn’t wait to get home to get high. Smoking weed is a great thing kept within moderation for those whole have no self control. But that goes with all the other things listed above in the statement I am responding to. Alcohol is worse and addicting as well as pills, as well as cough medicine. I very much agree why keep something so harmless and helpful illegal. Government can sell the product and end up making tons of money and most likely crime rates will go down. People will be to high and happy to give a shit to steal and less people in jail for weed. which is stupid too.

Alec Hamburg (iDrummer)

April 1st, 2008
at 8:23pm

100% Correct.
They should make it legal.
Oh course they want you to think it bad, but look there are more death because of obesity then marijuana. Plus marijuana isn’t really considered a drug since you don’t get addicted. It should be just like tobacco, either you choose to or not.

Just because alcohol and tobacco are legalized does not make them okay. Marijuana is illegal, which means that despite opinions, it truly is bad for you. Sure it may get you high and make you “feel good,” but there is no positive outcome, even if the outcome is not harmful to you. When people get high, it does have a negative affect, even if the smokers don’t see it. Not only are you at risk to harming yourself, you are also at risk to harm others around you. The same goes for alcohol. Marijuana is illegal and I am pretty sure that it will stay that way. You can try all you want, its not going to legalize. It is harmful to the economy and your lungs as well, its still SMOKE.

Thanks.

im compleley on your level people its absolutley ridiculous y its not legal, Especially when the pigs disscreminate you 4 what you love and enjoy i was haven a blaze with the boys after work jus got paid [amazing] got some grade then what do you no 2 pigs come cruzeing over ‘whers the weed then boys’? said we jus smoked it as them being cunts they decided to get the dogs and male officers to search us, well me really they said ”have you got any drugs on you”? no i replied but i got weed ”how much’ ”10bag” [3.8g] they Criticized me as being i quote [dirty disgusting mess of a human being] i work hard i pay my fucking taxes i dont consume much alcohol so i said to the pigwoman how much coffee do you consume a day? she said im asking the questions im in charge here so preety much they al been brainwashed into the corruption of money and greed the one thing that gets to me is amsterdame has the lowest crime rate in the world

chris search [shadow goverment]

Alice be Tokeless, I love you…long live the sixties

MARIHUANA TAX ACT OF 1937 provided penalties for growing marijuana because it unfairly competed with the paper pulp farms and represented a threat to ground oil production.
Kerosene was not used in lanterns- it was marijuana oil and for the wealthy whale oil.
Kerosene use also forced the hangers-on to adopt electric lights or suffocate from kerosene fumes.
It was a money making project, and if marijuana were to become legal then think of all the law enforcement agencies, penal institutes, courts, not to mention cities that would suffer from loss of marijuana related revenue.
(compare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Marihuana_Tax_Act)

It’s pretty obvious why it continues to be illegal. Like most things, it’s ALL about the economics.

Because there’s nobody w/ money on the line to push otherwise.

Alchohol, tobacco, etc, are all VERY difficult to produce in commercial quantities. Sure, you *can* craft brew some beer/wine at home. But it’s too much of a pain in the ass for most people. And you flat out can’t do home-made cigs. It’s not even remotely feasible.

Now look at Marijuana. If it was legal, ANYONE that wanted some, could grow it themselves. Sure, maybe some negligible business in seeds, etc. And some minor commerce from people too lazy to water a plant, or on vacation, etc. But by and large, nobody would make money on legal pot. And if nobody stands to make a bunch of money on it, then nobody is going to pay a bunch of money to lobby congress to change the laws.

In the absence of vast sums of lobby dollars, no congresscritter in their right mind is going to go on record as being in favor of any kind of drugs legalization, no matter how many facts they can muster to back up their argument. They’re simply not going to want to get labeled as the pot congressman.

In order to get the laws changed to legalize it, a HUGE marketing effort would have to be started first. No way will a congressman ever propose something like that out of the blue. It is going to have to be in response to a huge groundswell/movement. And since nobody is going to make a killing after it’s legal, nobody is going to spend the marketing money to get the ball rolling to do that.

My best guess, is that eventually either enough states will pass legalization laws in the face of the federal ban on it, that the feds will have adequate cover to re-think it. But in that case there’s still virtually no incentive for the congress to change the laws. They simply don’t stand to gain anything from it. Or eventually someone will push a states rights issue as far as SCOTUS, and will be successful in arguing that it’s not an inter-state commerce issue, and thus the feds are simply overstepping by trying to regulate it.

Either way, it’s gonna be a LONG, LONG time in coming.

If you want to make it legal, figure out how to make money doing it, and then you can afford to buy the laws you need to do it.

What Do You Think?