why illegal

I'm sure millions of people have already asked this, but why is weed illegal? I've done some research and i cant find a reason of why. I know smoking isnt the healthiest thing for your lungs and all, but last time i checked cigarettes are legal. Cigarettes are extremely addictive, weed isnt. Marijuana is a little worse than cigarettes, but not that worse for you. Then there is the argument that it alters your state of mind, but what does alcohol do? And as someone already said in one of the threads when your drunk you are more apt to causing vandalism and fighting. When you are stoned, I for one enjoy sitting back, listening to music, talking to friends and stuff. Stoned people are also peaceful, so if everyone was stoned instead of drunk, wouldnt the world be a safer place? The government is obvisously not doing that great of a job stopping marijuana use, so why not make it legal, they would even make money on taxes. I'm just rambling on about my thoughts, tell me what you think.

 

It traces back to William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon. He had a vested interest in the paper industry and saw demonizing Marijuana as a good way of making hemp, papers alternative, illegal.

 

Because you live in America, and they don't give a fuck what you think.

There is no reason holding back from legalizing it, but it would cause an outcry from the basterd anti-drug groups. I wish people would think for themselves and not go by everything the government feeds them.

I know the DEA said something along the lines of "we have alcohol and tobacco, why add a third"

Check out their site.

 

Alcohol and tobacco kill at least 200,000 more people a year than marijuana. Why not make one of them illegal instead of cannabis.
Cannabis is a Godsend.

 

you guys are neglecting to look at this from a historical perspective, i was not joking when i made my above post...that is the reasoning for first making marijuana illegal.

 

that was then. that dosnt mean that they still have to keep it illegal.
so this one dude made the nation think that making it illegal was a good idea?

 

essentially yes, we would be a nation of hemp paper users instead of tree paper users....not only the one guy was behind it, but the entire paper industry...never mind that it isn't even exactly the same plant...how else were they going to get rid of something that is a replenishable source of paper?

I guess things don't USUALLY get remade legal after they were made illegal....alcohol being the exception.

 

someone should make a documentary about weed to inform people that it has very little downsides to it and it should be legalized. id say have michael moore make it but alot of people dont like him and just wouldn't go see the movie for that reason alone. to start legalizing weed we need a leader first, until someone starts the movement its gunna be a bunch of potheads saying "legalize it" over and over again.

 

Oh, there is a huge range of reasons, all of them bad.

For starters, Mexicans and blacks used it, so it had to be bad. Bastard racists in government were only too happy to make this drug used by such "lowlifes" illegal.

And yeah, hemp paper was about to come into it's own, with new machines that made it cost effective to harvest the hemp fiber from the rest of the plant, formerly a labor intensive activity. (an equal amount of paper can be made by hemp using 1/4 the land that trees would need). So, the Paper Industry, along with the Cotton Industry (hemp fiber is stronger, warmer, and more durable than most other fibers), rallied to make it illegal, by demonizing the drugs that can be made from it.

You guys should check out Jack Herrer's book. It's online here: http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html

I found the part about the war of 1812 to be really interesting. Its amazing the lengths our government has gone to to keep basic knowledge from us.

 

Maybe we should start treating potr like they did alcohol in the Prohibition days. If everyone smokes it and it becomes very very widespread and open, it may eventually be accepted. Fear of the unknown facts about pot is why people think it is so evil. It all stems back from the seventies when the gov't really cracked down on drugs. They spread lots of false data on the effects and qualities of drugs, and those myths have become very widespread and embellished. All it would take is a couple of years of positive action from the pot users in the country to set the facts straight, and eventually, with persistence, the wall may fall.

 

because it impairs you, plain and simple.

 

So does alcohol. it's legal and a helluva lot worse for you. and the effects from alcohol are a lot worse than of thc.

 

The first American anti-drug law was an 1875 San Francisco ordinance which outlawed the smoking of opium in opium dens. It was passed because of the fears that Chinese men were luring white women to their "ruin" in opium dens

More of a fear tactic, to make the law acceptable, as time go on more laws are enacted to get more control of the masses by a small minority.

1905 opium banned

1914 cocain banned

1914, Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Act, which aimed to curb drug abuse and addiction.

1920 Alcohol banned (ends in 1933)

1937 Marijuana banned

and so on with every "narcotic" down the line.

Alochol was used by just about every one making the ban impossible,
Tobaco was a major cash crop for farmers.

As for the paper indrustry being responsable for the ban,it does not sounds very likely.

As it was and is much cheaper to rape the forests for pulp then to grow hemp in a field. The logging industry pays only pennies to clear cut vast forests, their would have been no way for hemp farmers to compete.

Peace

 

first off i love weed and i pray every night it becomes legal so my parents will quit bitchin about me tokin....but guys what happens when the govt(if the govt) legalizes it? there would be heavy taxes on it and they would put rules on it just like alcohol such as no tokin and drivin and shit like that and the USA would get a fuckload of immigrants who come here to make money by sellin tax free bud so they could send money back to their poor ass countries the govt would eventually get so pist about it that theyd add more rules and regulations and maybe even make it illegal again. Well, at least thats a theory. I know that was kinda off subject of why its ilegal but i really have no idea why it is.

 

jointman, it'll all be worth it.

i have a dream. where every race, age, and gender could smoke marijuana on their own porch without having the man hold them down. a day where every person can uphold their right to toke up whenever they please. a day where every person can walk down the streets without the fear of the man searching them and taking them to state prison. a day where every man, woman, and child can hold up their bong and say "we love out marijuana, and we're proud of it".

and there was much rejoicing.

um. sorry.

 

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Yea thats true, i would rather have marijuana illegal, the people that can get away with it can smoke it rather then have a shitload of people come to our country and fuck it up more then it already is.

 

it's not legal for anyone under 19

 

thats how it is for everyone in BC right now hahah

 

magic -- that was truly amazing. thank you for that